[sheephat]

Someone asked me on another thread about how I cook my Dryad Saddle so I thought I would share it here and see if some other people want to share some of the ways they cook different mushrooms.

Dryad Saddle-
I pick only the small ones or just cut off the outside 1 inch of the mushroom to get the less woody parts.
I cut them into small chunks (chicken nugget size) and bread them.
(flour>egg/milk wash>bread crumbs)
Fry them in a little olive oil.
Then dip them in marinara sauce. (maybe cut up some wild ramps and cook them into the sauce)

 

[sheephat]

This looked good so I wanted to share it. I hope to find some morels soon so I can try it!

http://ohiomushroomsociety.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/organic-crisp-morels-with-asparagus-pearl-onions/

 

[ngariety]

Haven't tried it yet, but my buddy told me one....instead of using flour for breading, put cool ranch doritos in a blender and chop them up real fine and use that as the breading instead....sounds good.

 

[buckeyebowman]

Wow, Sheephat, that recipe looked really tasty! Haven't done squat with morels this year, but did find some beautiful pheasant backs yesterday. I'm a total newb, so let me ask, are they anything like dryad saddles? Are dryads a wood fungus or a forest floor type? My Grandma used to like cooking up chickens and hens with pasta in tomato sauce, but I don't know the exact recipe. I'm wondering if pheasant backs could be used the same way. I'm guessing a good soaking in salt water, followed by frying and then simmering them in the sauce. It was so delicious the way my Grandma did them! You didn't even miss the meatballs. You didn't need them! Any ideas?

 

[buckeyebowman]

Well, duh! No sooner do I leave here than I get on Google and look up "dryad mushrooms", and, son of a gun, pheasant backs are a member of the family! OK, I got that part of it down now. Still interested in other recipe ideas.

 

[oldshroomer]

Buckeye, draid's are good any way you choose! We always pick some while out hunting for morels. We like em floured and fried, sauteed plain in butter and in stews, but they're very versatile use em any way you please. Only problem with them, they don't dry well. I don't know a good way to preserve them!!?? Anyone with thoughts on that??

 

[buckeyebowman]

Oddly enough, timbuk2, these pheasant backs are the first 'shrooms of any kind that I have seen this year! Found them while turkey hunting. Strange year indeed! I know exactly where I found them, and left some really small ones behind to keep on growing. You know I'll be back there to check on those and also scout around for some morels after this rain that's coming.

I've read that even morels should not be consumed raw, and I wondered just how much cooking dryads need to render them "safe". If you use them in stews I'm guessing that simmering in a hot broth is enough. Or do you fry them before tossing them in the stew? Or do you just soak them in salt water beforehand. I'm looking to simmer them in tomato sauce, and then using that sauce over pasta the way my Grandma did. If that would work, who knows? Maybe that could be a way to preserve them. Simmered in tomato sauce and then frozen along with the sauce.