Duxelles
A seventeenth-century French base, credited to the cook of the Marquis d'Uxelles. It is not a dish but concentrated mushroom flavour in paste form — a kilo of mushrooms leaves only about 300 g of paste. The whole technique is one sentence: chop very fine and cook until completely dry. A damp duxelles makes any pastry soggy and thins any sauce.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Chopping 15 min
- Cooking dry 30 min
- Finishing 8 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneWipe the mushrooms, do not wash
Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth rather than rinsing them. Mushrooms soak up some water, and this entire recipe is about driving water off — do not add more at the start.
Ingredients: 1000 g mushrooms · 4 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 60 g butter · 2 tbsp olive oil
Chop very finely with a knife
Chop the mushrooms with a knife, very finely, almost like mince. A processor easily turns mushrooms into an uneven, wet pulp — if you use one, work in small batches with short pulses. Chop the shallots and garlic just as finely.
Ingredients: 1000 g mushrooms · 4 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 60 g butter · 2 tbsp olive oil
By knife, almost like mince.Soften the shallots in butter
Melt the butter with the oil in a wide pan and cook the shallots with the garlic for 5 minutes, without browning. A wide pan is essential — the more surface area, the faster the best part of a litre of mushroom water evaporates.
Ingredients: 1000 g mushrooms · 4 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 60 g butter · 2 tbsp olive oil
Fry the mushrooms until they release water
Add the mushrooms and cook over high heat. For the first 10 minutes they will swim in their own juices — normal, and not a sign of anything wrong. Do not lower the heat and do not cover.
Ingredients: 1000 g mushrooms · 4 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 60 g butter · 2 tbsp olive oil
They swim in water first — a normal stage.Cook until completely dry
Keep frying about 15 minutes more, until all the water has gone, the mass darkens and starts sticking to the pan. The test: a spatula drawn through leaves a trail that does not fill in. That is the only moment duxelles is ready.
Ingredients: 1000 g mushrooms · 4 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 60 g butter · 2 tbsp olive oil
The spatula trail does not fill in — only now is it done.Deglaze with wine and cook dry again
Pour in the wine with the thyme and reduce it completely, scraping the base. The wine lifts the caramelised residue and brings acidity the mushrooms lack — but it must evaporate entirely.
Ingredients: 100 ml white wine · 4 pcs thyme · 60 ml whipping cream (30%) · 3 tbsp parsley · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper · 1 pinch nutmeg
Season and pot it
Remove the thyme sprigs. If the duxelles is destined for a sauce or a ready filling, pour in the cream and cook 1–2 minutes until thickened. Take off the heat, stir in the parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg and spoon into a jar. Without cream duxelles freezes better and suits anything; with cream it is a ready filling.
Ingredients: 100 ml white wine · 4 pcs thyme · 60 ml whipping cream (30%) · 3 tbsp parsley · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper · 1 pinch nutmeg
Before you start
What it is for
Duxelles is a base, not a dish: it goes into beef Wellington, crepe and dumpling fillings, sauces, risotto, onto toast, into stuffed chicken and vegetables. One of the most versatile preparations in French cooking.
A mix of mushrooms
Chestnut mushrooms alone give a neutral, universal base. Adding 30 g of dried porcini, soaked and chopped, makes a far more intense duxelles — strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter (it can hold grit) and reduce it along with the mushrooms.
Freeze in portions
Duxelles without cream freezes excellently. Spoon it onto a tray in mounds, freeze and transfer to a bag — then you take exactly what you need. It keeps five days in the fridge.