Weekend Edibles

[Matt Breuer]

What a haul, Jim! Nice work! The area you asked about a few weeks ago?

A pair of those boletes look like kings no doubt, but others don't appear bulbuous enough. Maybe variipes?

How did you cook the yellow-foot? I find them a bit peppery for us. They are my son's favorite chant relative to find though. He thinks they are the coolest.

[NoWiser]

Hey Matt, this was a new area I looked in. I gave up on the other woods.

I agree. Everything about them looked like kings to me, except for shape of the stem. The only thing I didn't have was ammonia to put a drop on the cap. That would have verified it. Either way I've got a bunch of ziplocks full of dried boletes that taste excellent!

I didn't notice too much of a peppery taste on the yellowfeet, but I only had a couple of them by themselves, and added pepper to them anyways when I was sauteeing. I made a very mushroom-heavy risotto last night with all of the yellowfeet and some chanterelles. Delicious.

[pushbutton]

Great finds NoWiser...bet that risotto was awesome! Found a bolete graveyard this past weekend....only a few feet away from where i found the kings a week ago. Oh, well, hopefully they will make more "babies" for next year. Still have yet to find a hedgehog or yellow foot. As, Matt said....never enough time in the woods!

[NoWiser]

Pushbutton,

I don't have much luck with the hedgehogs either. I've only found a few. I think they are my favorite for eating, though. I love the texture and taste. I only found one lonely one last weekend. I'm heading out tonight and with any luck maybe I'll stumble across a couple, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

The yellow foots I almost missed. They were growing RIGHT on the edge of a pond, in the moss. As I was walking by I glanced at them and assumed they were just some type of LBM. I decided to take a closer look and sure enough, yellow foots. Lots of them when I started looking closer. All of the ones I found were growing out of really fluffy moss in low areas.

Just finished the last of the risotto for lunch

Good luck!

[Matt Breuer]

PB, I'm sure you walk past yellow-foot constantly. I see it everywhere. Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of them taste-wise, but they sure are cute.

Walked for 2 hours today and annihilated the trumpets. We walked into an absolute field of them. Picked roughly half, left the rest. They were huge, perfect specimens. Also picked a dozen chants and about 2lbs. of hedgehogs, some were giants, some COW, and some variipes. No kings still...

Will get a pic up later!

[Matt Breuer]

[jerkin'm]

SWEET!!

[jerkin'm]

Got out today around home and found a few pounds of oysters...One tree with a ton of too far gone chickens was pretty depressing...

[Matt Breuer]

I've been craving some oysters... but haven't seen any in awhile, aside from our cultivated ones...

Bummer on the COW. Mental note for next year!

[jerkin'm]

I was too late for most of the oysters too...several downed trees covered top to bottom but mostly too far gone. I walk the same stretches of woods and have never seen the chickens on the tree I saw them on today. A ladder would have been necessary for most of them...With the table full of shrooms in the previous pic I can't believe you would be craving any mushrooms at all..

[Matt Breuer]

I haven't seen a single oyster since the spring run ended. Just been uber-dry up here. I would've thought with the recent rains some would've been out, but I haven't run across a single flush. Puffballs are sure going nuts though... took the kids out on Sun. for an hour and we found 57 giant puffs. Was incredible.

[pushbutton]

REALLY dry here too, was a very dismal year for the chants and no oysters since spring as well. Starting to figure out, dialing in on, and finding some more lobsters..... after the rain a few weeks ago, but do not expect much more without some more rain. Last night was case in point for how its been going here....rain to the immediate north and south with only a few drops here. Oh, well, was at least able to get out and pre scout some for Jr. and I's trip today. He thinks he is an expert as he always seems to spot them when we go out and tell him where I "think" they are Here is his best Matt Bruer aka The Mushroom Whisperer imitation

[pushbutton]

Where do you find those trumpets by the way? Not GPS coords, but soil, terrain, type thing.....

[Matt Breuer]

Your son = AWESOME!

No rhyme or reason to the trumps. I've literally found them while bear baiting in bogs growing from moss, found them in campsite edges, in rest areas, and the huge flushing above was found near oaks where we were picking hedgehogs. Literally a thousand or more around 2 large oaks. A hundred yards away was a smaller flush in a poplar bunching.

[pike79]

My vote goes to the breuer wannabe way better than the breuer.

[Matt Breuer]

pushbutton, I was out yesterday and I brought back a mission for Junior...

In all seriousness, there were a lot of 'shrooms out there. Found 3 good COW's, some fresh chanties, tons of boletes, lots of shaggy's and mica caps, etc...

[pushbutton]

Ok ok, they do exist. We finally stumbled on a couple a few weeks ago .....a nice purdy one

.....and a not so purdy one

[jerkin'm]

Went out this weekend and found a few chants and a few corals...Matt, do you have any close up shots of that coral on the table shot from above? Pretty sure it's the same but never picked it before...So....you do have a job???? Seems like you have far too much time in the woods to have one...

[Matt Breuer]

I have a 40+ hr. job, guide 20+ hrs., have 2 young kids, sit on the board of directors for a non-profit, and do promotions on the side. Sleep is for babies and the elderly...

Here's a good crown-tip shot...

[jerkin'm]

Thats it for sure...Thanks for the pic...You only have two kids???? No wonder you have so much time in the woods......

[Matt Breuer]

You mean people can handle more than 2 at a time? Bollucks!

First hen of the woods picture hit Facebook today... I'm picking one this weekend, dang it!

[pushbutton]

You mean people can handle more than 1 at a time? I would have to resort to duck tape, then social services would get involved, just see nothing good coming from it. Good luck on the hen quest!

[B-man715]

Good stuff guys!

I found a few chickens the other day while baiting.

Seen lots of coral out too. But I can't touch that stuff..........

Two years ago while bear baiting I picked a couple handfuls (for the first time) and put them in the fridge.

Over night I woke up with hives covering my whole body! Never had hives before......and haven't had them since.

Touching that mushroom was the only thing I did different that day......

The only other thing I am mildly allergic to is bees.

[pikestabber]

I am hoping for any advice you guys are willing to give me... To say I am jealous of your collective fungal knowledge is the understatement of the year. I really NEED to get into this activity, and I want to be able to understand half of what you are talking about at some point ( ), but for now I would surely settle for a place to start...

I pick Morels every year, but I had no idea we had so many edible fungus among us (see what I did there?). So for a rookie like me (and I live near Grand Rapids if area makes a difference), what would be a good 'shroom to go after this time of year? Can you show me a picture with a name, a general place to look, how to prepare, are they easily confused with something poisonous? Any books or websites you recommend?

Sorry, boatload of questions (and tons more to come, I'm afraid), but wow am I excited thinking about this as a hobby! Thanks in advance!

[jerkin'm]

Tried to find a hen today....only came up with chickens...lots of em out there now..