Chanterelle mushrooms. One of the most delectable of all mushrooms. It is described as having a fruity smell, similar to that of apricots, and a mildly peppery taste. Chanterelles have graced dinner plates as far back as the 1500’s, but it wasn’t until the 1700’s that they gained widespread recognition as a culinary delicacy in French cuisine. During the 18th century they were most commonly eaten among nobility. Fortunately they are widely accessible today and are harvested and enjoyed throughout many countries.
Chanterelle mushrooms twin beautifully with cream sauces. Here is a delicious cream sauce to serve with your favorite cut of steak.
Though the chanterelle season has just passed, they can still be found in stores. Get them now while you can! That said, dried chanterelles can be found any time and many argue are equally delicious. Some chefs even argue that reconstituted chanterelles have more depth of flavor. Either way, this is a sauce you won’t want to pass up!
Chanterelles are expensive, but they are very light and 6 oz. will give you all you need for this recipe.
This sauce also goes well with pork chops and chicken steaks.
- 4 8oz top sirloin, New York, or Rib eye steaks
- Salt and pepper
- Sauce:
- 6 oz chanterelle mushrooms
- 1 tbs butter
- 2 tbs finely minced shallots
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp cracked black peppercorns
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon granules
- Fresh parsley for garnish
- Carefully clean the mushrooms. Dry-fry them in a pan until most of the moisture from mushrooms is cooked out. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in the pan. Saute the shallots and garlic until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and the mushrooms and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the cover and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add more heavy cream for a thicker sauce, add more wine for a thinner sauce.
- Generously rub the steaks with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Prepare a grill or cast iron ribbed pan. Grill on both sides for 3-5 minutes, or until desired doneness is reached.
- Spoon the sauce over the steaks, garnish with chopped parsley, and serve immediately.
Danette Pascoe says
Every year, since I stumbled upon this recipe years ago, for the brief period of time when I can find chanterelles, I go to this recioe. Never disappoints, I make it to the letter, thank you!
Kimberly Killebrew says
Thank you so much, Danette, I’m thrilled that this recipe has become a tradition!
Jessica Adams-Frazier says
I use chardonnay.. usually infused with fruits. Super duper.
Kourtney says
Made only the sauce and put it on pork chops. SO FLIPPING GOOD! I will literally use this sauce on everything!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Kourtney! I totally understand – I love this sauce on pork, beef, chicken, mashed potatoes….it’s good stuff :) Thanks so much for the feedback!
Thomas says
This looks sooooooo amazing!!! Is there any recommended types of wine to use with the chanterelle sauce?
rick says
I simmered babby potatoes in the sauce during its 20 minute simmer!!! OMG
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Great choice, Rick, that sounds fabulous!
Anonymous says
I made this with a hedgehog mushrooms I harvested instead of chantrelles. Similar flavor, very delicious recipe.
Marv Paule says
This sauce sounded good, but was a disaster. You can’t cook any milk product so long or it separates into grease and curd. Further, adding wine, which is acidic also causes the cream to separate. By the time this “sauce” was cooked as described, the chanterelles were suspended in a sea of grease.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Marv, I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you. One advantage of heavy cream is that unlike milk it does not curdle with the addition of acidulants. But yes, if a cream sauce is over-reduced it will separate, hence the need to avoid over-cooking.
Beverley says
I had the same thing happen because I used whole milk…..my bad, but didn’t know that it would curdle. The taste is really good but the visual is a little upsetting. Good thing it’s just my husband and myself tonight – he likes everything I put in front of him.
Steve says
I’ve followed many steak sauce recipes and made a lot of steak sauces in the past decade and I have to say that this is our favorite sauce by far. It has become our go to steak sauce. Fresh chanterelle mushrooms are hard to come by (hopefully with Amazon acquiring Whole Foods, this will change in the future), so we use dehydrated chanterelle mushrooms instead. We rehydrate them by simmering in 2 cups of white wine until reduced to 1/4 cup as the recipe suggests. I wonder how the sauce tastes with morel mushrooms instead of chanterelle?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Steve, thank you! We love this sauce too and though morels are another great option, there’s just something extra special about chanterelles.
Dianne says
I rarely eat red meat. I wonder how it would be with chicken? Or maybe pasta? :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
This sauce is wonderful with chicken, Dianne, and serving it with pasta is perfect.