Pulled Shiitake Mushroom BBQ

A vegan pulled mushroom burger on a wood butcher block.

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Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Keyword: bbq, mushroom, shiitake

Servings:

Calories: 495.19kcal

Ingredients

2 cups Big Mama's Homemade BBQ Sauce from the cookbook, or store bought
22 ounces shiitake mushrooms
22 ounces baby portobello mushrooms or cremini
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
1 onion large, white or yellow, finely diced
salt and pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns gluten-free options are available in most stores if needed

Suggested Toppings

arugula
tomato slices
sliced dill pickles

Instructions

If not using store-bought, make the BBQ sauce. If you don't already have some on hand, allow the flavors to infuse while you prepare the mushrooms.
Thinly slice the mushrooms. They should look shredded. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Depending on the size of the pan, you may need to cook the mushrooms and onions in two batches. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and onions and stir frequently until the mushrooms lose their water and the onions become translucent and soft, approximately 5-7 minutes.
Turn up the heat to medium-high and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the onions caramelize and the edges of the mushrooms begin to crisp up, approximately 5 minutes.
When the mushrooms and onions are done cooking, add the BBQ sauce to the pan and stir until the mushrooms are completely coated in the sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil on medium heat and then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thick and sticky.
Serve the mushrooms on the buns and top with the arugula, tomato, and sliced pickles.

Notes

Nutrition facts notes: There are not 58 grams of sugar per serving in the homemade sauce. The calculation is based on a generic (unspecified) store-bought bbq sauce, which can have a lot of sugar. I recommend reading the label on any bbq sauce you purchase to control the amount of sugar. This recipe provides for about ½ cup bbq sauce per person, which is quite a bit - consider halving that if concerned.

Kari's Note: If you would rather avoid the oil, I found the water drop method* worked well for this recipe. While the more mushrooms the better in my book, 44 ounces of mushrooms is a lot and can be expensive. I found this recipe could still be thoroughly enjoyed with about half the mushrooms. If you make the recipe that way, I recommend stirring half the BBQ sauce in and then adding more if needed. I liked sticking with all of the onion, though. By the way, Big Mama's BBQ Sauce is one of several sauces to love in this book.

*The water drop method refers to heating the pan to a point where a drop of water forms a ball. At that point, the pan is virtually non-stick, so no oil is needed. I refer to it in my Pureed Potato Leek Soup Recipe post.

Nutrition