Doppelbock Wild Mushroom Gravy
My take on a Holiday gravy, using a rich malty Doppelbock as a backbone for wild mushrooms to play off.
Servings Prep Time
8guests 15minute
Cook Time
45minute
Servings Prep Time
8guests 15minute
Cook Time
45minute
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat, add the butter. Once melted add the shallots and sauté for 4 – 5 minutes.
  2. To clean the wild mushrooms: use a wet paper towel to help remove some of the dirt, pine needles and any other debris from the outside of the fungus. Slice or chop them, keeping with a cut style with each variety of mushroom. Add the mixed mushrooms to the shallots, with a healthy pinch of salt. Sauté for 8 – 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms have released their water and begin to caramelize. If the pan isn’t large enough, sauté mushrooms in batches.
  3. Deglaze the pan with the Doppelbock, scraping any fond from the bottom of the pan. Let the beer reduced by half, to intensify the flavor and style essence. Add the stock. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to a simmer and cook for 20 – 30 minutes. The final sauce should reduce to about 3 – 4 cups of liquid. Taste and adjust seasons with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
  4. I don’t use a roux (butter and flour) to thicken my gravy, as I like to condense the flavors instead of just thickening them. This will yield a richer tasting gravy.
Recipe Notes

Doppelbock Beer Mushroom Gravy

Mushroom Substitutions:

Dried mushrooms can be used for this recipe, in replace of fresh if they aren’t available.  To use dried mushrooms in this recipe, boiling the stock and add 8 – 12 ounces of dried mushrooms, and let sit covered for 30 minutes, to re-hydrate them.  Scoop the mushrooms out of the stock using a slotted spoon or skimmer and add them to the sautéed shallots.  Strain the stock through a sieve lined with a coffee filter of clean paper towel, in with the mushrooms and shallots.  This will remove any dirt or debris that might be in the dried mushrooms.  Alternatively, you can decant the stock, leaving behind the sediment/debris behind.

 

Beer Substitutions and Suggestions:

Instead of using a Doppelbock, other beer flavors will marry well with the umami rich mushrooms.  Try a low hopped Barleywine, Brown Ale, English Mild, Smoked Stout, Oktoberfest or Oud Bruin.  All these styles will be good substitutes and create a special gravy.

 

For more holiday recipes, check out my Thanksgiving Holiday Feast Menu.

 

Executive Chef: Sean Z. Paxton

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