Smoked Hickory Balsamic Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Necessity is the mother of invention – so the saying goes. I recently found this saying to be true, when I went to the garage refrigerator to see what produce might need to be used and discovered some beautiful large Portobello mushrooms that needed to be cooked ASAP. There were 6 in the package so I decided to divide them up and make two different dishes.

I wanted something smoky flavored that would go with my Garlic Mashed Potatoes. While perusing the spices and vinegars in the pantry, I spied a bottle of California Balsamic Smoked Hickory Balsamic and that was the beginning of something spectacular. Don’t worry if you don’t have that flavor I am sure you can mimic it with some sweet balsamic vinegar and a little Hickory smoke flavoring. I will walk you through how to make this entire delicious meal.

I decided to make a little marinade using the California Balsamic Smoked Hickory vinegar with garlic and onion powder as well as minced garlic and freshly ground black pepper. Very simple ingredients but the end result was anything other than simple. It was fabulous! A girl can brag just a little about a last minute throw together meal that tastes as amazing as this one did. Just sayin!

If you don’t have this vinegar in stock you can order from our affiliate link California Balsamic on line. This is not an affiliate link I just love their vinegars and know you will too. If you can’t get this particular vinegar you could use a nice sweet low acidity balsamic vinegar and add a little liquid smoke – start with 1/8th teaspoon and add more as needed to get the perfect balance of smoke flavor.

I snapped a few photos but didn’t have any idea if it would turn out good enough to become a blog post. After wiping the mushrooms with a kitchen towel to clean them – don’t run under water as they are porous and will absorb the water. Using a spoon or a basting brush coat both sides of the mushrooms with the marinade and let them marinate in a dish for about 30 minutes.

While the mushrooms marinate get a batch of the Garlic Mashed Potatoes going in your electric pressure cooker. These are the perfect pairing with the mushrooms. I recommend mashing the potatoes before you start cooking the mushrooms. The mushrooms only take about 10 minutes to cook and you don’t want to be distracted mashing potatoes when they need to be turned over.

After the potatoes are cooking you can prep some fresh asparagus by washing it and trimming the tough ends off. Wait until you are ready to flip the mushrooms before you start microwaving the asparagus. You can put the asparagus on a plate, cover with a lid and microwave for 90 seconds just before the mushrooms are done. Or put them in your air fryer at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. I had just picked some of our first tomatoes of the season from the garden so we included those on our plates as well.

I asked Tom if he wanted to fire up the grill and he declined. I remembered that I had a non – stick grill pan that would work just as good. So we preheated the grill pan and when little droplets of water sputtered when they hit the pan, we knew it was hot and ready to go. Before placing the marinated mushrooms on the grill pan we used a silicone brush to coat them well with the marinade. We put the mushrooms, top down because I wanted beautiful grill marks on them. Now part of the trick here is to leave the mushrooms alone until they have browned on that side before you try to flip them over. If you try too soon they will stick. I set the timer for 5 minutes which was perfect with our pan and the size of mushrooms we had. You will have to judge for yourself how long to leave yours cooking before flipping. You could use the BBQ Grill with some nonstick grill mats or just use a regular non stick pan and don’t worry about not getting grill marks, it will still taste fabulous.

Success! Just look at those grill marks – I was overjoyed. They cooked for about another 4 minutes and they were perfectly done.

We had a little marinade left over so using a silicone brush we brushed more over the tops when plating the meal. I also ended up drizzling some over the asparagus – yum!

This tasted like a fancy vegan restaurant meal only better because it was made with love, SOS free, and so delicious. We licked our lips through out the meal. This incredible meal was pulled together off the cuff and it was one of the best meals we have had in weeks! An ice cream scoop makes for a pretty presentation for Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Substitutions:

If you don’t have Hickory Smoked Balsamic try using a thick and sweet low acidity balsamic like Napa Valley Naturals and add a little liquid smoke. Start with 1/8 teaspoon and increase if needed to get just the right amount of smoke flavor.

If you don’t like Hickory Smoke flavor this would be wonderful with California Balsamic, Gilroy Garlic vinegar or Sweet Heat. 

If you don’t have a BBQ Grill or a Grill Pan use a non stick skillet and don’t worry about not having “grill marks” it will still taste just as delicious.

