Mushrooms

[Blackwater]

Do y'all like mushrooms? I can't imagine anyone not liking them, but some apparently don't. Just got a gift from the DIL of some sauteed mushrooms stuffed with spinach and artichoke dip, and gee golly wow were they good! Very simple, of course, but I think I ate 7 of them, and it was a real treat.

A local restaurant makes the absolute BEST fried stuffed mushrooms I've ever put in my mouth, and they really know how to cook them just right, too. They're always juicy and golden brown, and I've tried a number of times to duplicate them, but have failed every time. They're still good, but not nearly as good as the ones at RJ's Restaurant here. I've stuffed them with chives, onions, garlic, finely grated cheese, and using a spiced flour/meal mix, and some element always comes out not quite right, so .... I'm asking for help.

How do you folks stuff and batter and fry your fried mushrooms? I'm also thinking about stuffing a big, whole portabello, too, if you have a good recipe for that. Low carb and scrumptuous taste are my goals, and there are so many really great cooks here, I just know someone knows the "secret" to them. Thanks for any recipes you have.

[EMC45]

I like them raw in salad. Not a big fan of them cooked and mushy.

[quilbilly]

We love 'shrooms - especially the ones we find ourselves but the store-bought ones are great too. Last fall my wife discovered a new, fresh, 5# cauliflower mushroom on a stump that was actually clean and no bugs (really!!). It made without question the finest mushroom soup I have ever had. Chanterelles are called forest gold for a reason. I just wish we had morels around here in the spring. There is nothing like sautéed chanterelles with venison steaks and home grown Ozette potatoes.

[MT Gianni]

We like portabello burgers, slice them thin and fry in garlic oil. Also take small white mushrooms from the store and dip in butter. Grill them for 10 minutes then dip in bbq sauce and grill them again for 10 minutes.

[Blackwater]

Portabellos are about the most exotic mushrooms available here. Never met a mushroom I didn't like. I've long heard about the chantrelles, morels, etc., but have never had the pleasure of tasting one. Maybe I'll find some and get to do that. I travel a good bit with a buddy when he needs help in his business, and he likes to eat, too, so maybe I'll luck up some time and find some of the more exotic types. I know from all the people I've heard from it'll be a revelation to me! Actually, I love simple foods so much that anything over the top is probably bad for me! But I just love sinning as much as the next guy, too! :wink:

And the secret to good sauteed or fried mushrooms seems to be how long you cook them. I like them fairly firm, and still juicy, though cooked soft with onions & garlic with steak is a great treat, too. Made some asparagus soup recently that was really great, with some onions and leeks and a tad of garlic, and afterward, I couldn't help but wonder how some mushrooms would have tasted in it. My wife has some asparagus in the back yard that came from her grandmother's garden years ago, and we've had it for many years now, and real, fresh asparagus beats anything canned by miles, even though I liek the canned ones too, if it's all that's available at any given time.

This cold weather is a great time to enjoy stuff like this, and it really hits the spot. Thanks for the comments. Anyone got a really good formula for fried ones? If you have oil temps, I'd appreciate that info. I can't seem to get it quite right, and find just the right combinations of ingredients and oil temp, etc., and those at the restaurant as SOOO good!!! My buddy from Ohio insists we go there just for the mushrooms ever time he visits from Ohio, and he's right particular about his eating, too! Simple can be SOOO good, but it's GOT to be done RIGHT to get it like that, and I'm looking for the right recipe. I need to repay my DIL's goodness in kind, and I think she'd love the ones at the restaurant. Have some ideas, but sure would appreciate some guidance, since one could cook from now to doomsday and still not try all the possibilities. Learning to cook has really made me appreciate what a real chef can do! I even watch cooking shows when I can! It's said that a little knowledge is dangerous, and that applies especially to picking mushrooms, but I've long wondered about those brownish mushrooms that grow on dead, fallen trees around here. Have seen many of them, but have been too apprehensive to try them without someone with MUCH more knowledge than I have saying they're OK, and probably watching them eat some first! I know some we have around here are poisonous, and just avoid them all unless I get them from the grocery store. I don't have time, still, to devote to learning about them, but sure have been curious about those brown ones that grow on felled trees here. Is there any real chance they'd be poisonous? I think I'd try to find something and feed it some before trying any myself, but all the talk of some of the "special" varieties of mushrooms sure is attractive!

