Crabmeat Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms Help?!!

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Zhizara

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Okay so I had a hankering for crabmeat and decided Portabella mushrooms would be good too.

Now, I'm undecided on how to do this.

I usually slice the portabellas and simmer them in garlic butter, but I'd really like them whole.

Does anyone have experience with baking them whole? I think it would be better to have the mushrooms at least half baked (?!!!) before adding the stuffing.

I think I'll wing it with the crab stuffing. I have sherry, butter and Ritz style crackers, Panko, etc. I don't want to many ingredients as I want the crab flavor to stand out.

C'mon folks give me a hand here.
 
Okay so I had a hankering for crabmeat and decided Portabella mushrooms would be good too.

Now, I'm undecided on how to do this.

I usually slice the portabellas and simmer them in garlic butter, but I'd really like them whole.

Does anyone have experience with baking them whole? I think it would be better to have the mushrooms at least half baked (?!!!) before adding the stuffing.

I think I'll wing it with the crab stuffing. I have sherry, butter and Ritz style crackers, Panko, etc. I don't want to many ingredients as I want the crab flavor to stand out.

C'mon folks give me a hand here.

If you can fit them whole in a skillet, cook them w/ some butter, garlic (and white wine) till tender. Then stuff them, and bake or put under the broiler. Or, bake or broil the caps till tender, stuff, cover with foil & bake. I grill the caps and stuff them.

ETA: If you decide to grill them, here's the idea:

Grilled Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-stuffed-portobello-mushrooms-10000000226538/
 
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I bake common white mushrooms (usually with other vegetables) as a snack or appetizer. They are cut in half (big ones in quarters) but with no other preparation or ingredients. While baking they lose their crispiness and become more tender and juicy, and that their flavor intensifies. If you continue to bake them they will wrinkle more and more and eventually they will dry out. IMO you could cook them to any desired degree of doneness and tenderness as long as you attend to monitoring their progress. In your initial experimentation just add a few extra mushrooms to sacrifice in taste and doneness testing.

I can't say for portabellas but the whites may take 10-15-20 minutes at 350 depending on desired degree of doneness.

I like experimenting with cooking. You should just experiment. As another test you should saute some of the portabella caps in perhaps garlic butter or garlic EVOO, compare and contrast the results.

I presume you will remove the stems and mince or finely dice them and saute them and add them to the stuffing.
 
If you can fit them whole in a skillet, cook them w/ some butter, garlic (and white wine) till tender. Then stuff them, and bake or put under the broiler. Or, bake or broil the caps till tender, stuff, cover with foil & bake. I grill the caps and stuff them.
Yeah we posted at almost the exact same instant and I didn't see your post until after (I type slower, type more, or both), you've brought up a good idea: the broiler! This is another easy, quick and controllable way to get the mushroom caps tender and juicy. I think you could broil them, flip them, broil them some more, then stuff them and bake them afterwards.

I'm not entirely sure you couldn't just go direct from fresh mushrooms stuffed and baked. I've experimented only with what I outlined above.

But one thing for sure, I'd eat them! I'd even volunteer to be Zhizara's g-pig! :pig: That's "G" for Greg not "G" for guinea. ;)

One really good thing about pigging out on mushrooms. They have practically no calories! Whenever you eat mushrooms the only dietary concern is what they're cooked with. That's why I like the cooked but otherwise natural white mushrooms. You could eat as much as you like and there are no dietary concerns. It's a perfect food in that it tastes good yet there is no remorse.
 
I usually steam them when I am going to stuff them, Z! Clean, stem and gill them, sprinkle with garlic, wrap in foil and toss them in the oven, they will keep their juices then. You can also add a little butter to each cap.
 
Great ideas! First, there are two HUGE portabellas (6 oz. total) not a bunch of little ones. No stems.

Princess, how do you steam them? If I make garlic butter, can I steam them whole in it?
 
Great ideas! First, there are two HUGE portabellas (6 oz. total) not a bunch of little ones. No stems.

Princess, how do you steam them? If I make garlic butter, can I steam them whole in it?

I usually scrape out the gills and rinse with water. Sprinkle with garlic and add the butter to the cap. Wrap in foil and toss in oven, they will steam themselves. I would set the oven the same temp as you will be baking with the stuffing. I use 350°. Should take about 20 minutes. When they are tender, leave in the foil, stuff and bake with the foil open. That way you keep all the juices from the mushrooms.
 
