Name: Garlic Butter Mushrooms with Cognac
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons butter (divided); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 pound mushrooms (button or cremini); 1 medium shallot (diced); 4 garlic cloves (minced); Kosher salt; Pepper; 1/4 cup cognac; 2 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon (chopped or 1 teaspoon dried)

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A quick and easy side dish of tender mushrooms, shallots, and loads of garlic, sauteed in butter until golden brown, then splashed with lemon juice and enough cognac to make them heavenly. This is the perfect side for your steaks, chops, or chicken, and makes your meal go from good to phenomenal.

Golden sautéed mushrooms with garlic butter and shallots.

I love making garlic butter mushrooms with cognac because they take less than 30 minutes - and that’s padding the time. They turn any meal into an elegant one just because of the cognac. The scent of the liqueur is heavenly to me. Although I don’t drink it, I cook with it because it delivers a flavor and scent that makes my eyes roll back. What’s even better is when I ignite the alcohol and watch it burn off. It just makes me feel like I’m channeling one of my favorite chefs like Julia or Jacques. I don’t recommend you doing it if you don’t feel comfortable. Don’t want to start any kitchen fires.

Don’t worry when you see the amount of cognac I use in this recipe for the amount of mushrooms. I mean, if I’m going to use cognac in the title then it has to have a good amount in it. Two tablespoons is just a tease and I’m not a tease. I wouldn’t use the expensive stuff here, but I wouldn’t use the cheapest either. Use what you want.

To clean the mushrooms - brush, wipe, or rinse?

Like I’ve stated in caramelized onion stuffed mushrooms and Tony’s sauteed mushrooms posts, I rinse them before I cook them. I honestly cannot see someone just stand there wiping mushrooms with a paper towel. First, I think it’s silly and I laugh when I picture it. Second, who has that freaking time? Third, it doesn’t remove all the dirt and I have already had the bad experience of eating dirt from mushrooms served at a party and I don’t want anyone eating my dishes to go through that.

Browning mushrooms in butter in a a skillet.

It’s common sense and I know that although blogs and “chefs” talk as if we don’t have any, I refuse to do that with you. Just quickly rinse the mushrooms under running water and place them on some paper towels and dry them. Easy. Done and done. I only rinse whole mushrooms and whatever any chef tells you, they don’t absorb enough water that will destroy the texture as long as you quickly rinse them and pat them dry. Ok? Ok.

Sautéing shallots, mushroom stems, and garlic with button mushrooms.

Adding butter to mushrooms in a skillet.

What we do want the mushrooms to absorb are all these magnificent flavors we are going to mix them with:

Butter
Garlic
Shallots
Lemon juice
Cognac
Tarragon

I remove the stems from the mushrooms, trim off the ends, and dice them small. I saute them along with the garlic and shallots. Why waste them? You get a nice texture of the mushroom along with bits from the stem, garlic and shallots with every bite.

A closeup of a sautéed mushroom with garlic and shallots.

Serve these with steak, pork chops, lamb chops, chicken, or even some ground beef.

Try some of my other delicious sides:

Life is too short for mediocre food.