Portobello Mushroom Burger Marinade
The marinade for this mushroom burger recipe is very simple. It is a combination of ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. These grilled portobello mushroom burgers start with mushroom caps soaking in an amazing and easy marinade. In just 30 minutes they are ready to toss on the grill. The texture of the mushroom plus the taste of the marinade leaves you with a portobello burger that even my meat eaters love. After they are wiped clean, gently remove the stem. It should pop off, but do it gently so you loose as few of the gills as possible.
Olive Oil: As I mentioned in the Italian Dressing post, you want to keep both extra virgin and regular olive oil on hand. In this recipe we want the regular olive oil because it can stand up to the heat better than extra virgin olive oil, while still providing that great olive oil taste. Balsamic Vinegar: Made from grapes, this vinegar is has a deep and rich flavor to it. Honey: I love the little bit of honey we are using in this recipe. Because it is honey and not granulated sugar, it packs more sweetness per tablespoon so we can use 1 instead of two. The sweetness helps to balance the acidity of the vinegar. Garlic: You will want to grab fresh garlic cloves for this recipe, it brings great flavor to the marinade. Kosher Salt: Please be sure to grab kosher salt when you are making this and not table salt. If you only have table salt on hand, cut the amount in half. Dried Rosemary, Thyme, & Parsley: These three herbs bring a great flavor to the marinade, so don’t overlook them. If you don’t care for one, you can leave it out and increase the other two. I do not recommend using fresh herbs here as they won’t hold up to the heat of the grill. Black Pepper & Red Pepper Flakes: These both bring flavor and some heat. If you are sensitive to heat, I recommend leaving one of the two out.
Serving
These make a great veggie burger. I love them on a substantial kaiser roll with some tomatoes and lettuce. You could kick them up a notch by adding some pickled red onions or some cheese. Swiss cheese, mozzarella, or cheddar would be amazing on these. Just add it right before pulling them off the grill. Though you see the mushrooms in a reusable container here, this is one of the few recipes where I suggest marinating them in a sealable plastic bag. I hate doing single use plastic, but the bag really allows you to toss the burgers around a few times while they are marinating. That being said, both ways work, both deliver delicious burgers.
Substitutions and Variations
Make it low carb. These are amazing on buns, but they are also great as part of a lettuce wrap. Swap the vinegar. If you don’t have balsamic vinegar on hand, swap it for red wine vinegar. I highly suggest that you taste the marinade before pouring it over your mushrooms to make sure there aren’t any other adjustments you want to make. Play around with the herbs. Nathan doesn’t love thyme, so when I make these for him, I leave it out, and add just a touch more rosemary and parsley. Up the heat. These already have a little kick to them. If you want to increase that, toss in more red pepper flakes.
Add them to a salad. Slice them up and add them to your favorite salad. I add them to this kale salad and loved it way more than I even expected to. Make them part of an omelet. Dice them up to add a little “meat” to your favorite omelet.
