Today we bring you an easy shiitake mushroom sauce for steak that makes a delicious, hearty meal. It gets even better paired with an excellent Sonoma-Cutrer Pinot Noir! Disclosure: the wine recommended here was provided as a complimentary sample.
Recipe inspiration
This steak with shiitake mushrooms recipe started with a desire to make something from our recent CSA share that would pair well with the 2021 Sonoma-Cutrer Les Plus Haut Pinot Noir.
The special winemaker’s release Pinot Noir deserved a fitting dish to pair with it. Mushrooms in general make for good pairing with Pinot Noir; shiitake mushrooms are one of my favorite types. So when I saw shiitakes were coming in the CSA, I had my plan for making Steak with Shiitake Mushrooms to go with the Pino.
Recipe tips and overview
I’ll start with a few recipe tips, and a visual overview of how to make the shiitake mushroom sauce. Head on down to the recipe card for the full instructions, including the details on preparing the steak.
Prep the steak: I get the steak ready first. Make and apply the rub, then set the steak aside as you begin to work on the shiitake mushroom sauce.
Slice the mushrooms: get the mushrooms ready! Slice the shiitake mushrooms and set them aside.
Sauté shallots or onion: Start the sauce by sautéing the chopped shallots or onion in the sauce pan.
I prefer using shallots for this recipe, but onions work too. I thought I had a shallot on hand when making this sauce initially, but realized that wasn’t the case. So we went with an onion.
Stir in the shiitake mushrooms to combine with the onion.
After a few minutes, the mushrooms begin to “sweat” and it is time to add the red wine along with the thyme.
Start cooking the steak after adding the red wine to the mushrooms.
Finish the sauce by stirring in the butter. After the butter has melted, remove the sauce from heat and cover to keep warm until the steak is ready.
Slice the steak, and serve topped with the shiitake mushroom sauce. Enjoy!
Wine pairing
So as I noted earlier, we had the 2021 Sonoma-Cutrer Les Plus Haut Pinot Noir (14.47% ABV, $70) from the winery to pair with the meal. The sustainably farmed grapes for the wine are sourced from the highest blocks from both estate-owned Owsley Ranch and Vine Hill Vineyard, thus the name which translates to “the most elevated”.
Cara Morrison, Sonoma-Cutrer’s Director of Winemaking, notes that 2021 was inordinately dry, and great care was required to produce this special wine. Les Plus Haut was aged for 14 months in a mix of new, one-year and two-year old French oak barrels.
Following my conversation with Sonoma-Cutrer’s senior winemaker, I was eager to try Les Plus Haut Pinot Noir and our steak with shiitake mushrooms.
On the nose, I got earthy notes of brambles along with red berry fruit. On the palate, cherry and a bit of cinnamon was what I noted first. There’s a little tartness along with soft tannins. The wine has an elegant, silky mouthfeel and a long finish.
The winery tasting notes also mention truffle and dried herb, which I get as well. These earthy elements in the wine are a perfect set up for a great pairing with the shiitake mushroom sauce. And there is plenty of heft to go with the steak. An excellent pairing!
To learn more about this wine and Sonoma-Cutrer, be sure to check out my Cook Local Eat Local podcast interview with Zidanelia Arcidiácono. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts (episode 37), and here on the show notes page you can listen and get additional information about the winery.
Other pairing ideas
This shiitake mushroom sauce for steak was created with a top notch Pinot Noir in mind. But I did recently remake the dish, and enjoyed it with an excellent Barolo a friend brought over. So if you don’t have a good Pinot on hand, Barolo is a very suitable option as well.
PrintRecipe card
Steak with Shiitake Mushrooms
This easy shiitake mushroom sauce for steak brings additional meaty flavor to a delicious steak cooked to your liking.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: stove top and roasting
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the steak
- 1 or 2 sirloin steaks, or similar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)
For the shiitake mushroom sauce:
- 1 shallot or onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ to 2 cups slided shiitake mushrooms
- ⅓ cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 for the steak, or preheat the grill.
- Make the rub: combine the salt, garlic powder and thyme, if using, in a small bowl. Place the steak on a work surface. Sprinkle about half of the rub on one side of the steak, then rub it into the meat. turn the steak over, and repeat on the other side. Place the steak aside as you being preparing the mushroom sauce.
- Heat the olive oil on medium in a skillet or sauce pan. When warm, add the shallots (or onion) and sauté for about 5 minutes, until softened.
- Add the shiitake mushrooms to the pan, and stir to combine with the shallot. Cook until the mushroom begins to sweat, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the red wine along with the thyme, and simmer on medium low, stirring occasionally. This is a good time to start cooking the steak.
- Coat an oven proof skillet with cooking oil, and place on the stove top with the heat at medium high. When the skillet is heated, add the steak to the skillet. Cook for two minutes on one side to brown the steak, then one minute on the other side.
- Move the steak to the oven to roast. Check the steaks after roasting for about 10 minutes. Depending on your oven and the thickness of the steak, it will take about 10 to 12 minutes of roasting for medium rare sirloin steak. Internal temperature of the steak should be 130 to 140 degrees for medium rare steak. When the steak is cooked to your liking, set it aside to rest for about 5 minutes as you finish the sauce.
- Finish the mushroom sauce: stir the mushroom sauce occasionally as the steak roasts. When the wine is mostly absorbed, stir in the butter and balsamic vinegar on medium low heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. When the butter has melted, cover the sauce pan to keep warm until you are ready to serve.
- Slice the steak and plate several pieces, and serve topped with the shiitake mushroom sauce. Pass extra sauce at the table. Enjoy!
Notes
- Sirloin tends to be my go to steak these days. But you can use another cut if you like.
- I like to use shallots for making a mushroom sauce, but an onion can work as well. We used onion when first making this recipe.
H D
Listed Balsamic Vinegar??? Never used in recipe??
Cooking Chat
Ah, thanks for pointing that out! It’s toward the end. I updated the instructions. Appreciate the feedback.
Jodi Crowley
This is one of my favorite recipes!