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Beefsteak Mushrooms with Sorrel

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Beefsteak mushroom salad with olive oil and wood sorrel recipeHere’s a study in how a dish can be completely different in a short time after it’s been composed.

I was thinking about how to eat a beefsteak mushroom / oxtongue fungus (Fistulina hepatica) I had the other week, those shelf fungus that give red juice when cut, have a slightly tart taste, and, that are meant to eat raw. Nature, is so weird.

I say meant to eat raw, since there’s so many wild mushrooms that need to be cooked, have to be cooked, just out of necessity to be safe, morels, for example. Unlike porcini, which are good for eating raw too, the perfect window for harvesting is a little wider with beefsteaks.

Beefsteak mushroom, oxtongue fungus or Fistulina hepatica

A wee beefsteak, the youngest one I’ve had so far.

Tree eating polypores like these, and their cousins chicken and hen of the woods are pretty hardy, they’ll get beat up, but they aren’t like boletes. Insects too, don’t crusade to them like they do prized, fleshy pored mushrooms, with the exception of slugs taking a nibble here and there.

What exactly raw means, too, is up for a little debate here. I shaved the beefsteak, then tossed them with good olive oil, a good pinch of crunchy Maldon salt, and and some wood sorrel to help underline the sour flavor that, although widely mentioned, can be hard to find in the ones I’ve tasted.

Cutting up beefsteak or Fistulina hepatica mushrooms wood sorrel recipe

Shaved beefsteaks. Look Ma! No bugs! The pores on this one was young enough to leave on, too, although sometimes I may scrape them.

I put the mushrooms in a bowl, and just sat and ate them for a while. They were so good, so simple, crisp, mild, barely tart, and slicked with oil, a perfect ingredient needs less done to it, not more. The seasoning was just fine, it would be hard to make something taste bad with just the best olive oil you have, lemon and salt on it. The texture though, that was the special part.

I put them in a bowl, set them in the fridge, waited for a day and ate some more, but, what was in the bowl after 24 hours was nothing close to what I’d eaten the night before. The mushrooms were wilted, and sitting in a pool of their juice. Often, maceration like that, (the technical name) I think of that as a good thing, but with these, all I could think was: “D’oh, you cooked the beefsteaks!”.

Beefsteak mushrooms, medium rare please

It’s the same thing with a few other salads I know, especially vegetables that hold water, cucumbers being the most notable. The moment after they’re dressed with salt and or acid, the cooking stopwatch begins, and whatever vegetable, piece of fish, mushroom or tomato you have will be at peak eating quality for a limited time, with some things degrading faster than others. A good way to think of eating them like this is: if seasoning with acid and salt cooks the mushroom, then, prepared like this, the beefsteaks are medium-rare, as they still have some raw crunch to them.

The mushrooms here are fine by themselves, say with a toothpick, but would be even better as a garnish to a piece of warm or room temperature fish or poultry, as well as just on some young lettuces, or with a little mild cheese. Also, if you have access to sheep sorrel, or Rumex acetosella, it’s even better than wood sorrel.

Beefsteak mushroom salad with olive oil and wood sorrel recipe

Beefsteak mushroom salad with olive oil and wood sorrel recipe
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Beef Steak Mushrooms with Wood Sorrel

Ingredients

  • 3 oz fresh beefsteak mushroom
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or another good tasting oil, like walnut
  • 1 large clove of garlic lightly crushed with a knife or chopped in large pieces
  • 1 small sprig of rosemary bruised
  • ½ ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons thickly shredded or gently chopped wood sorrel
  • Wood sorrel flowers to garnish

Instructions

  • Warm the garlic, rosemary and oil until just sizzling, then remove from the heat and cool. Discard the garlic and rosemary (this is optional).
  • Slice the beefsteak mushroom into ¼ inch slices on a mandoline, then combine with the remaining ingredients, including the oil, double check the seasoning for salt, lemon and pepper until it tastes good to you, then serve immediately, while the beefsteak is still crisp.
  • The beefsteak will be fine to eat later, and up to 5 days in the fridge, but will have a soft texture, as if they were cooked.

Related

Previous Post: « Whole Seared Matsutake, Medium-Rare
Next Post: Simple Roasted Hen of the Woods »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jacqui

    November 2, 2019 at 1:01 pm

    5 stars
    Here’s me with about a kilo of beefsteak mushroom in my paws. https://www.facebook.com/labetenoireparis/photos/a.1594030027315153/2720621277989350/?type=3&theater. I hope the link comes through in the comment. If not, go to “Labêtenoireparis” on Facebook and scroll down.
    I found tons last week that I delivered to the restaurant in Paris that I supply and Maria served carpaccio inspired by your recipe (or at least my interpretation of your recipe).

    Reply
  2. Charlotte

    August 25, 2020 at 7:32 pm

    Beautiful! Thanks for sharing this. I’m in New Zealand and trying to figure out where to source these… I’m so intrigued to try them. This recipe is gonna be my first port of call once I find them.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      August 26, 2020 at 1:28 pm

      Thanks, it’s one of the best I know of. Make sure to serve them quickly while they’re still crisp.

      Reply

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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Alan Bergo
HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mul HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mulberry trees and both got a bunch of fruit knocked down by the storms and wind. 

If anyone in West WI or around the Twin Cities knows of some trees, (ideally on private property but beggars can’t be choosers) that I could climb and shake with a tarp underneath, shoot me a DM and let’s pick some! 🤙😄

TIA

#throwadogabone #mansquirrel #beattlefruit #mulberries #shakintrees
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with @jesseroes TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with 
@jesseroesler and crew @campwandawega
📸 @misterberndt 

#staffmeal #brisket #meatsweats #naptime
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