Sautéed Whiskey Chanterelle Mushrooms

Need a quick and easy side dish that will intrigue and delight your dinner guests? If chanterelle mushrooms are in season, you are in luck. Simply sauté some up with a splash of Crown Royal Whiskey, some butter and fresh herbs, and you have a side dish that is good enough to make a meal on its own.

This simple chanterelle mushroom recipe makes the perfect accompaniment to any wild game meat. Images by author

Start by rinsing and wiping any soil or debris away from the mushrooms, then pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel. If your mushrooms are bigger than bite-sized once cooked (say over an inch and half across), slice them into halves or thirds. The mushrooms will shrink considerably as they cook, so don’t worry about making them too small.

Rinse the mushrooms well and pat them dry before cooking.

As with most chanterelle recipes, this one starts in a dry pan. That’s because these mushrooms hold a ton of internal moisture. Starting in a dry skillet over medium heat allows the mushrooms to release this moisture as they cook down.

Start the mushrooms in a dry pan to allow excess moisture to escape and evaporate.

Once most of the liquid has evaporated, move the mushrooms to one side of the pan and add the oil and butter. Swirl the two together and move the mushrooms back to the center of the skillet. Add the garlic. Sauté over medium heat until the mushrooms are completely cooked through, about 10 minutes, stirring often so the garlic doesn’t burn.

Add the butter and oil to the pan once the mushrooms have softened.

Now to the Crown Royal whiskey. Always measure any flammable alcohol into a smaller container before adding it to a dish for safety. Never pour directly from the bottle.

Measure out the whiskey into a small cup. Never pour a flammable liquid from the bottle straight into the pan.

Carefully add the whiskey to the pan and bring it to a simmer.

Add the whiskey, taking care not to splash any onto an open flame burner.

If you have an audience watching you cook, or if you are just feeling extra fancy, bring the whiskey to a boil and CAREFULLY ignite it with a long lighter. The simmering whiskey is releasing the alcohol vapors which will ignite immediately when exposed to flame.

If you like a good show, you can ignite the fumes from the alcohol.

Stand back when you do this because you will get flames reaching a foot or so high. Make sure there isn’t anything flammable like a curtain or kitchen towel in the area above the pan. Let the flames burn down (it should take 20-30 seconds) and add the fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste to the mushrooms. You can also skip the fire and just allow the alcohol to cook away on its own. The vapors will disperse into the air and the finished product will taste exactly the same.

Add the fresh herbs to the pan just before killing the heat.

Stir and continue cooking for another minute or two before serving. I like to serve this one with any type of grilled or fried meat. The mushrooms work well with a bit of rich gravy over the top as well, but they are perfectly delicious on their own.

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