[MaryB]

When stuffing you need to precook the mushrooms to get rid of some of the water or it steams and blows the crust off. I saute them until they quit weeping. DO not throw away the liquid in the pan! I freeze it for spaghetti sauce! Really adds a deep mushroom flavor.

[Lloyd Smale]

love them but they need to be cooked. don't care for them uncooked. Probably I have is I'm the only one in the house that will eat them. I could eat mushrooms with about anything short of ice cream.

[dilly]

I quite like mushrooms. For a long time I thought I didn't, but as I got older it turns out I just despise the brine that canned mushrooms come in. Fresh is good, cooked is good as long as they didn't come from a can.

[sparky45]

Portobella's saute'd in garlic butter and drizzled with Provolone. Eat while sipping your favorite Red.

[quilbilly]

When stuffing you need to precook the mushrooms to get rid of some of the water or it steams and blows the crust off. I saute them until they quit weeping. DO not throw away the liquid in the pan! I freeze it for spaghetti sauce! Really adds a deep mushroom flavor.
I should have thought of this!!!!

[MaryB]

Smoked Walleye Stuffed Morels

Wash and clean morels, pull stems out to leave a cavity
flake some brined and smoked walleye(or other light flavor white fish)
Melt butter and saute chopped garlic until barely browned, set aside about 1/3 of the butter/garlic for basting later then add just enough bread crumbs to the rest of the butter to form a sticky but fluffy paste(do not stir this to death into goo!)
stuff the flaked walleye into a morel cap, drizzle a little garlic butter in then pack some of the garlic bread crumbs on top. I set these in a chili pepper rack then smoke them until the mushroom is tender but they can be done on a cool grill too. As they cook brush every so often with the reserved butter to keep them moist.

I served these at a BBQ one year and got a rave review(and a huge tip, it was a paying gig)

[bearcove]

My taste is simple, Skillet, add butter, then mushrooms, cook, eat.

[quilbilly]

:D
Smoked Walleye Stuffed Morels

Wash and clean morels, pull stems out to leave a cavity
flake some brined and smoked walleye(or other light flavor white fish)
Melt butter and saute chopped garlic until barely browned, set aside about 1/3 of the butter/garlic for basting later then add just enough bread crumbs to the rest of the butter to form a sticky but fluffy paste(do not stir this to death into goo!)
stuff the flaked walleye into a morel cap, drizzle a little garlic butter in then pack some of the garlic bread crumbs on top. I set these in a chili pepper rack then smoke them until the mushroom is tender but they can be done on a cool grill too. As they cook brush every so often with the reserved butter to keep them moist.

I served these at a BBQ one year and got a rave review(and a huge tip, it was a paying gig)
You have to stop this. Now I have to go all the way over the mountains (Cascades) just to catch one.

[Hickory]

Wash them, remove the stem, fill with your favorite salad dressing and enjoy.

[DerekP Houston]

my favorite for portabello mushrooms is the grill. oil them, season salt and pepper, place on grill just like a burger. once they are starting to wilt flip them over and put a pat of butter and some crumbled blue cheese in the center. in a separate pan take balsamic vinegar and reduce until syrup, drizzle over mushrooms and serve.

[shtur]

We found some butter boletes in the Belt mountains that were the best when thawed. Most mushrooms don't taste great after being dryed and frozen a few months, these were the best for long term keeping.

I like morels sliced in half, dipped in egg, then fast fried in a cast iron skillet with real butter. I once ate too many at one sitting like this and it was not a nice evening for me.

