How to clean and cook oyster mushrooms

What is the best way to cook oyster mushrooms?

Oyster mushrooms are best torn apart by hand and cooked in a hot, wide pan in a single layer until the edges brown. Wikipedia describes the taste as mild with a slight aniseed aroma, and the flesh as firm. That mild flavour comes forward as the mushroom browns; boiled or stewed in their own liquid, oyster mushrooms stay pale and soft.

The oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) is one of the most widely cultivated mushrooms in the world; Turkish Wikipedia lists it as kavak mantarı. The fresh oyster mushrooms you buy in a shop or from a grower usually arrive clean, which shortens the prep. Below we go through every step from cleaning to serving.

How do you clean oyster mushrooms, and should you wash them?

Oyster mushrooms are not held under the tap; wipe them with a soft brush or damp cloth. Their gills are exposed, so they absorb a lot of water when washed: in America's Test Kitchen's before-and-after weighing, varieties with exposed gills took up lots of water, and the advice was to wipe rather than wash them. A waterlogged oyster mushroom steams instead of browning.

If you do get a gritty cluster, a very quick rinse, an immediate pat-dry and cooking straight away is an acceptable compromise. We cover the general rules in should you wash mushrooms.

1. Cut away the tough, fused base of the cluster with a knife.
2. Pull the mushrooms apart by hand along the grain; tear large caps in two or three.
3. Brush debris from between the gills and wipe the caps with a damp cloth.
4. Clean them just before cooking; don't store cleaned mushrooms.

How do you pan-fry oyster mushrooms?

To pan-fry oyster mushrooms, spread them in a single layer in a hot, wide pan and leave them undisturbed at first. As they heat they release liquid; if the pan isn't crowded, it evaporates quickly and the mushrooms start to brown. In a full pan the liquid pools, the mushrooms stew in it and turn rubbery. Cook in two batches if needed.

1. Heat a wide pan well on the hob and add a little oil.
2. Lay the torn mushrooms in a single layer, without overlapping.
3. Leave them undisturbed until they release their liquid and it cooks off.
4. Turn them once the undersides are golden; add butter or garlic at this stage if you like.
5. Salt at the end; early salt draws out more liquid.
6. Take them off the heat when the edges are browned and the pan is dry.

Piece size, pan width and burner power set the time. Go by sight, not minutes: once the liquid has gone and the edges are browned, they are done.

Oven-roasted, grilled and fried oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms can also be roasted, grilled or fried; in every method the aim is to drive off the liquid quickly and brown the surface. According to the culinary notes on Wikipedia, street vendors in Indonesia deep-fry them until crisp, in Poland they are breaded and used in place of meat, in Czech and Slovak cooking they go into soups and stews, and in East Asia they are common in stir-fries and soy-sauce dishes.

To roast them, toss with oil, spread them out on a tray and cook at a high temperature until the edges crisp. On the grill, use large pieces; thin fronds fall through the bars. For crisp frying, the classic route is a coating of flour or breadcrumbs and hot oil, which we cover step by step in our crispy oyster mushrooms recipe. For a preparation that plays on the meaty, shreddable texture, see our oyster mushroom döner.

• Pan: fastest; single layer, hot pan, leave undisturbed.
• Oven: for larger batches; a sparsely laid tray, high heat.
• Grill: large pieces, surfaces brushed with oil.
• Frying: coated in flour or breadcrumbs, with a crisp crust.

Why do oyster mushrooms release water and turn rubbery?

Oyster mushrooms release the water in their cells as they heat, and they won't brown until it has evaporated. A rubbery texture usually develops at this stage: in a crowded pan, over low heat or if the mushrooms were washed and waterlogged, they stew in their own liquid and turn spongy.

Age affects texture too. Wikipedia notes that as oyster mushrooms age, the flesh toughens and the flavour turns acrid, so choose fresh mushrooms with thin caps and curled edges. Thick, hard stem bases can stay chewy even after long cooking; cut them away.

• Crowded pan: liquid pools; cook in two batches.
• Low heat: they release liquid before browning; heat the pan well.
• Wet mushrooms: wipe them clean, or dry thoroughly if washed.
• Old mushrooms: tough flesh and sharp taste; choose fresh ones.

Do pink, yellow and king oyster mushrooms cook differently?

Pink, yellow and king oyster mushrooms cook by the same methods, but their texture and keeping qualities differ. The pink oyster mushroom (Pleurotus djamor) turns meaty and chewy when cooked; Wikipedia notes that fried, it is said to resemble bacon, and that its shelf life is very short. Cook it the day you buy it.

The golden oyster mushroom, with thin, brittle, lightly scented caps, cooks fast and can fall apart if cooked long. The species sold as king oyster is Pleurotus eryngii, known in the wild in Turkey as çaşır mantarı: its thick, meaty white stem is sliced and pan-fried or grilled like meat. If you cook thin oyster mushrooms and thick king oysters in one pan, put the king oysters in first.

What goes well with oyster mushrooms?

Thanks to their mild flavour, oyster mushrooms pair well with pasta, rice, eggs and vegetable dishes. Pan-browned with garlic and butter, they work as a meze on their own; added to mushroom pasta or mushroom pilaf, they become a main course. Thyme, black pepper and lemon zest complement the mild taste without overpowering it, while chilli or soy sauce takes them in an East Asian direction. For every recipe in one place, see our oyster mushroom recipes collection.

If you'd like to grow your own, an oyster mushroom grow kit brings fresh mushrooms straight to the kitchen; we explain how to use one in how to use a mushroom grow kit.

How should you store oyster mushrooms?

Store oyster mushrooms unwashed in the fridge, in a paper bag or open container, and cook them within a few days. Penn State Extension notes that mushrooms keep for up to 3 days in the fridge in their container or a paper bag, while in a plastic bag moisture collects and spoils them. Thin-gilled oyster mushrooms are especially sensitive to damp; throw them out if they turn slimy or smell off.

Cooked oyster mushrooms can be kept briefly in a covered container in the fridge and reheated thoroughly. Whether oyster mushrooms can be eaten raw is covered separately in which mushrooms can you eat raw.