Steakhouse Mushroom Sauce Recipe

Everybody likes their steak made a different way, and similarly, everyone likes their steak topped with something different. Some steak purists will swear by nothing more than salt and pepper, while others love a marinade and cream sauce. However, there's something that satisfies both parties — a steakhouse mushroom sauce.

This steakhouse mushroom sauce recipe, developed by Michelle McGlinn, highlights fresh, buttery mushrooms with a splash of dry sherry and beef broth. It's a little more saucy than simple buttered mushrooms without the heaviness of gravy, and sits on top of the perfectly seasoned ribeyes and reverse-seared New York strips. Better yet, the saucy mushrooms is be delicious piled onto mashed potatoes, or spooned over roasted veggies, so you can enjoy the sauce with more than just steak. The sauce comes together quickly and effortlessly on the stove, so you don't have to worry about a complicated sauce. For a truly luxurious steak night at home, give this easy mushroom sauce a try.

This recipe is very simple, and only requires a few ingredients. You'll need butter and mushrooms for the base of the sauce — we love the depth of flavor from baby bella mushrooms, but you can also use plain white mushrooms, or even shiitake mushrooms instead. You'll also need flour, beef broth, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and dry sherry to bring the sauce together. True dry sherry offers the best flavor here, but feel free to use cooking sherry, if you have it on hand. If you don't have soy sauce on hand, you can swap it with Worcestershire sauce for a similar salty taste.

Mushrooms and butter go together like peanut butter and jelly, even though we don't recommend making a mushroom and peanut butter sandwich. Gently scrub the dirt from your mushrooms before slicing, then melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the mushrooms, and cook until golden brown. The mushrooms will be soft and shrunken down a bit, but not completely browned and glossy.

This sauce isn't quite a gravy, so we only need a sprinkling of flour to take it from brothy to saucy. Add the flour to the pan with mushrooms to make a roux, and stir it until it's dissolved. If you prefer a thicker gravy as opposed to a sauce, just add an extra tablespoon of flour to the mushrooms before adding the liquids. You might notice the mushrooms starting to stick to the pan as the butter thickens with the flour — don't worry, the sherry will deglaze the pan, lifting up any browned bits left behind. Once the flour is dissolved, add the sherry, and bring to a simmer, turning the heat down to low if the sherry is bubbling too furiously. Cook until the sherry liquid is reduced by half, and has a subtle sweet smell.

After reducing the sherry, pour in the beef broth and soy sauce. Whisk the broth into the mushrooms, and bring to a simmer, then cook until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve this sherry mushroom sauce in a bowl with a big spoon for drizzling. This sauce is perfect for mushroom lovers who want to add a sauce to their steak without changing the flavor of the meat. After all, the steak is the star of the show. Vegetarians can also enjoy this mushroom sauce poured over crispy tofu, grilled eggplant, or even seared seitan. The sauce can be kept for up to 1 week in the refrigerator, but will solidify when chilled. To reheat, gently warm the sauce on the stove until brothy.