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Finding the Forgotten Feast

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Mushroom Recipes

Seared lake trout, porcini and morels on a plate.

Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Find It Fast

•  About

•  Gathering & Preserving: Basic Tips | Preserving Mushrooms | Gathering & Cooking Guides

•  Recipes: Sauces | Pasta & Rice | Soups & Stews | Miscellaneous

•  Our Latest Posts

About

If you're looking for mushroom recipes, especially wild mushroom recipes, you have come to the right place: This is my collection of nearly 75 recipes where mushrooms are the star, or where they play harmony with other ingredients.

Some are fancy, some simple. Most of these mushroom recipes can be made with regular ole' button mushrooms, or their brown cousins, the cremini; yes, they are the same mushroom, just grown differently.

The single best store-bought mushroom that matches the flavor intensity of wild mushrooms is the shiitake, so if you're into mushrooms buy that one.

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Basic Tips

Virtually all mushrooms must be cooked, because even fully edible ones need their cell walls broken down by cooking to be fully digestible, and some, like morel mushrooms, are actually toxic if eaten raw.

Many mushrooms contain so much internal water you will want to toss them in a dry pan and "dry fry" them until they start giving up that water. Only then do you add butter or oil.

Mushrooms, being earthy, love wild game, beef, duck and other dark meat poultry. But some, like the matsutake, the enoki and the common white button mushroom, do go very well with fish and white meats.

Always save the water from rehydrating dried mushrooms. It's full of flavor and, once strained of its debris, is great for soups, stews and cooking rice.

In general, multiply the weight of dried mushrooms by eight to get the equivalent weight of fresh. So 1/4 pound of dried porcini, for example, will be the equivalent of 2 pounds fresh.

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Preserving Mushrooms

Most mushrooms are best preserved by drying. This is not true for a few popular mushrooms, like chanterelles and chicken of the woods. These lose a lot when dried, and should be sautéed, then vacuum sealed and frozen.

I dehydrate my mushrooms in a dehydrator at about 110°F. You can put them on a rack in a hot garage, the back of your car in summer, or if you have to, a low oven. This is not ideal because you want to dry mushrooms, not cook them.

The next most common way to preserve mushrooms is to sauté them in butter or oil, with onions and garlic (or not), either in large pieces or as a classic French duxelle. You then cool, put in a vacuum bag, seal and freeze.

You can pickle mushrooms, too, and I am especially fond of pickled chanterelles. There's also a hybrid technique from Italy where you salt mushrooms to remove some liquid, then boil in vinegar, dry them a bit, then preserve in olive oil. I prefer this style of marinated mushrooms for porcini.

Finally, you can lacto-ferment mushrooms, which is a brine pickle. I do this primarily with saffron milk caps, but you can use lots of different mushrooms.

Close up of fermented mushrooms on a plate.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

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Gathering and Cooking Guides

These are guides to finding, safely identifying and cooking a few popular types of wild mushrooms.

Starting with chanterelles, which come out in summer in most of the United States, but in fall and winter in the Northwest. I wrote another article on yellowfoot chanterelles, a type of related mushroom.

Here are some tips on how to look for morel mushrooms in the West, and some pointers on looking for spring porcini.

Meadow mushrooms, Agaricus campestris, live all over, but they can be tricky to identify. Here's how.

Here's a guide to cauliflower mushrooms, and one for honey mushrooms.

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Sauces

Mushrooms of all kinds make for great sauces. Some of the best are the simplest, like a mushroom sauce for steak.

I do a specific morel sauce with venison that's also great with beef or pork, and a rich mushroom ragu to serve with pasta or polenta.

I also make a simple mushroom sauce that works well with fattier fish, like trout, salmon or mackerel.

A plate of mushroom ravioli with sautéed mushrooms
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

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Pasta and Rice

Mushrooms love to be with pasta or rice. Everything from risotto with porcini, morels or chanterelles, to Japanese matsutake rice.

I love mushroom ravioli, as well as mushroom tortellini, too. And you can never go wrong with mushroom pierogi.

