Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Sausage stuffed mushrooms take about an hour and can be assembled a day ahead. Brown ground Italian pork sausage with the chopped mushroom stems and garlic, stir in cream cheese and Parmesan, and pile the filling into cremini caps. Bake them at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tops are golden and the mushrooms are tender.

Italian sausage is the shortcut that makes this work. It usually comes seasoned, often with fennel, garlic and pepper, so the filling needs very little added to it. The cream cheese holds everything together and the Parmesan browns on top.

At a glance: makes 24, enough for 8 as an appetizer. Prep 20 minutes, cook about 35 minutes, cool 5 minutes.

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PP Pork Italian Sausage, Ground

This recipe uses 1 pound of ground Italian pork sausage, enough to fill 24 mushrooms.

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Gray Shipley, who runs the farm, was asked what makes a great burger. Part of his answer was this:

“let the flavor do the work and don't try to do too much.”

Gray Shipley

He was talking about burgers, not mushrooms, but the advice fits here too. The sausage brings the seasoning and the mushrooms bring the earthiness. It is tempting to add more herbs, more cheese and a spice or two; this filling is short on purpose.

Ingredients

• 24 large cremini mushrooms, about 2 inches across (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground Italian pork sausage
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, divided
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment or foil.
2. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel. Twist out the stems, trim off their dry ends, and chop the stems finely.
3. Toss the caps with the olive oil and lay them gill side down on the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, so they give up some of their liquid. Turn them gill side up and blot any liquid in the pan with a paper towel.
4. While the caps bake, cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small crumbles with a spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes, until browned with no pink left. USDA FSIS sets 160 degrees F for ground pork; check a thick clump with an instant-read thermometer.
5. Add the chopped stems and the garlic and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the mushroom liquid has cooked away. If there is more than a tablespoon of fat in the pan, spoon off the extra.
6. Take the pan off the heat and let the mixture cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, the parsley and the pepper until evenly mixed. Taste it; it rarely needs salt.
7. Fill each cap with a heaped tablespoon or so of the filling, pressing it in lightly and mounding it on top. Mix the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan with the panko, if using, and sprinkle it over the tops.
8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tops are golden and a knife slides easily into the mushrooms. Let them cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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Choosing the mushrooms

Cremini, sometimes sold as baby bella, have more flavor than white button mushrooms and hold their shape better in the oven, but white mushrooms work in the same recipe. Look for caps about 2 inches across, firm and closed underneath, so they hold a good spoonful of filling. For a main course, use 6 portobello caps instead, scrape out the dark gills with a spoon, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes after filling.

Why bake the caps first?

Mushrooms are mostly water. Filled raw, they release it into the filling as they bake and the bottoms turn soggy. Ten minutes in the oven, gill side down, lets that first rush of liquid run out onto the pan instead. It also starts them cooking, so the second bake only has to brown the tops and heat everything through.

Making them ahead

This is a good recipe for a party because almost all of it can be done in advance. Pre-bake the caps and make the filling, let both cool, then fill the caps, cover the pan and refrigerate for up to a day. Bake them straight from the fridge, adding about 5 minutes to the time. You can also make just the filling a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge.

Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheat them in a 350-degree oven until hot through, about 10 minutes, rather than in the microwave, which turns them rubbery.

Can you freeze stuffed mushrooms?

The filling freezes well; the mushrooms less so, since freezing turns them soft and watery. If you want to cook ahead by weeks rather than a day, freeze the cooled filling in a covered container, thaw it overnight in the fridge, and fill fresh caps on the day. Baked leftovers can be frozen too, but expect them to be softer when reheated.

Other sausages that work

Hot Italian sausage gives the filling more heat. Mild breakfast-style pork sausage works too, though you may want a pinch of dried oregano or fennel seed with it. Chorizo makes a smoky, spicier version; the guide below explains how chorizo and Italian sausage differ, and the pork sausage guide covers the rest of the range.

Serving them at a party

Plan on three per person when there are other appetizers, and set them out warm on a platter with small napkins. They are a good thing to have in the oven while guests arrive, especially before a steak dinner; the guide to hosting one is listed below.

Food safety

USDA FSIS lists 160 degrees F as the safe minimum internal temperature for ground pork and sausage, so make sure the sausage reaches it in the skillet before it goes into the filling. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and reheat them to 165 degrees F, the FSIS figure for leftovers. See the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.