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Mushroom hunting Mt. Hood National Forest, Wild Mushroom Sauce recipe
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“Mushrooming is like a great treasure hunt where everyone's treasure is a little different. Some are happy to just be out in the woods . . " Dick Bishop
By Michelle Winner with Fred Shipley and Richard Bishop
Walk on the wild side. Fall is a fabulous season to wander the forest in search of wild mushrooms. In Autumn, when the forests become quiet and the mist drips from the fir trees, these edibles are generally making an appearance:
Yellow Chanterelles ( Cantherellus formosa)
White Chanterelles (Cantherellus subalbidus)
Boletes (Boletus edulis,mirabilis and Leccinum species)
Matsutake (Tricholoma magnivelare)
Sparassis crispa
Sulfur Shelf (Laetiporus coniferacola)
Fried Chicken Mushroom (Lyophyllum decastes) .
Hundreds of other inedible or poisonous gilled mushrooms, polypores, coral fungi and slime molds also debut and take a bow in autumn’s glorious play of color and light, sometimes confusing the novice.
Fred Shipley and Richard Bishop of the Oregon Mycological Society in Portland graciously offer those new to mushroom hunting some sage advice to ensure a safe experience. Here is our interview.
1) Fred and Dick, thanks for sharing your knowledge with our readers. If a visitor to the forest is not an avid ‘mushroomer’ how can they tell which are poisonous ?
Dick: “The common edible and poisonous mushrooms should be in any of the field guides mentioned below. Not everyone interprets the pictures and description the same way. When you find what appears to be an edible mushroom for the first time your next step is to find a knowledgeable person to confirm what you have found. How can you tell if that person really knows what they are talking about? You might ask them if they are a member of any mushroom society. Lacking that you should ask them to show you in their field guide the mushroom you have found and to show you any that it could be confused with. Then it's up to you to decide if you trust that person enough. As a general rule members of OMS and most mushroom societies are willing to identify a mushroom. Some of us however draw the line when someone shows up with a bucket of various species and wants to know which ones are edible. “
2)Can they come to one of your meetings in Cheatham Hall at the World Forestry Center in Portland ?
Dick:“Anyone is welcome to show up at our meetings and we will be happy to help you identify your treasure. For those that are interested beyond learning one or two mushrooms OMS offers to members a pre-meeting education class and field trips where we will help you identify mushrooms.”
Fred:“If they are not familiar with mushrooms then they shouldn't harvest fungi. Ignorance can result in death. They need to be educated, either through mushroom societies, and forestry resources, libraries and online internet resources that could start their journey. Oregon Mycological Society in Portland is a local resource for education and field trips.”
3) Are books reliable to identify mushrooms? What book would you recommend as a field guide?
Dick:“ We generally recommend that people have more that one field guide as they all give you a little different information and pictures of mushrooms from other areas often look a little different.” (Here are some recommended) “Field guides:
Mushrooms Demystified by David Aurora
All that Rain Promises and More by David Arora
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms by Gary H Lincoff
A Field Guide to Mushrooms, Peterson Field Guides, by Kent and Vera McKnight,
for truffles there is the NATS (North American Truffle Society) Field Guide to Selected North American Truffles and truffle-like fungi
The Savory Wild Mushroom ( not as comprehensive as some but has NW mushrooms only) McKenny M., Stuntz D.E., and Ammirati J.F.”
4) Any other safety rules of mushrooming like "leave no trace", don‘t eat it /pick it if you don‘t know what it is, "take only what you need” and leave some to grow , enter the forest with clean boots to avoid carrying unwanted species, travel with a partner, file an excursion plan with someone, GPS, walkie talkie, extra jacket, lots of water, snack, bear bells on shoes, carry a whistle, etc?
Fred and Dick : “Your points are valid. We encourage all to respect the resource, minimize the impact of your presence, and harvest prudently for sustainability and keep in mind the need to have woods skills of compass and map (GPS are often not useable in heavily forested areas) know your skill set and limits and communicate with your mushrooming partners.”
5) Thank you both for sharing your insight, before you go, if you could sum up the experience of mushrooming for the novice, what would you tell them?
Dick: “Mushrooming is like a great treasure hunt where everyone's treasure is a little different. Some are happy to just be out in the woods observing nature and fungi in particular. Others are interested in finding and identifying different mushrooms. The vast majority however lust after those morsels that can be turned into a delicious treat when subjected to some culinary magic.”
And regarding that “culinary magic“; OMS member Chef Dan Brophy an instructor at the prestigious Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland takes these prized morsels and creates mushroom bliss. Here he graciously shares his recipe for Wild Mushroom Sauce. Oregon Culinary Institute’s elegant teaching restaurant is an-in-the-know spot in Portland to relax and delight in a weekday prix fixe lunch or dinner featuring seasonal, sustainable and local Northwest fare. Chef Brody might just be preparing a wild mushroom delight when you call for reservations! 503-961-6200. Happy hunting!
The logistics:
There are several ranger districts in the Mt. Hood National Forest. Barlow ( Dufur), Hood River (Parkdale), Clackamas River ( Estacada) and Zig Zag on Hwy 26 East. I picked up a map of the mushroom trails at the Zig Zag station, but if you want to find the secret spots you’ll have to engage a member of the OMS. Permits vary as do quantities you are allowed to pick with or without a permit. You should however get a NWFP Mt. Hood National Forest Recreation Pass available yearly or by the day at the Ranger office and various stores in the area. You’ll find more info at Zig Zag Ranger District or 70220 E. Highway 26. 503-622-3191x662.
Oregon Mycological Society
Oldest mycological Society in Oregon, meets the fourth Monday each month at 7:30PM Cheatham Hall/World Forestry Center in Portland, 4033 SW Canyon Road, next to the zoo. You are invited! Oregon Mycological Society provides details about the society‘s educational opportunities, Fall mushrooming trips, mushroom gathering checklist, membership info, more recipes and books available. General inquiries: Fred Shipley, OMS President at 503-638-6891
Chef Dan Brophy’s Wild Mushroom Sauce
. . .This sounds like heaven over some Tagliatelle!
Yield: 3-cups
1/4 cup butter
4 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pound wild mushroom of the season, cleaned and sliced
2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups mushroom stock, or chicken or vegetable
1 cup cream
1teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Cream sherry ( Chef did not give exact measurement, add a tablespoon, season to taste)
Method:
Sauté shallots in butter until tender, do not brown. Add wild mushrooms and continue to sauté gently. Once liquid is somewhat evaporated, add flour and cook with out browning. Add stock and stir well to incorporate pan roux. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add cream, Worcestershire and nutmeg. Continue to simmer until reduced to a sauce-like consistency. Add sherry and adjust seasonings.
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