A mixed-mushroom cream sauce with real depth: dried porcini for the bass notes, fresh mushrooms browned hard for the top. Steak's earthiest companion.
What you need
Ingredients
Servings
4
Before you start
Mise en place
Yield: About 400 ml
Equipment
Small saucepan
Whisk
Prep checklist
Dried Porcini — soaked in 150 ml hot water
Cremini Mushrooms — sliced
Oyster Mushrooms — torn
Shallot — minced
3 steps
Method
1
Soak the porcini in hot water 15 minutes. Lift them out (keep the liquid!) and chop.
15 min — timer available in cooking mode
Why this works
The soaking liquid is free mushroom stock. Pour it in later, leaving the last gritty spoonful behind.
2
Brown the fresh mushrooms hard in butter — space, high heat, patience — 6–8 minutes; add shallot, garlic, porcini, and thyme for 2 more.
9 min — timer available in cooking mode
3
Deglaze with wine; add the strained soaking liquid and reduce by half, 3 minutes. Add cream and simmer to coating thickness, 4–5 minutes. Season generously.
8 min — timer available in cooking mode
From the pass
Chef's notes
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Airtight jar in the fridge, 3–5 days. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of starch-thickened sauces to stop a skin forming.
Freezing
Most sauces freeze 2–3 months; freeze in ice-cube trays for single portions. Emulsified butter/egg sauces don't freeze — they break on thawing.
Reheating
Reheat gently over low heat, whisking; butter- and egg-based sauces split when boiled. Loosen with a spoonful of warm water or stock.
Make ahead
Most sauces keep 3–5 days refrigerated and freeze in ice-cube trays for instant single portions. Emulsified butter sauces are best made within the hour.