[Blackwater]

Well, I ate dinner with my cousin a few days ago who is the one who spent 30+ years in the Thailand/SE Asia areas. He had his old landlady, an elderly woman who was the daughter of the chief of police in Bangkok and is a doctor. She wanted to make me some curry in appreciation with communicating with my cousin and her friend while he was overseas, and keeping him informed of family stuff. It was great, and as a grateful guest, I took some small portabellos and prepared them as described above, with the butter sautee and the spinach and artichoke dip, along with some onions and a little grated carrots, and onion and garlic powder, and it was a big hit with all of them. I was relieved and proud. Also gave her and the cousin a good bunch of green salad onions from the Vidalia plants, and I really love this stuff! Makes me proud of myself whenever I can do something like that. She was a very nice lady, and I was impressed with her. Great lunch, and FAR better than what I usually eat. I've never found very many who didn't really like mushrooms, but my DIL is one of those, and SHE is the one who gave us the first ones like I described above. She prepares a lot of stuff she's not very likely to eat, and she's good at it. She's just got very narrow preferences in her foodstuffs. Me? I'm as much an omnivore as I've ever met. That's kind'a nice to be easy to please, but the REALLY good stuff piques my interest like very little else on earth, except maybe pulling off a particular tricky shot in the field. Satisfaction is a wonderful thing!

[DougGuy]

Going to Michigan this spring, Morels should be plentiful. Can't wait!

[MaryB]

Be careful Doug! Morel patches are guarded! Around here you step on someones mushroom patch and you might have a rifle pointed at you!

[Greg S]

Lol, sounds like picking chantrelle mushrooms in the NW. A 7.62 x 39 Krinkov is a great compact mushroom patch gun slung over the back working a hillside patch.

[mozeppa]

anyone ever eat fried giant puffball mushrooms?

i did... about 8" in girth, sliced 1/2" thick and fried in butter ...with eggs!

makes the whole house smell like a mushroom!

[shtur]

Puffballs are the only mushroom I like raw. The small ones taste like butter to me.

[Blackwater]

I've forgotten what puffball mushrooms are! Can you describe them for me? You guys who are into shroomin' make me jealous! Can't help but wonder what they all taste like. I never had the time to pursue learning about them enough to feel comfortable eating any I picked myself, so ... I have had to just sit and wonder.

[54bore]

I haven't had a mushroom I don't like? I grew up on the west coast and picked morel mushrooms since I was young boy, man those things were good! We cleaned and soaked them in salt water for a few hours to make sure we got rid of any hiding bugs in the crevices, egg and flour bath and on to the skillet!

[Blackwater]

Anybody got any good recipes for batter fried stuffed shrooms? I've tried to duplicate those at the local restaurant, but have not succeeded, though what I've done has always been good. Theirs are the most perfectly done ones I have ever eaten, and I'm just not good enough yet to match them. I've tried finely mincing onions & garlic, and adding them to some sour cream, butter (a little) a little mayo, and all sorts of things, and I still can't duplicate them. They cook them with the stems in, too, which I like. A little Ranch dressing and you're in "hawg heaven!" Their ability to cook them nice and golden and still sweet and juicy is a challenge I have been able to equal .... yet. But I keep trying. If anyone has suggestions, I'd appreciate them.

And I sauteed some a couple of days ago, and stuffed them with the afore mentioned Vidalia salad onions and garlic, with some sour cream and butter, and gee golly wow were they good! Made for a nice, light and scrumptuous lunch! Eating like that as much as I can lets me "sin" every now and again, and I really enjoy that sinning when it comes to my eats! BIG time!

[shtur]

My wife makes stuffed pastry morels. She dices the the morels, adds cream cheese with finely chopped basil, then wraps them in a homemade pastry dough. They come out the size of a half dollar. All her fellow co-workers request her to bring that dish to all the get-togethers.

[brassrat]

Look up pear shaped puffballs. They can be found in huge #s and are common. They must be young and, pure white, inside. I grab em off the dead wood and scissor the dirty end off, at home, then slice and fry. I have a 1/2 gal or so of cream mushroom soup in freezer now. (loaded) not me, the soup.

[Wayne Smith]

I just ordered more ****aki spore to infect some more oak chunks I have. Two of these to go to our boys so they will have them. I have a bunch in a couple of large white oak chunks in my back yard that I planted last fall. Hopefully I will be drilling these this coming weekend.

