What a year for mushrooms at EEC Forest Stewardship! Our tending of an extensive bolete patch through the years is paying out in dividends this October, 2023. We’ve had a few continuous days of rain and heavy morning fog to bring on the mushroom spring. I’m so thrilled about our crop of crackled and Zeller’s, the extent of this second flush remains hard to capture in pictures, but I’ll try-
What to do with all these mushrooms? Feast, feast, feast! I’ve been eating Xerocomellus chrysenteron and Xerocomellus zelleri for a decade, but it’s not agreeable with all stomachs. My partner’s belly rejects them, so I get to enjoy these scrumptious delicacies on my own. Please remember to eat a small amount first with any confirmed edible species before chowing down. Most mushrooms are best enjoyed when fresh, some are dehydrated to keep, but most should be cooked and enjoyed at the time of harvest. After gathering a “shirt full”, I returned to the house with a load to cook up and enjoy. Some of the younger Zeller’s will go into the fridge to enjoy within the next few days. Here’s the easy recipe for my meal today:
4 cups freshly picked boletes cleaned*
cast iron on low/med heat, add cleaned mushrooms and cook off moisture (about 20min)
stir often to encourage evaporation
add 1 cup chicken broth and simmer 1/2 hour
one ear of precooked corn sliced off cob into simmering brew
cook down broth to desired “gravy” thickness, then turn off heat
4 leftover cooked scallops from last night’s dinner stirred in
serve warm
*clean mushrooms by removing the pore layer under cap DO NOT WASH
water on mushrooms is never helpful, as you are trying to remove H2O, use a dry brush it does wonders. Do cut off soil infused bits and blemishes with knife and brush in the field before basketing or t-shirt bagging them to avoid soil falling into chosen harvesting receptacle and on the other mushrooms, giving your meal unexpected and unwanted crunch.
Boletes do not need a lot of flavor additives, but these two species are not known for being that flavorful, so adding some butter or broth with herbs and spices is encouraged. Also- though these mushrooms can stain blue, they have no psychedelic properties, and are safe culinary species you can enjoy without worry. These bolete species are also one of the few red colored stipe species that are safe to eat- but as always, harvest with local experts in person when learning. A brave mushroomer is a dead one. I’m not here to scare you- yes I am. Mushroom identification is a science, and I’m only confidant in what I eat with years of experience in a specific bio-region of Western Washington.
EEC Forest Stewardship 