Mushrooms

[ononkc]

When proparing grilled portobella mushrooms, is it best to remove the gills?
I have seen recipes that go both ways, and they are all sure their way is THE WAY.
What do you do?

[Suzanne]

For grilling, I leave them in -- but then, I don't care if everything they touch gets dirty-looking (including my hands). But if I am using the caps in a dish that I don't want darkened, I scrape them out.

[DC Sunshine]

Portabellos quite often retain grit in the gills - you can try tapping them gently gill side down before cooking to remove the worst of it. Re the darkness they impart to a dish - its worth trying sauteeing them separately then adding in at last minute to the dish (if the dish allows for it) to save the hassle of removing the gills.

I leave them in for grilling - they're part and parcel of the wonderful taste of the shroom.
Cheers!

[even stephen]

I cut the gills out. Scraping with a spoon seems to discolor the
inside of the cap. Just stand it on its side and cut down through
the gill, rotating the muchroom cap until all is removed. Definitely
a cleaner look. When grilling whole I usually leave the gills in. I do
however drizzle with olive oil, a tiny bit of balsamic, fresh thyme, and
garlic, put in a pan topped with foil and steam them for about ten minutes
in a 400 degree oven, remove, leave covered till cooled. Seams to make
a moister product, especially when you are substituting a portabello cap
for beef in a cheeseburger.