Oregon Department of Forestry permits residents to harvest wild mushrooms up to one gallon on state forestlands.
TILLAMOOK, Ore. — As summer slides by and the fall slips in with cooler days and nights, there is a new shout-out for the season: “There’s gold in the hills!” The golden chanterelle mushroom season is underway, and it’s not a mineral or metal type. It’s a culinary delight!
There’s nothing better than a stroll in the woods, especially when there’s treasure underfoot. Steve Fick figures it’s simple: if you want to harvest wild mushrooms, learn their habitat.
The Tillamook State Forest, where sun and shadow dance through the towering Doug fir trees, Fick’s well-trained eyes are fixed down close to the ground where there’s a culinary reward.
PHOTOS: Golden chanterelles
He used a sharp short-bladed pocketknife to cut the chanterelle free from the ground and said it’s their taste that brings him back each October.
“Chanterelles have a golden-orange hue, and their chalice shape makes them easy to spot – but their true allure is a woodsy flavor that’s hard to resist,” he said.
Since 1999, the gorgeous fungi have been Oregon’s official State Mushroom.
Fick said that chanterelles were not the only mushrooms found in the forest. In fact, there are dozens of other mushrooms that grow here and “most are none too friendly to people and many are downright dangerous.”
“When you’re doing it without knowledge, there’s no reason to take any chances,” said Fick. “I learned an old saying long ago: There are old mycologists and there are bold mycologists, but there are no old, bold mycologists.”
Steve cleaned about one pound of Chanterelles. He never washes them in any water and prefers to clean them with a soft cloth or brush. After that, it was time to head indoors to my Kitchen.
Steve and I were joined by Fick’s longtime friend and chef, Preston VanHook, who has worked in fine white-linen restaurants across the region, and said he loves the down-home taste of the Oregon chanterelle.
He began to remove the stems of 20 medium-sized chanterelles. This was the first of three recipes he prepared for his friends.
Chanterelle mushroom recipes
Recipe #1: Stuffed chanterelles
VanHook placed each chanterelle cap upside-down on a cookie sheet.
Meanwhile, Fick brought out a salmon carcass or “frame” and used a small teaspoon to scrape nearly a pound of fresh salmon from the bones of the carcass.
“Nothing goes to waste,” added Steve with a smile.
PHOTOS: Stuffed chanterelles
Preston then combined the salmon with half a cup of mayonnaise and three thinly sliced green onion pieces, along with 1 teaspoon each oregano-thyme and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
Steve put the cookie sheet in a 350-degree oven for 15 min.
Recipe #2: Hot chanterelle-based vinaigrette to make a spinach salad
Preston roughly chopped two cups of chanterelles: “I do this rough chop with the mushrooms, so they are fork-able.”
In addition, he finely chopped a medium sized shallot and three strips of bacon and added, “You can’t go wrong with bacon and chanterelles!”
One pound of wild chanterelles was fried in a pan. It was bursting with flavor and squished into the pan.
“Chanterelles are one of those things the really depend upon a hot pan,” added Fick.
When the mushrooms were nearly done, he added 1 cup of sherry vinegar and ½ cup of water and warmed the mixture through until it was hot.
PHOTOS: Chanterelle vinaigrette
“I’ve some big beautiful parsley here that I will chop and add near the end of the cooking time – along with a small amount of lemon juice,” said Vanhook.
The hot vinaigrette is poured over large bowls of fresh spinach leaves to give the salad a beautiful wilted appearance and delicious aroma.
Recipe #3: Saumon with Chanterelle Duxelles
Steve started by grilling two filets chinook salmon.
Preston explained that the French Duxelles is a finely chopped (minced) mixture of mushrooms or mushroom stems, onions, shallots, and herbs sautéed in butter. It is used in basic dishes, sauces, and as garnish.
Preston sautéed 2 cups of chopped chanterelles and added a minced medium sized shallot and four cloves of minced garlic.
He added ½ cup of heavy cream to complete the duxelles that was topped with a sprinkle of chopped thyme and fresh parsley.
The sauce was drizzled over the salmon filets. It made for an incredible chanterelle feast!
“Dinner is served,” said the beaming chef, who was clearly proud of his three distinct presentations.
The eager diners were thrilled and celebrated with the chef.
“The stuffed chanterelles are the bomb,” said diner Kerry Harsin.
His wife, Sue Harsin, added, “I love the salmon with chanterelle sauce – it’s a little bit of heaven.”
Liz Jordan added, “I’ve never tried a stuffed chanterelle with salmon – it is yummy!”
Diner Leslee Sipp exclaimed, “I give this dinner a five-star rating! These recipes are delicious and easy to prepare. The chanterelles are delicious!”
Preston and Steve were delighted with the reviews. VanHook, however, insisted that this was what Oregon is all.
“I think in Oregon all around, we are just spoiled with the bounty you can harvest from the forest, or the rivers or the sea – we’re really lucky that we can go out and tromp around and feed our family too,” he said.
Fick added that the meals that you contribute to are the most rewarding – that is, the ones connecting you and tie you to the source of your food.
“There’s something exciting and magical that comes about when you find it and prepare it and when you share it with friends and family – I don’t think it can get much better,” he said.
The Oregon Department of Forestry The law allows residents to harvest one gallon of wild mushrooms from state forests. Anything more than that, however, is considered to be commercial picking. This requires the purchase at any state office of forestry a $100 permit.
Steve stressed the importance of safety for foragers that venture into the forest in this season. First, only pick mushrooms you are confident in. If you don’t know, go with someone who is experienced and does know or take a mushroom ID class. He suggested that you Cascade Mycological Society.)
He suggested that anyone hunting mushrooms in uncharted territory should stay near the road and not be too far from the traffic.
Follow me on the new Oregon Adventures page Grant’s Getaways Podcast:
Each segment is a story telling session where I tell behind-the scenes stories about my 40 years of television and travel reporting.
You can also learn more about many of my favorite Oregon travels and adventures in the Grant’s Getaways book series, including:
This collection includes hundreds of outdoor activities in Oregon that will engage kids of all ages.
from Salem – Salem Local News https://bit.ly/3LGx8cG
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.