Lions mane steaks are a great vegetarian or vegan mushroom entree, and one of the most popular lions mane recipes out there. If you've already made vegetarian mushroom crabcakes from them this is another everyone needs to try. Read on and I'll explain how to make it.
Chef's Tips
- This recipe can only be made with true lions mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceous). Other Hericium mushrooms like H. corralloides and H. americanum are not thick enough to be cut into steaks.
- Use a weight to compress the mushrooms as they cook. A bacon press is the best, but a heavy pan or a small cookie sheet with a weight on it works fine too.
- Another good way to make these is dipping the mushrooms in blackening or Creole seasoning instead of flour to make spicy, blackened lions mane steaks.
How to Cook Lions Mane Steaks
The first thing to do is to buy large lions mane mushrooms that can be cut into thick slices.
It can be tricky to find large lions mane at grocery stores. If you only see small ones, call a local mushroom grower and ask them for one.
After you cut the mushrooms into slices you'll have some pieces left over. You can cook those and freeze them or save to make lions mane crabcakes.
After the mushrooms are sliced they're dipped in flour and cooked in a nonstick skillet until golden.
Flip the mushrooms when one side is golden brown. If the pan gets dry don't be afraid to add another drizzle of oil.
For the best texture, you'll want to press the mushrooms with a weight as they cook. This helps to remove excess water and get them crisp. Make sure to keep an eye on the heat so they don't burn.
Once the steaks are cooked through and browned on both sides they're ready to serve. Put them on a preheated dinner plate with a side of seasonal vegetables and spoon the tomato salad on top if you're serving it with them.
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Seared Lions Mane Steak with Baby Tomato-Herb Salad
Equipment
- 1 12 inch cast iron skillet or another large skillet or griddle
- 1 bacon press Another large pan can be used to press the mushrooms
Ingredients
Lions Mane Steaks
- 1 lb lions mane mushrooms
- All purpose flouror equivalent as needed, about ½ cup
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons cooking oil such as grapeseed
Baby Tomato Salad (optional)
- 8 oz fresh cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes halved
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice a generous squeeze
- 1 oz fresh scallions thinly sliced
- 3-4 large basil leaves or mint leaves torn
- 1 large bell pepper
Instructions
Tomato Salad
- Char the pepper over a burner until blackened all over. Put the pepper in a paper bag and cool. Remove the skin and seeds from the pepper and rinse if needed, then cut into ½inch cubes or diamond shapes.
- Cut the tomatoes in half and combine with the roasted pepper and scallions in a bowl. Add the olive oil and basil, season with salt and pepper to taste and reserve.
Lions Mane Mushroom Steaks
- Cut the mushroom into thick slices about 3-4 inches thick. You may have some extra pieces of mushroom left over you can save for stir fry or another recipe.
- Mix a half teaspoon of salt and a generous pinch of pepper with the flour in a wide bowl.
- Heat half of the oil in a large cast iron skillet.
- Dip the cut sides of the mushrooms in flour and tap off the excess.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook over medium-high heat until browned on the bottom.
- Flip the mushrooms, add the rest of the cooking oil and cover the mushrooms with a weight like a bacon press or another cast iron pan.
- Cook the mushrooms until golden brown on the bottom and prepare to serve them.
- Remove the mushrooms from the pan and place on a paper towel for a minute to drain excess oil.
- Put one mushroom on each of two preheated dinner plates, spoon the tomato salad and juices over the top and serve.
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