Smoked Hickory Balsamic Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Tami Kramer Nutmeg Notebook

Simple, easy marinated portobello mushrooms that are hickory smoke flavored and delicious.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 2

Equipment

• Grill pan or BBQ Grill or a non stick skillet

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 each large Portobello mushrooms
• 4 Tablespoons California Balsamic Smoked Hickory Vinegar see below for substitutions
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh garlic cloves, minced
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

 

• With a soft cloth wipe the mushrooms gently to clean them, don't get them wet.
• Mix the marinade ingredients together in a small dish.
• Using a basting brush coat both sides of the mushrooms with the marinade. Place them tops down in a dish and pour some marinade over the mushrooms so it can soak in.. Let them marinate for 30 minutes.
• Turn the mushrooms over and using the basting brush coat them liberally with the marinade. There will be marinade leftover that you can brush on again after cooking.
• Preheat the grill pan, BBQ grill or non stick skillet. If using a BBQ Grill use a non stick grilling basket or non stick grill pad to prevent sticking since we don't use oil for cooking.

  When little water droplets move around on the pan you know it is ready to use.
• Place the mushrooms tops down on the grill pan to get those nice sear marks. Set a timer for 4-5 minutes. It's important not to disturb the mushrooms during this 4 -5 minutes of cooking time. They need to get a nice sear on them before you try to turn them over, otherwise they will stick. Turn over and cook another 4-5 minutes or until cooked through.
• After removing to a serving dish, baste with marinade one more time. A little marinade is also good served over the asparagus. You could sub broccoli or green beans for the asparagus.
• Serving Suggestion, serve with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and fresh asparagus or broccoli.

Notes

If you don’t have Hickory Smoked Balsamic try using a thick and sweet low acidity balsamic like Napa Valley Naturals and add a little liquid smoke. Start with 1/8 teaspoon and increase if needed to get just the right amount of smoke flavor.

If you don’t like Hickory Smoke flavor this would be wonderful with California Balsamic Gilroy Garlic vinegar or Sweet Heat. 

Keyword portobellow mushroom, hickory smoke, balsamic vinegar

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Get Healthy  Stay Healthy  One Meal At A Time

Please note that we partner with affiliate platforms where commission may be earned based on clicks and or purchases – all at no additional cost to you.  Affiliate links help bloggers like me to fund the free content that we provide on our blogs.

Be sure to check out our Amazon Affiliate Page where we share many of our favorite small kitchen appliances, kitchen tools, food products, books and fun things for the grandchildren! Nutmeg Notebook is a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program that is designed to provide a means for sites to earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.

We are pleased to announce that if you live in Canada we now have an Amazon.CA Shop Page. We have matched up as many items as we can from our US shop page. Occasionally there are differences in brands and or packaging size.  Amazon.ca/shop/nutmegnotebook

A Nutmeg Notebook Online Course. Beautiful Chopped Salad Course Link

Tami Kramer’s Beautiful Chopped Salad Course includes a complete full color 40+ page recipe PDF eBook and 12 instructional videos. In the course Tami will teach you how to batch prep salads, what to shop for, and tips to ensure that your stored salads will last for a week. She will share different methods for chopping salads, and all the details about how she tops these beauties.  Included are 25 different ways to top a chopped salad, 5 oil free salad dressings, gluten free croutons and crunchy toppings, hummus, salsa’s and more!  Please enjoy the course videos at your own pace. There are approximately 2 1/2 hours of instruction spread over the 12 individual topic videos. When completed you will be well on your way to enjoying these beautiful chopped salads as often as you wish, perhaps even daily as Tami does.

We are also Holland Bowl Mill Affiliates. The 15 inch Holland Bowl Mill Cherry fruit bowl has a permanent home on our kitchen island. It’s beautiful and useful. The heart shaped bowl makes me happy – I love everything heart shaped! We use our 15 inch Beechwood & cherry bowl (his and her’s) to chop our salads everyday. Eating a salad for one meal every day helped me lose weight and become a size 4. I still eat a salad for one meal a day but now it’s a Big Beautiful Chopped salad and it helps me stay a size 4! See the Chopped Salad Blog Post to find out how you can incorporate a chopped salad into your daily food plan and how you can get a free mezzaluna knife with your Holland Bowl salad bowl order when you use our Holland Bowl affiliate link as well as free engraving and free shipping