Big brown mushrooms, stuffed and cooked on the braai

Potatoes wrapped in foil and shoved into the coals are one of the regular braaier’s favourite treats. Then, slathered with butter and well salted, they’re devoured with relish. This has been part of my braai life since I was a boy in Oranjemund.

I braai other things in foil, too. Whole onions turn out sweet and sensuously soft. Butternut can be cooked whole or halved, depending on their size. Heavy foil is best for any of these vegetables, and they can all be put directly on to the coals or even covered with them.

Another favourite, later in the year, is a whole marrow. For that I must wait. By year’s end there will be courgettes in abundance, but I always leave some of them to grow and grow. When they get really big, I harvest one, cut it in half into two “boats”, fill each with cooked spinach and feta, wrap them in plenty of heavy foil and into the coals they go.

In the meantime, there are other options while those seeds sprout and turn into future suppers. Like mushrooms. Little button mushrooms are okay for foil too, as long as they are tightly wrapped. But big brown mushrooms are ideal. Better still, they can be stuffed. Try, if you can, to remember which side of the foil is on top so that it can be kept with the undersides of the mushrooms on the coals, but as long as the foil parcel is secure enough, it’s likely to hold together. 

The mushrooms need to be seasoned before adding any filling, and as well as feta (the perfect filling for a braaied mushroom in my opinion), it benefits from a herb and perhaps a condiment such as Worcestershire sauce, soy, and/or something citrusy.

These braaied mushrooms are simply seasoned with salt and black pepper, stuffed with feta and thyme and a drizzle of Worcestershire sauce, moistened with olive oil and wrapped very securely in lots of heavy duty foil.

(Makes 6-8)

Ingredients

6-8 big brown mushrooms

Olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Worcestershire sauce

Feta, enough to fill the insides of the mushrooms

Thyme sprigs, 2 for each mushroom

Heavy duty foil

Method

I never wash mushrooms, but do so if you’d rather. Make sure they’re dry before filling them. (I just rub the outsides to remove any soil.)

Drizzle olive oil inside the cavities. Season with salt and black pepper.

Pop 2 thyme sprigs into each. Drizzle Worcestershire sauce in, sparingly.

Crumble feta and push it into each mushroom, generously.

Place on what seems to be too much heavy foil so that you can be sure that your generosity will keep them very secure while they cook. Wrap tightly and scrunch up the open ends as tightly as you can.

Build a fire (obviously) and cook the mushrooms in one of two ways:

On the grid, turning half way, until soft on both sides. Run a skewer through and feel how soft they are.

Or, if the package is secure enough, right in the coals. This is what I did, and I even turned them, without the juices running out. Don’t forget to cook some chops and wors as well. DM

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.