Hen of the Woods mushroom

[steve schmidt]

I am new to "schrooming". A friend of mine gave some hen of the woods. No matter how I washed or brushed it with a soft bristled toothbrush I couldn't get all the "grit" out.

I did slice it into pieces about an inch thick to freeze. Is the grit grown right into the " meat" or what? They taste great, but the "grit" is kinda a turnoff.!! Help

[Jameson]

I assume the "grit" is dirt or sand. Usually this grit will either get on the shroom from rain, or from the picker not handling the shroom properly. I have found it best to just leave the dirty(gritty) mushrooms unpicked in the woods, and look for clean shrooms. When collecting them make sure to cut with knife, and take all precautions in keeping dirt away from any picked shrooms.

The best suggestion I have for your current shrooms is simply brushing more.

Good Luck!

[SilverLakeBoy]

I use the air compressor out in the garage and just blow the dirt off of them with the spray nozzle.

[Tom Linderholm]

You have a great find there! One of my favorite MN mushrooms next to morels. I have always soaked mine in a oversized bowl with a salt water solution. it helps to cut off the woody end and pull the mushrooms apart like string cheese.

The air compressor idea is a great one. Too bad my kitchens aren't equipped.

[Freewheeler]

Steve, Too bad about the grit in your big prize. They are delicious to say the least. When you get a clean one that will make all the difference in the world[eating wise] We usually get them up North here in the Oak stands that have been mowed so they are pretty grit free. At worst a little grass has grown through them.[salad]. While doing an outdoor fishfry last month a local guy brought over a slightly orange mushroom to our place as he knew we eat them. It was big as a dinner plate but smaller than a steering wheel and he said we could have it if we gave him a cold beer for it. I almost knocked him over heading for the cooler! Long story made short,I took it to the trailer, tore it in about 1 inch pieces,put the clean good pieces in a huge fry pan with lots of butter, garlic salt, pepper, and some whorchester sauce to kick it up a little and cooked her up. When I brought the finished product back to the fish fry, some people who had never tasted it before actually thought it was a pan of chicken pieces. Even after telling them it was a mushroom! [it went over well] Since there were 12 of us there and now everybody knows what they look and TASTE like, I'm done getting any free gifts.[cooked my own goose so to speak]. So you'll just have to keep your eyes peeled next summer and early fall for a better product.

[steve schmidt]

Thanks guys or gals for your feedback. Since my friend is the "shroom picker", I guess I need to be patient and brush them more.

Since this post, I took a bunch of cleaned shaggy manes up to our hunting cabin this weekend. I had about 2/3 rds of a gallon of cleaned manes. The intent was to put the onions, seasonings and cook them down so any water was removed. The weather really got nice while doing this so we decided to go golfing. I told my friends I would have to revert to making mushroom and onion soup. The said "okay", just so we could go golfing. When we returned, I added a couple cans of chicken broth and heated it up. Wow!! The all went back multiple times until they were all gone. Based on that meal, my stepbrother (who owns the cabin) requested I repeat that the Friday nite of the opening rifle season. That's the ultimate compliment.

I am really into this "schrooming" but have no intentions of taking any chances with identification. Thanks again.

[jimlovestrout]

Any of You have Pictures of the one's you picked this fall..