[Blackwater]

You guys who do the shrooming really make me envious of your talent, knowledge and eating. I went to google imaging, and got some pics of puffball mushrooms. Some would fill a #2 washtub! many would be big enough to make a "bun" for a burger. Now THAT would make one awesome burger, wouldn't it? The variation in the pics I saw were enough that I'm still afraid to pick any wild ones, as much as I miss experiencing the taste of some. I may never have tasted things like morels and others, but I DO recognize that look in the eyes of those who have, and it makes for an awfully alluring temptation! I keep thinking of that old saw, "A little knowledge is dangerous," and that keeps me from exploring the world of mushrooms more fully. I have enough health problems without adding to them with possible poisons! So I guess I'll have to sit and just enjoy a vicarous thrill. It beats the heck out of nothing, at least!

[brassrat]

There are a huge amount of mushrooms out there and you do need to be 100% certain of what you find. I belonged to a club. There are online sources and these people know 1000 x what I know and they get stumped sometimes. However, there are many mushrooms that cannot be confused with any dangerous ones. This is where I am, with enough knowledge, to spot a few dozen. I also knew enough to ID one that was growing on my brothers tree stump. Its called a Jack O Lantern. Most shroons, on a stump, are good or not edible, but also not deadly. This one smelled SO good but turned out to be very bad. The little puffball I mentioned is a good one to know. The Lobster mushroom is one I can spot a mile away, and tasty.

[Blackwater]

Brassrat and others, there are some small mushrooms that pop up very quickly after a rain. They often grow alongside the highways in good, green grass. Deer absolutely love them, and will ignore the traffic as they munch on them. Do any of you have a clue what these are? Just curious.

[44man]

I grew shiitake for years but now have trouble finding logs. I have bags of dried ones but I still like portabello on the grill. Butter and pour garlic butter in the caps.
Best is still morel shrooms. I dry them, makes the flavor stronger. I soak in milk or milk and a little water. That milk is full of flavor and goes in what I am cooking. They have been a little skimpy around here so I hope after all the snow, we have a good spring.
Once in a while I find inky caps in the yard but you have to pick and get right in the skillet.
We don't have a variety of shrooms here and I fear picking what I don't know.
My friend picked some in his yard and loved them but the family squirted from both ends for days!

[Blackwater]

That's exactly why I resist the temptation to try any here. I know that I don't really know squat about shrooms, so I refuse to try to pick any unless and until I get to know quite a bit about them, and more particularly how to recognize the "bad" ones. Like Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations!" With mushrooms, that limitation could literally kill me! Still, I can't help but be intrigued by all the stories about morels, ****akes, etc. Maybe I need to find a good morel hunting hog? They seem to know what we can't.

[T-Bird]

I'm the only mushroom forager around here that I know of. I have chanterelles that grow on my property in the summer I collect them, give them to one set of friends that likes them but the rest, I sauté and freeze. My wife is finally getting on board with the fact that I can "find something in the woods" and it be safe and tasty to eat. Made a mushroom lasagna last week, had 3# chanterelles, 1# buttons,1# baby bellas. Was fantastic! Y'all be good, T-Bird

[MaryB]

Morels are pretty safe after looking at pictures of false morels. But good luck finding a spot! I won't pick any other mushroom sthan them because I am not an expert in any way on the subject!

[44man]

In the fall we get giant puffballs too. Must be pure white all through. Slice, bread and fry, just super. can also make puff ball Parmesan. We get oyster shrooms too but they are not as good.
I found hen of the woods and sulfur shelf but too old and they never came back.
We get a lot of Dryads saddles but you can only eat the tender edges, the rest is like chewing oak.
We don't get the variety that you do in the west but enough to get by on.
I can't wait until things warm hoping for morals. Still the best of all. I carry a mesh bag so spores fall out but never seen a difference. We like the black ones best and most times my woods has them, smaller but better. Carol will find some but even she will keep a spot secret. She keeps score but I still find more.

[shtur]

In the NW, the black morels are thinner than the white morels, thus they dry faster and lose their texture easily.

Blackwater, get the book "Mushrooms Demystified" by Arora. Look at the photo's of the mushrooms you find, then read about them. He writes an entertaining book, and is considered the Mushroom expert.

[Blackwater]

Thanks, Shtur. I'll have to add that to my "to get" list. Still, I'll have to get a LOT more confident to pick any for a while. I guess we all are attracted to something or another that we know is or can be dangerous? Cowboys and lots of others make a life on it!

