# Dopers who make freezer meals...I have mushrooms to use! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 25, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098 "2012-11-25T21:06:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098/1 "2012-11-25T21:06:39Z")
I bought a pound of white sliced mushrooms on sale, because this is the kind of thing I do the day after Thanksgiving. (Oh, the bargains! I got a cart full of goodies for $53!) Now I don’t know what to do with all these mushrooms! Can I saute them as usual (in oil with garlic), eat what I like, and freeze the rest for a nice chicken-mushroom-barley soup later? I’ve never tried to freeze mushrooms so I’m not sure how well it will work. Advice appreciated! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098/2 "2012-11-25T21:13:48Z")
A pound? A pound, and she’s looking to freeze them?! A pound barely makes us a dinner! 😉 But yes, all teasing aside, cooked mushrooms freeze very well. When I get some on sale, I’ll cook 'em up with some oil, butter and/or bacon grease and then freeze them in ziptop baggies so they’re ready to go into any recipe that calls for sauteed mushrooms. Depending on how many I have and how much I feel like working, sometimes I’ll do half with onions and/or garlic, since so many dishes call for sauteed onions and mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098/3 "2012-11-25T21:21:48Z")
Awesome. 🙂 While I _could_ probably eat the whole pound myself, I’m going to try to restrain myself. The kids don’t understand the deliciousness of sauteed fungi yet. It’s probably a good thing there was only one package–I have a hard time resisting a sale like that. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098/4 "2012-11-26T01:09:18Z")
Duxelles freeze well and would use up all your mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098/5 "2012-11-26T19:01:11Z")
Funny you should mention duxelles. I have that left over (we spread it on crostini as an appetizer)… what would you use it for? I was thinking I could make some sort of pasta sauce with it. Anything else? ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098/6 "2012-11-26T20:38:45Z")
Stuff it in chicken breasts, season it and use it as a ravioli filling, mix it into scrambled eggs, send it to me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098/7 "2012-11-27T15:03:48Z")
Or you can make duxelles, wait til they cool enough to eat, and gobble them out of the pan. Not that I know this from experience… ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098/8 "2012-11-28T00:02:50Z")
No need to saute. Blanch and freeze. I like to freeze them on a quarter sheet pan first (to keep them separated), then toss them into a zipper-top bag. They saute well when thawed, plus you can use them in non-sauteed recipes. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098/9 "2012-11-28T01:12:48Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > Or you can make duxelles, wait til they cool enough to eat, and gobble them out of the pan. Not that I know this from experience… Geez, that makes you sound like a savage (I say as I sneak off to the kitchen in search of mushrooms, butter, herbs and a spoon). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-who-make-freezer-meals-i-have-mushrooms-to-use/642098/10 "2012-11-28T01:18:13Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > No need to saute. Blanch and freeze. I like to freeze them on a quarter sheet pan first (to keep them separated), then toss them into a zipper-top bag. > > They saute well when thawed, plus you can use them in non-sauteed recipes. I didn’t really think about it much until you posted this, but…I literally never don’t sautee the mushrooms. Sometimes in butter, sometimes in oil, sometimes both. Sometimes with onions, sometimes without. But in my kitchen, mushrooms=sauteed. So it’s just easier to do a big batch at once and freeze in meal’s-worth bags. Plus, they take up much less room in my freezer cooked!