DIYers: I bet you glanced at my latest Holiday Gift Guide and shook your heads. Sure, there were lots of sleek gadgets and baubles available for purchase, but you want people to feel your love for them in the form of a homemade edible present. A gift you buy at the store just ain’t the same, right?
Well, guess what? I’ve got a quick and fun project that’ll appeal even to folks who are allergic to crafting: adorably labelled jars of my world-famous Magic Mushroom Powder—published here on my site for the very first time! Every crazy-busy caveperson can channel his or her inner Paleo Martha Stewart with this spiced salt blend. It takes only five minutes to make, and we’ve already created awesome printable labels for you.
In other words, you have no excuse not to make this gift.
For the past few years, Magic Mushroom Powder has been one of the most popular recipes in our soon-to-be-updated JUST UPDATED! Webby-award winning iPad app, and also in our first cookbook (which—by the way—was named by Serious Eats, Powell’s, and America’s Test Kitchen as one of the best cookbooks of the year!). But until now, Magic Mushroom Powder’s been my secret weapon—one I always keep stocked in my kitchen.
As The Oregonian wrote:
We’re always learning new things when we try out recipes in the Foodday Test Kitchen. But every once in a while we discover an ingredient or technique that makes us rethink everything we’ve been doing in the kitchen.
That just happened with Magic Mushroom Powder. It’s a spice blend with a psychedelic-sounding name, and while it has no hallucinogenic powers, it truly is magic, adding much-desired umami to everything it touches.
Magic Mushroom Powder can be used in place of salt in virtually any dish, adding an immediate flavor punch to everything from scrambled eggs and ground meat to roasted veggies and chicken wings. Even your vegan friends’ll dig it!
I’ve scaled up my original recipe so that you can offer 12 of your favorite people the gift of umami. (Of course, your secret’s safe with me if you prefer to just make a humongous jar for yourself.)
Are you a visual learner? Check out this fun video on how to make my favorite seasoning!
Ready to knock everyone’s holiday stockings off with Magic Mushroom Powder?
UPDATE: Cute tins of Magic Mushroom Powder are now available for sale at Whole Foods Market stores nationwide! You can totally skip this recipe and buy some for your pals!
Makes about 4 cups — fills 12 (2.7-ounce) jars
Ingredients:
- 3 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 cups Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Equipment:
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Glass mixing bowls of various sizes
- Food processor or powerful blender (If you’re just making a small batch, get a cheap coffee grinder like this one.)
- Spoon
- Label paper (full-sheet)
- 12 Weck Mini Mold Jars (2.7 ounces)
- Parchment Paper
Steps:
Measure out all your ingredients.
In my original recipe, I used a spice grinder to pulverize the mushrooms—but to blitz this larger amount of dried porcinis, you’d be wise to use a higher-volume food processor or super-powered blender.
Dump your dried ’shrooms in the food processor and pulse a few times to chop them up uniformly. If the lid of your food processor isn’t on tight, a fine mist of mushroom dust will erupt from the crack, so check the seal before you continue blitzing.
Next, turn the processor on for 2 minutes or as long as it takes for the mushrooms to break down into a fine powder. (If you use a super-charged blender like a Vitamix, you’ll finish in less time.)
Warning: Do not open the container immediately after switching off your processor. A mushroom cloud will literally explode out of the top and you’ll find yourself coughing up Magic Mushroom Powder for the next few minutes. Instead, be patient and let the powder settle before you open it.
In a large bowl, combine the powdered mushrooms, salt…
…red pepper flakes, dried thyme…
…and freshly cracked black pepper.
Stir well to combine.
Once the red pepper flakes are evenly distributed, you’re all set!
If you’re packaging this magical seasoning salt for your friends, print a set of labels on a full sheet of sticker paper. Carefully cut them out and stick them on 12 mini jars.
Scoop out a scant ⅓ cup of the Magic Mushroom Powder, and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Pull up the sides of the parchment and use it as a funnel to transfer the seasoning salt into each jar.
Voilà!
Add a gift tag if you’re feeling fancy—and then hand out jars of umami-packed mushroom dust like some deranged fungus-loving Santa!
Wondering how to use Magic Mushroom Powder? Simply use it in place of salt (in a 1:1 ratio) in all of your favorite recipes!
Need more ideas on how to use Magic Mushroom Powder? Here you go:
- Umami Roast Chicken
- Instant Pot Magic Short Ribs
- Sheet Pan Chicken and Mushrooms
- Instant Pot Magic Pork
- Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Magic Crown Roast of Pork
- Magic Wings
- Air Fryer Cracklin’ Chicken
- Easy Paleo Meatloaf
- Carrot Cardamom Soup
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Sheet Pan Meatballs and Broccolini
- Baked Kale Chips
- Asian Meatballs
- Instant Pot Oxtail Stew
- Instant Pot Zucchini Bolognese
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Magic Mushroom Powder
Ingredients
- 3 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 cups Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Measure out all your ingredients.
- In my original recipe, I used a spice grinder to pulverize the mushrooms—but to blitz this larger amount of dried porcinis, you’d be wise to use a higher-volume food processor or super-powered blender.
- Dump your dried ’shrooms in the food processor and pulse a few times to chop them up uniformly. If the lid of your food processor isn’t on tight, a fine mist of mushroom dust will erupt from the crack, so check the seal before you continue blitzing.
- Next, turn the processor on for 2 minutes or as long as it takes for the mushrooms to break down into a fine powder. (If you use a super-charged blender like a Vitamix, you’ll finish in less time.)
- In a large bowl, combine the powdered mushrooms, salt, red pepper flakes, dried thyme, and freshly cracked black pepper. Stir well to mix thoroughly. Once the red pepper flakes are evenly distributed, you’re all set!
- If you’re packaging this magical seasoning salt for your friends, print a set of labels on a full sheet of sticker paper. Carefully cut them out and stick them on 12 mini jars.
- Scoop out a scant ⅓ cup of the Magic Mushroom Powder, and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Pull up the sides of the parchment and use it as a funnel to transfer the seasoning salt into each jar.
Video
Notes
