Buying and Cooking Portobello Mushrooms - CHOW Tip

Far West Fungi manager Ian Garrone says that you want a firm stem and cap, as well as a pink gill structure on the underside of the portobello. And he always warns people not to over marinate: Portobellos may be the hamburger replacement, but they'€™re not as durable as meat.

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TRANSCRIPT
When picking a Portobello mushroom you're looking for a nice pink gill structure and a nice firm stem and cap. Portobello's are really pushed as kind of the meat substitute because they have a very beefy, earthy flavor to them and they're very thick and dense so you can just marinate them for five minutes and throw them on the grill and it's just like having a hamburger. Over marinating them is the number one problem with Portobello's. Any time after five minutes, it's just getting it soft. It might pick up a little more flavorbut I really like to have that Portobello flavor.