[44man]

Shrooms are not anything to play with unless you know EXACTLY. Pictures never helped, more scientific then that so to make sure, you eat some to see if you die!
It is why I stay with the few I know. I can easily see the real poisonous ones like the amanita, destroying angel, death cap and fly agaric. Even the inky cap that can be eaten will make you sick as hell if you have alcohol even a few days later. There are poison chanterelles too.
There are many that look exactly like you pick all the time that are not the same.
Never take chances with them.
I have found hundreds of shrooms and went to the books and never found them.

[Boaz]

I have always been interested in mushrooms but living in a semi arid part of the country they are far and few between . I think it would be interesting though .

[hoosierlogger]

Puffballs are the only mushroom I like raw. The small ones taste like butter to me.

these puff balls were too big. They were starting to rot. We cooked some smaller ones though.

[shtur]

Pretty cool, I have never personally seen one that large. Way to go, teaching the younger generation to harvest mushrooms !

[MaryB]

And this is why I stick to morels only! They only have one sort of look alike and the stem tells the difference between them. Morels are hollow when sliced, false morels are semi solid. False morels are often ugly too!


Shrooms are not anything to play with unless you know EXACTLY. Pictures never helped, more scientific then that so to make sure, you eat some to see if you die!
It is why I stay with the few I know. I can easily see the real poisonous ones like the amanita, destroying angel, death cap and fly agaric. Even the inky cap that can be eaten will make you sick as hell if you have alcohol even a few days later. There are poison chanterelles too.
There are many that look exactly like you pick all the time that are not the same.
Never take chances with them.
I have found hundreds of shrooms and went to the books and never found them.

[Col4570]

I like to cook Mushrooms this way.Large open Mushrooms smeared with Butter,salt and Pepper on the smooth side and grilled.Turned over,more Butter,salt pepper in the gills.Stilton Cheese crumbled on to the gills and grilled.Served with Steak and some Chips (French Fries).

[44man]

You can not mistake a giant puff ball. They don't grow on wood but on the ground. Only in the fall.
To find a morel is like using a metal detector and finding gold. Most exciting times I have.
I would take a puff ball and cut into small cubes, dip in batter and deep fry. Put in bags to take to work and snack on all day. Hard to get batter to stick. Bad thing is they don't keep well. Just can't eat as many as I find. There are a few to stay away from but they are easy to tell. To find one as large as a bushel basket means most will go to waste. I never found a way to freeze them but a neighbor woman cooks them first and she makes soup.
Next to a morel, we love the puff ball next.

[MaryB]

Wonder how they would work in that recipe I have somewhere for mushroom ketchup? Could can that and have it for awhile... and maybe fine chop and make steak sauce?

[44man]

They just might. They are mild in flavor. We still like egg wash and breaded, fried best. Heaven is a big platter full. I need to try soup someday. I will go down and get her recipe.

[hoosierlogger]

I freeze morels and they tast just as good after being frozen as they do when fresh.

heres how

1: rinse and cut into halves (quarters if you are lucky enough to find big ones)
2: DO NOT SALT
3: prepare as normal (without the salt)
4: fry in oil for 1 minute on each side
5: remove from oil and let cool
6: place cooled mushrooms in freezer bag. Food saver works great.
7: freeze til ready to use

to enjoy when the snow is flying

1: preheat oil
2: place frozen chunk of mushrooms in hot oil and complete the cooking. (They will all separate and cook to perfection).
3: salt and pepper to taste

i have tried many methods and this is by far the best I have found. 10X better than drying them.

[Blackwater]

Those puff balls can't help but make me wonder if anyone's perhaps sliced them so as to make a "bun" for a burger? It might have to be eaten with a fork, something this old redneck CAN do even though he likes to eat "finger foods." For something as delectable as a "burger" using mushrooms as a "bun" just piques my interest and bent toward experimenation. Anyone tried this? Some good, browned onions, a dash of garlic powder, and it seems this would put a good ol' boy like me in Hawg Heaven! Anyone tried it? Could make a cookout for kids into a real treat?!

[44man]

Never did, but they are best fried. Maybe used then for a "BUN". Hey, why not?

[leeggen]

Always remember not to salt mushrooms until after they are done cooking, otherwise it will pull the moister out and they will get tuff. Never ate a puffball before but will look inti this fall.
CD