3-5lbswild or cultivated mushrooms, depending on availabilitytrim, woody ends, etc.
85gramsroughly 6 tablespoons kosher salt
1tablespoonground black pepper
Up to 2 qts wateramounts of natural water in mushrooms will vary
2Tablespoonsminced garlic
2fresh bay leaves
1Tablespoonsallspice berriestoasted
2Tablespoonschopped fresh ginger
1teaspoondried thyme
10whole clovestoasted
2tablespoonworchesterchire, or to taste optional, for color
1cupsapple cider vinegaror white wine, etc, use your favorite
Instructions
Crush or chop the allspice and cloves. Pulse the mushrooms in a food processor, being very careful to coarsely pulse them in small batches, as over-processing will give a cloudy sauce.
Combine the ground mushrooms with the salt and remaining ingredients except the water in a stock pot.
Assess the amount of liquid, adding some of the water to moisten until the mixture is wet and slushy (dryer mushroom like polypores may take up to 1 qt of water, where boletes and cultivated mushrooms might take half that) Transfer the pot to a burner and bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and leave overnight to cool and infuse. Transfer it to a smaller container that will fit in your refrigerator overnight.
The next day, warm the mushrooms and the liquid. Pour the mixture into a strainer lined with cheesecloth and allow to drain (you may need to work in batches. After the liquid has drained, squeeze the cheesecloth with a few handfuls of mushroom at a time to extract as much liquid as possible.
Reduce the liquid until roughly 4 cups remain (or until you like the flavor, it should taste a bit like light soy) then pour into a labeled container, chill and refrigerate until needed.
The ketchup will keep for a long time.
Notes
You'll notice there's Worcestershire in here. While not traditional, it doesn't change the flavor, and is mostly there for color. I use it only for mushroom species that will give a dark juice. Omit if you make this with chicken of the woods, chanterelle, hedgehog, dryad saddle, or other mushrooms that give a light colored juice.