This pasta recipe was made for chanterelles, but goes well with a variety of mushrooms, foraged or store-bought.


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Soups and Stews

I have a range of soups and stews where mushrooms are either the star or a main player. Some of my favorites are a smooth chanterelle veloute, a wild mushroom bisque, a Spanish stew called chilindron, which uses lots of dried mushrooms, or a Russian stew with mushrooms, barley and a red meat like goose.

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Miscellaneous

Mushroom fried rice is a simple, quick and easy recipe that works with any fresh mushroom, from buttons to morels, and whatever vegetable is in season when you make it.

Creamy mushrooms on toast is savory, rich, filling and definitely not low-fat. I am in love with this recipe! A recipe similar to this, only using egg as a binder, makes an incredible mushroom tart.

Mushroom spinach frittata is an easy "breakfast for dinner" recipe that works with any sort of fresh mushroom, and any sort of leafy green.

Wild mushroom stuffing is a must for the holiday season, and this especially satisfying version can be vegetarian.

The Latest

A mushroom spinach frittata in a cast iron pan.

Mushroom Spinach Frittata

By Hank Shaw on June 1, 2022 - 2 Comments

An easy Italian cross between an omelet and a quiche, this frittata is stuffed with wild mushrooms and wild spinach.

Read More about Mushroom Spinach Frittata

A bowl of polenta with mushroom ragu, with dried mushrooms alongside.

Polenta with Mushroom Ragu

By Hank Shaw on May 12, 2022 - 8 Comments

A classic Italian mushroom ragu, made with a variety of mushrooms, wild or cultivated. Serve this with polenta or pasta.

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German jagerschnitzel served with a mushroom sauce, on a rustic plate.

German Jägerschnitzel 

By Hank Shaw on March 23, 2022, Updated June 6, 2022 - 5 Comments

Jägerschnitzel is one of Germany’s best known dishes. Also spelled jaegerschnitzel, it means “hunter’s cutlets,” meat pounded thin and served with a mushroom sauce. Easy to make, and a great way to celebrate a successful hunt. Back in the 1800s, jägerschnitzel was originally made with venison or wild boar loin, pounded thin. It is now normally made

Read More about German Jägerschnitzel 

A platter of roasted mushrooms with garlic.

Roasted Mushrooms with Garlic

By Hank Shaw on November 11, 2021, Updated May 23, 2022 - 13 Comments

This is a simple roasted mushroom recipe that works with any meaty mushroom, from porcini to shiitake to regular button mushrooms.

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Pheasant with mushrooms, cream and greens in a pot.

Pheasant with Mushrooms and Cream

By Hank Shaw on November 3, 2021, Updated May 26, 2022 - 4 Comments

Pheasant with mushrooms is a perfect combination of fall flavors, is easy to make and comes together in less than an hour. This is a homey recipe that brings together the classic combination of mushrooms, brandy, cream and chicken — only I use pheasant breasts here. Grouse, quail, partridge, rabbit or chicken also work. I

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A plate of mushroom ravioli with sautéed mushrooms

Mushroom Ravioli

By Hank Shaw on December 3, 2020, Updated March 30, 2021 - 17 Comments

I started making mushroom ravioli many years ago, when I began seriously hunting mushrooms. These little parcels of love pack a ton of flavor, and are best served simply, with an herb or two, maybe some additional fresh mushrooms, and lots of butter or good olive oil. You’ll notice the pasta is brown. That’s because

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A bowl of Polish bigos stew

Polish Bigos Stew

By Hank Shaw on November 30, 2020, Updated June 6, 2022 - 14 Comments

A classic Polish hunter’s stew using whatever meats you have handy, from wild game to chicken and pork.

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Hen of the woods recipe on a plate

Hen of the Woods ‘Steak’

By Hank Shaw on November 9, 2020, Updated February 15, 2021 - 7 Comments

This is a simple hen of the woods recipe where you slice the mushroom in big ‘steaks,’ then sear it under a weight.

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Hank Shaw holding a rod and reel in the American River

Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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