My wild mushroom finishing salt is a simple homemade seasoning salt that will take so many of your recipes to the next level, it makes a great host gift, too!

homemade wild mushroom finishing salt in a black bowl

what are finishing salts and how do you use them?

Last week I had the privilege of watching Chef Jimmy Schmidt cook at his restaurant, Morgan’s in the Desert, at the La Quinta Resort and Spa which is just outside Palm Springs. He filleted a massive wild salmon that had just been flown in overnight from Alaska, and served it over a quinoa ‘risotto’ with foraged chanterelle mushrooms. One of the things he had on his meticulously organized prep tray was a porcini mushroom salt. I knew the minute I saw him blasting the dish with that rich dust that I had to go home and try to make some for myself.

Finishing salts are, like the name suggests, salts that are designed to be added at the end of the dish, as a final finishing touch of flavor.

A packet of dried mushrooms to make finishing salt

I make my wild mushroom finishing salt with dried mushrooms

I usually don’t use a ton of salt in my cooking, I consciously hold back, not so much for health reasons, but because I think that too much salt just masks the true flavors of food. A little enhances, but too much masks. I like the idea of a salt like this one that has more to offer. In this case, wild mushrooms are intensely earthy and richly flavored. They grow wild in Italy, and they aren’t commercially cultivated, so you’ll usually find them in dried form here. Because they’re dried, they are easily mixed with salt to form a really powerful seasoning. I used dried porcini mushrooms, but there are lots of varieties that will work great.

Making your own flavored and infused salts is really simple and fun. If you think ahead you can knock off a whole bunch of easy holiday gifts with this. I’ve already shown you how to make three different kinds of finishing salts in this post. This one will be even more potent as far as the impact it can have on your food, it’s incredibly fragrant. You can cook with it or use it as a finishing salt in anything from scrambled eggs to risotto.

wild mushroom powder in a spice grinder for finishing salt

how I make my wild mushroom finishing salt

Dried porcinis usually come in small 1/2 oz bags. Instead of reconstituting them in warm water like you would for most recipes, you will grind the dried mushrooms to a powder for this salt. You’ll need a spice or coffee grinder to do this. The small size makes it the perfect tool for grinding small amounts. I love my little Krups coffee grinder, I keep it especially for spices, and it does a perfect job.

Load up your coffee or spice grinder with the dried wild mushrooms and grind until they become a fine powder. You may need to work in batches. Note: if you want to clear your grinder of previous flavors, just grind raw rice in it. The rice will absorb odors and flavors.
Now mix your wild mushroom powder with the salt of your choice. I like to use a a sea salt such as Malden, an English flaked sea salt that’s reputed to be the best in the world. It’s not particularly expensive, and since you’re going to the trouble to make this specialty salt, might as well use a good base. You can also use Kosher, or any good quality salt.

wild mushroom powder and sea salt in a bowl

I used a ratio of about 4 to 1 salt to mushroom powder for this. I think that’s about right, but you can certainly fiddle with the proportions if you want.

finishing salt makes a perfect gift

If you’re giving your salt as a gift you can package it in lots of different ways. Use recycled spice jars, or put it in small plastic bags and then present it with a little bowl for keeping by the stove. The smallest size canning jars work well, too. Small Weck Jars with the little clips are the ultimate in cute packaging.

wild porcini finishing salt in a bowl with spoon

more wild mushrooms