Sounds good, your majesty. Will do. I'll probably wait until this evening just to see if I get great input. I'm hoping for some ingenious ideas as to the stuffing. It cost me almost $7 for the crab meat!!

I made stuffed baby bellas once before and they were really great, but the baby bellas don't have the great flavor of the big portabellas.
 
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Do you have celery or celery seed? Onion? Mince the veggies, mix in with the crab and Panko. I think the Ritz would be too much flavor. The garlic butter and mushroom juices fropm steaming the caps should be all the liquid you need.

Now I am hungry!
 
I agree. Ritz worked well with lobster stuffing, but would overpower the crabmeat. I have fresh celery, but also have celery seed.

I'm planning on using the celery for chicken salad, etc.
 
Do you have celery or celery seed? Onion? Mince the veggies, mix in with the crab and Panko. I think the Ritz would be too much flavor. The garlic butter and mushroom juices fropm steaming the caps should be all the liquid you need.

Now I am hungry!

I am with you PF. I don't know whose idea it was to use Ritz crackers as a stuffing. If you read the list of ingredients, you will see sugar right up there. Do you really want a sugart, sweet flavor with your seafood? There is so much sugar in Ritz that it comes through no matter what you use them for. Or maybe bcause I don't eat very many sweets,I can detect it more quickly. Panko will do just fine. The main food is the crab. Let me taste that first. :chef:
 
I never precook mushrooms before stuffing. Just stuff and bake.

Ritz crackers are a great stuffing material for seafood.
 
At work they just scoop the stems out, plop a dollop of stuffing on each hollowed out mushroom cap, cover with cheese, and broil. Our stuffing has crab and minced shrimp, and breadcrumbs. Now sure what else.
 
Zhizara: Ritz Crackers Distract From Delicate Crab

:yum: Good Afternoon Zhizara,

I have just encountered your SOS thread and have a little advice ...

Let me start with:

1. Ritz Crackers distract from such a delicate shellfish

2. Yes, I agree that Baking under Broiler for the Mushrooms could be the best way to go: minced garlic, 1 tblsp Evoo and 1 tblsp butter, and sea salt ... that is all good mushrooms need plus the parsley minced fine ...

Broil / Grill in Oven ... until golden and tender ... 3 mins per side or 4 mins per side; Then, place the crab salad inside, and broil another minute or two.

3. Crab Stuffing: a drizzle of lemon, very finely chopped parsley, a bit of minced celery, freshly ground black, green or rose pepper and a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which in turn, you can either have a chunky crab texture or a mousse ( blender or food processor ) ... It is not necessary to use day old bread crumbs or Panko however, a sprinkle yes, for the baking of the top and keep it light, not to distract from the crab ...

Serve with assorted breadsticks and country crusty warm oven bread ...

Garnish: ripe cherry tomatoes for eyes, a carrot strip for a nose and black olives for the mouth ...

Margi. :yum:
 
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I would use Panko, since you want the crab to be the "star."

I'm thinking crab cakes. You could add some lime juice or old bay, parsley or cilantro, diced red and/or green bell pepper, or chopped artichoke hearts to the mix.
 
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I'd don't like putting raw mushrooms under the broiler. Then never cook properly, & I don't like raw stuffed mushrooms.

What I do is place the de-stemmed mushroom caps in boiling water to cover by a couple of inches, & blanch them for about 5 minutes. Not only does this soften the caps so they're semi-cooked prior to stuffing & broiling, but the remaining water makes a TERRIFIC addition to soup stock.

As for stuffings, there are more recipes out there than one can count - from just using the chopped up stems + seasonings, to sausage, seafood, escargot - you name it, you can most likely stuff it into a mushroom.

Sometimes we just make a meal out of them along with a nice green salad & some good crusty bread.
 
This poor crab meat is being "Thought" to death. Let the crab meat be the star while it sits on the mushroom. :ermm:
 
In Spain, we place Evoo in a sauté pan, sauté the ceps with a bit of minced garlic and a sprinkle of parsley fresh ... and that is it ...

Crab meat is gorgeous on its own ...

Both these products are stars, in their own right, and perhpas combining them, can be a bit conflictive after all the after thought --- both are unique in their own right ...

Margi.
 
Am I the only one who finds portabello stems too tough even if chopped up for eating? I only use them when making stock and strain them out after the stock is done. No amount of cooking tenderizes them. It is like chewing on tree trunks. :ohmy:
 
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