When Mushrooms Release Water in the Pan

A pool of liquid in the mushroom pan need not mean the sauté has gone wrong. In the method Leah Colins describes for Serious Eats, releasing moisture is a planned phase: first cook with the lid on, then uncover for browning.

Colins explains that the trapped steam softens the mushrooms’ structure. Once they have released their liquid, remove the lid so the water can evaporate, then brown the mushrooms, stirring occasionally. Watch for that release of liquid as the cue to uncover the pan.

Try this with cultivated button mushrooms, one of the varieties Colins tested. Timing varies with the quantity and pan; this is one method, not a requirement for every mushroom. For ingredient quantities and the complete cooking instructions, follow Colins’s linked recipe below. No cooking test was carried out for this article.