How to cook lion’s mane
Fresh lion’s mane cooks best slowly, starting in a dry pan. How to choose it, store it and cook it four simple ways.
Lion’s mane is, first of all, a mushroom you can eat. Cooked, it is mild, slightly sweet and stringy, which is why people compare it to crab or lobster. It is easy to cook once you know two things: do not wash it, and start it in a dry pan. Below: how to choose, store and clean it, the basic method, four ideas and the most common mistakes.
Where to get fresh lion’s mane
Leave wild lion’s mane alone. It is rare in Europe, picking it is illegal in some countries, and in Lithuania even its relative, the coral tooth fungus, is in the Red Data Book. Look for fresh ones from mushroom growers, at markets or in farm shops, or grow your own from an inoculated log or a grow bag. Dried lion’s mane and powder are easier to find online.
How to choose and store it
A good fresh mushroom is white or pale cream, firm, slightly springy and smells pleasantly of mushrooms. Yellow or brown spines mean it is old. Younger mushrooms taste milder and have a softer texture.
Keep it in the fridge in a paper bag or another breathable container, away from strong smelling food. It keeps for up to a week. Do not wash or slice it in advance: cut or damp mushrooms spoil faster.
How to clean it
Lion’s mane soaks up water like a sponge, so do not rinse it under the tap. Trim off the darker base and any damaged spots, then brush or wipe the spines with a soft brush or a damp cloth to remove any bits of sawdust or soil.
The basic method: dry pan first
This works for almost any recipe. For four servings you need:
- 450 g fresh lion’s mane;
- 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter or olive oil;
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce;
- salt.
- Slice the mushroom about 1 cm thick, or tear it into pieces by hand.
- Heat a pan over medium to high heat and add the mushroom to the dry pan, with no fat.
- Cook for a few minutes on each side until the water has evaporated. The pieces will shrink a little.
- Add the butter or oil and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, until nicely browned.
- Take the pan off the heat, add the soy sauce and salt to taste.
The main thing is not to overcook it: fried too long, it turns overly crisp and loses its delicate taste.
Four ideas
Lion’s mane steaks. Cut thicker slices, about 2 cm, and cook them in a dry pan, pressing down with a spatula. Once the water is gone, add butter, a clove of garlic and a sprig of thyme, and spoon the melted butter over the slices a few times. Serve with roast potatoes and a wedge of lemon.
On rye toast. Dry fry torn pieces, then finish them in butter with chopped garlic. Pile onto toasted rye bread, scatter with dill and squeeze over some lemon. A quick breakfast or snack.
Crab style cakes. Shred the mushroom finely, dry fry briefly and let it cool. Mix with an egg, a spoon of mayonnaise, a teaspoon of mustard and a handful of breadcrumbs. Shape into small cakes and chill for 30 minutes. Fry in oil for 4 minutes on each side and serve with lemon.
With pasta and cream. Dry fry the pieces, then cook them in butter with a chopped shallot. Pour in 200 ml of cream and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens. Stir in cooked pasta and season with grated lemon zest, black pepper and grated hard cheese.
Common mistakes
- Rinsing it. The mushroom fills with water and steams instead of browning.
- Adding lots of fat at the start. While the pieces are still wet they soak up the fat and stay pale. Let the water cook off first.
- Crowding the pan. If the pieces are piled up, the steam has nowhere to go. Cook in two batches.
- Boiling it too long. In soup or sauce it turns rubbery, so brown it separately and add it at the end.
- Eating it raw. Raw lion’s mane is tough and a little bitter, so keep it out of salads.
Flavours that work
Lion’s mane has a mild flavour that is easy to drown out. Butter, garlic, thyme, lemon, dill, soy sauce and cream suit it best. With potatoes, rice or pasta it can stand in for meat or fish, and in a cream sauce it tastes a little like seafood.
Dried lion’s mane
Soak dried mushrooms in warm water for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking. Cook the soaked pieces the same way as fresh ones, and strain the soaking water into a soup or sauce. Powder works in soups, stews and sauces. Keep dried mushrooms and powder in a sealed jar in a cool, dark place.
Fresh mushrooms and capsules
Cerebro does not sell fresh mushrooms. Our product is a food supplement: lion’s mane extract capsules. How fresh mushroom, powder and capsules compare is covered in Capsules, powder or fresh mushroom. Its ingredients and full label are on the product page, and how an extract is made from the mushroom is explained in Fruiting body or mycelium: how mushroom extracts differ. More about the mushroom itself: What is lion’s mane. Choose your set
