Better Than Alton Brown's Green Bean Casserole
If you don't have access to the specific mushrooms Jeff uses, look for the gourmet mix in your local market.
Equipment
- Mandoline
- Dutch oven
- 12-inch cast-iron skillet
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
- 2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
- Neutral oil, for frying
- 18-24 peeled shallots, thinly sliced on a mandoline
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 ounces Chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
- 8 ounces Oyster Mushrooms, cleaned and pulled into strands
- 8 ounces King Trumpet Mushrooms, cleaned and cut into rings
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2/3 cup roasted rice flour (see recipe if you can’t find)
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 2 cups unsalted chicken broth
- 2 cups half-and-half
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350ºF with a rack in the middle.
- Bring 3 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of the salt to a boil in a large, heavy pot, such as a Dutch oven. Prepare an ice bath with 2 tablespoons of salt in water. Add the beans to the boiling water, return to a boil, and cook until just tender, about 8 minutes. Drain the beans, then immediately transfer to the ice bath. Let sit until cool, about 5 minutes, then remove from the Ice bath and lay out on paper towels to dry.
- Add all the thinly sliced shallots into your thoroughly dried dutch oven and pour in oil to just cover the shallots, and bring to 375°F over medium-high heat. Line a half sheet pan or platter pan with paper towels and stash next to the cooktop.
- While the oil heats, keep a watchful eye on the temp and stir the shallots gently. When the oil hits its target temp, carefully continue to stir, until golden brown, which happens pretty quick when the oil is at temp. As soon as all the shallots are consistent golden brown, use a spider to transfer to the prepared sheet pan and season lightly with salt. (The onions can be made up to a week ahead and stored in airtight containment at room temperature.)
- Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. When the butter is foamy, add the mushrooms, the 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have given off all of their liquid. Before this liquid evaporates, spoon off several tablespoons of this liquid and reserve. Continue to cook until the rest of the liquid has evaporated, and the mushrooms have browned, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, allspice and nutmeg and cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Place rice powder, some of the reserve mushroom liquid and about a ⅓ cup of water together in a bowl and with a gloved hand mash together to form a smooth paste called a slurry. Pour the roasted rice flour slurry over the mushrooms (you may need to stir up as you pour), then continue to cook, stirring, until it begins to thicken to the right consistency, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the vinegar and cook for about 1 minute. Slowly stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a simmer, then stir in the half and half. Return to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Continue to simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture is quite thick, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in the green beans and half of the fried shallots, then top with the remaining shallots. Transfer to the oven and bake until the sauce is bubbly around the edges and the onions are deeply browned, about 10 minutes.