Lion's mane
We like lion's mane when we want a mushroom that can sit in the middle of the plate. It is mild, a little sweet, and easy to brown. More ideas from other cooks are on our lion's mane recipes page.
Meet the Mushroom
Raw, it is mild and faintly sweet. After a hard sear it picks up a savory, seafood-like taste.
People often say crab or lobster. We mostly taste browned mushroom and butter.
The outside is a mop of soft teeth. Inside, the flesh is dense. Pull it with your fingers and it shreds into strands. That shred is what makes a steak or a patty work.
If you boil it, it goes soft and watery. We sear it instead.
How We Grow It
We grow mushrooms on our farm in Winston-Salem. We sell lion's mane harvested the same week, to the public and to partner stores.
Storage
Keep it dry and cold. Cook it while it is still white and springy.
We sell lion's mane harvested the same week, to the public and to partner stores. We pull unsold mushrooms from stores after one week at the most. At home, fresh Brown Deer lion's mane keeps in the fridge for about two more weeks. Store it in a kraft paper bag so condensation does not make it wet and the mushroom can breathe.
If the teeth slump and the smell turns sour, compost it. Do not try to rescue it with a heavy sauce.
How to Cook It
- Brush off dirt or sawdust with a dry brush or a towel. Skip a long soak. The teeth hold water, and a wet mushroom will not brown.
- Trim any dark or dried bits. If the base is tough, cut it off. Then tear the mushroom into steaks or shreds, whatever the dish needs.
- Get the pan hot. Use enough oil or butter to coat the surface. Salt the mushroom, then lay it in the pan in a single layer.
- Leave it alone until the face is deep brown. Flip once. A thick piece needs a few more minutes so the center heats through. It is done when the shreds are tender and the outside is crisp in spots.
Recipes
Seared steak
Cut a thick slab. Press it lightly with a spatula while it sears so the face stays flat. Finish with butter, salt, and a squeeze of lemon. This is the plate in the photo above. A written version from another kitchen is the seared lion's mane steak on our recipes list. Derek Sarno's lion's mane steak presses a whole mushroom flat, then sears it after a marinade of red wine, soy sauce, beet powder, thyme, garlic, and onion. He shows three routes: press first, marinate first, or vacuum-seal the mushroom in the marinade before cooking.
Crispy sandwich
Tear the mushroom into cutlet-sized pieces. Season them, dust with flour, and fry until the crust is crisp. Put one on a bun with pickles. The hot honey lion's mane sandwich on the recipes page is a richer take on the same idea.
Butter and noodles
Shred a smaller mushroom into bite-size pieces. Sear them until the edges brown, then toss with hot noodles, butter, garlic, and black pepper. A handful of parsley is plenty. You do not need a long ingredient list.
Grow It at Home
Growing difficulty
- Easy with a kit
- Harder from scratch
A ready fruiting kit is the simple start. You mist it, keep it out of direct sun, and wait for the teeth to lengthen. We rate that as easy if you can remember to check it each day.
Starting from spawn, or from a log, takes more patience and a cleaner setup. We would call that a moderate project, not a first weekend.
We sell lion's mane grow kits. They are coming to our online store soon. Until then, contact us if you want one.
When your home grow is ready, cook it the same way we cook the mushrooms from the farm. If you would rather buy fresh mushrooms, ask us what we have this week.