¼ tsp. thyme crushed between your fingers to break down
Instructions
Begin by de-stemming all of your mushrooms. If they are in need of cleaning, do so with a damp paper towel or cloth. Do not submerge under water, or rinse with water. This will cause your mushrooms to turn to, well mush!
On a cutting board, use the widest part of your chefs knife to smash each mushroom to flatten it. Do this to roughly 75% of the mushrooms. After flattening them, chop them up. With the remaining mushrooms, tear them with your fingers into larger, bite size chunks. The tear will result in a rather rustic appearance, but this will create great flavor while cooking. Keep the two size cuts separate.
Set a stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp. of butter and melt. Add roughly ½ of the smashed and diced mushrooms to the hot butter. Add ¼ tsp. of salt to season the mushrooms and quickly draw the water out of them. Do not mix or disturb the mushrooms for the first two to three minutes. You want a good browning on this initial surface. After the first few minutes, use a spatula to mix up the mushrooms. After a few more minutes the first batch of mushrooms should be evenly browned and most moisture should be gone. Remove the browned mushrooms from the pan and set into a medium bowl.
Repeat step 3 with the remaining half of smashed and diced mushrooms adding more butter and salt. Once browned add the mushrooms to the medium bowl.
Repeat step 3 for the torn mushrooms. Add the butter and salt. After the first set of browning, add soy sauce to the mushrooms. Stir and allow to brown. When finished, set them into a separate bowl. In the last minute, pull the heat down to low.
In the same stock pot / dutch oven, add remaining 5 Tbsp. of butter, diced shallots and half of the garlic. Stir often to not brown the vegetables. After 4 – 5 minutes add in wine, remaining garlic, oregano, bay leaves, and crushed thyme to the vegetables and cook stirring until liquid is evaporated. Stir in flour with a rubber spatula or whisk – allow to evenly coat vegetables.
Begin to slowly add in the beef broth. I like to add a bit at a time, whisking/stirring the whole time, being careful to not add additional liquid until everything is evenly incorporated. It will remain thick for most of the beef broth incorporation, which is the objective of the slow mixing.
Slowly whisk in the cream, milk, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil and then set to a gentle simmer until soup thickens into a heavy creamy consistency, 15-25 minutes.
Prior to serving, add the larger pieces of torn mushrooms. Return to a simmer.