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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Golden Oyster Mushroom Steaks

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Golden oyster mushroom steaks with ramp butter and watercress on a plateGolden oysters mushrooms (Pluerotus citrinopileatus) are everywhere right now, and perfect for bringing home if you find some nice bug-free clusters. When you find those perfect clusters, one of the best oyster mushroom recipes you can make is oyster mushrooms steaks. 

very young golden oyster mushrooms growing on a log

A nice clump of golden oyster mushrooms.

Wild Mushroom steaks are one of my favorite things to serve as a mushroom meat substitute, or as a compliment to meat as you’d serve a side of sauteed mushrooms. All you need is some good, fresh mushrooms in a nice clump, a weight of some kind, some oil, salt and pepper. 

Cooking clusters of golden oyster mushrooms in a pan

Clusters of oyster mushrooms can be cooked whole.

Choosing the right weight 

For the best result you really need to use a weight here to press the mushrooms against the pan. I have a bacon press that works well, but you can use all kinds of things. Putting a pan on top of the mushrooms while they’re cooking is probably the best substitute for an actual press. 

pressing golden oyster mushroom steaks with a grill press
Pressing the mushrooms as they cook.
cooking golden oyster mushroom steaks under a bacon press
These are ready to flip.
Golden oyster mushroom steaks (10)
You can cook umbrella polypores in large clusters like these oyster mushrooms to make mushroom “steaks”.

Making enough to serve a crowd 

I served mushrooms steaks first for a tasting dinner I did, and we had to do about 30 at once. Pressed for time, I put a sheet tray on top of the mushrooms on a flat top grill, putting a cast iron pan on top of it and it worked really well. If you want to make more than a couple steaks at a time, a good way to do it is to use a pancake griddle and a cookie sheet with a heavy pan on top. 

Other mushrooms you can do this with 

This is a good wild mushroom recipe for a number of different species. Here’s a few others that work well. 

  • Chicken of the woods 
  • Hen of the woods 
  • Umbrella Polypore 
  • Puffballs (when breaded and fried) 
Grilled maitake mushroom steaks

Hen of the woods makes a good steak too.

Serving Ideas 

There’s lots of things you can do with mushrooms steaks. Here’s a few ideas of how I serve them. 

  • For the simplest version, serve them with a lemon wedge and a salad or side of cooked greens. 
  • If you have a favorite condiment, like aioli or another creamy sauce, spread some on the plate and put the mushroom steak on top. 
  • Spooning over a vinaigrette, or some melted-infused butter as pictured here is great too. Chimmichurri, salsa verde, melted ramp butter, and other herby things are great. 
Cutting into golden oyster mushroom steaks

Here they’re served with melted ramp butter, wilted watercress and dames rocket flowers.

Golden oyster mushroom steaks with ramp butter and watercress on a plate
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Golden Oyster Mushroom Steaks

Mushrooms steaks made with foraged golden oysters make a good meat-substitute or side dish.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Oyster mushroom
Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • 2 very clean, four to six-ounce clusters of oyster mushrooms wild or cultivated are both fine
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
  • Optional
  • 3 tablespoons ramp butter optional
  • 8 oz cooked leafy greens like watercress
  • A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Mushroom Steaks

  • Heat the oil in a large pan on medium high heat.
  • Add the clusters of oyster mushrooms and cook until lightly browned.
  • Put a weight like a bacon press or another pan on top of the mushrooms and cook for a minute or two more until golden.
  • Flip the mushrooms, put the weight back on and cook for a couple minutes more. Remove the press from the mushrooms, season the mushrooms lightly with salt and pepper, then serve. They’re great served as a meat alternative, or used as a compliment to meat dishes, like a steak or other proteins as you would a mushroom side dish.

Serving as pictured

  • Warm the ramp butter if using. Arrange the mushrooms on top of a bed of cooked leafy greens, drizzle the ramp butter over, along with a squeeze of lemon juice, and serve.

More 

Foraging and Cooking Golden Oyster Mushrooms 

Hen of the Woods Steaks 

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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
James Beard Award ‘22
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Alan Bergo
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
Venison that totaled my Honda. With prairie turnip Venison that totaled my Honda. With prairie turnips, @teparybeans Huun Ga’i Pima corn, dried squash and ramps. A few comfrey flowers and dill. 

#carmeat #easyweeknightmeals #timpsila #prairieturnips #wastenotwantnot
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