Wild Mushrooms: A Foragers Pantry

If you live anywhere from northern California up through the Olympic Peninsula, the woods feed you for free if you know what you are looking for. Chanterelles flush in mid August and run all the way through November. Lobster mushrooms come out a few weeks later. Porcini follow the first cool, wet weeks of fall.

Treat each mushroom like a different ingredient. Chanterelles are delicate and slightly fruity. Saute them in butter alone. Lobster mushrooms are dense and chewy with shellfish notes. Roast them dry to firm them up. Porcini are meaty and earthy. Slice them thick and grill them like steak.

Never wash wild mushrooms in water. Brush them with a soft brush and trim the stems. If they are dirty deep in the gills, slice them open and rinse only the dirty pieces under fast running water, then dry them immediately. Cooking is the easy part. Cleaning is what separates a great mushroom dish from a sandy one.