The following worked well for me
try {
asdf
} catch {
$string_err = $_ | Out-String
}
write-host $string_err
The result of this is the following as a string instead of an ErrorRecord object
asdf : The term 'asdf' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At C:\Users\TASaif\Desktop\tmp\catch_exceptions.ps1:2 char:5
+ asdf
+ ~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (asdf:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException