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

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Lobster Mushroom Breadcrumbs

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Dried lobster mushrooms or Hypomyces lactiflourum

Dried lobster mushrooms keep very well, and are a good way to get around the short shelf life of these funky mushies.

I almost always have bags of dried lobster mushrooms around the apartment. Re-hydrated and mixed into things they’re ok, and just ok. Most of the time though, I’m going to grind the suckers up and do something with the powder.

Dried, re-hydrated lobsters might not be that interesting, (toast them a little to bring out flavor) but the powder is a showstopper, and I do all kinds of things with it. These lobster mushroom breadcrumbs are one of the more creative things I’ve developed over the years.

Right before the snow started to melt a few years ago, I tried, fruitlessly, to start burning through the shroom hoard of dried lobster mushrooms, along with various bags of boletes. I wanted to make something for the restaurant menu, but recipes involving ground lobster mushrooms are expensive. My couple bags and jars of dried lobster mushrooms, while a serious stash for home cooking, would be completely consumed by a restaurant in days, but I had enough to develop a recipe using my stash.

Skrei cod baked with wild lobster mushroom breadcrumbs

My favorite thing to do with the lobster crumbs was pile them on flaky white fish and blast in a hot oven.

Secondly, as a manager in charge of purchasing, it was important to keep waste in mind, so I needed to lessen the probability that my line cooks could over-serve, or at least hedge my bet a little.

Flavorful side note, I know one line cook, who, after his shift drink, neglected to put away his fish box full of black truffles stashed above the pass for New Years service, which at a couple pounds, was roughly a line cook’s weekly salary at the time. And people wonder why chefs have tempers. Back to the lobsters, I knew:

  • Lobster mushrooms, like lobster, love paprika, and butter.
  • Ground to a powder, or coarse ground in a grain mill, I could spread the cost/labor out of my harvesting, or purchasing dried mushrooms.

Stretching Dried Lobster Mushrooms with Breadcrumbs 

Since I had a cod on the menu that was being baked the classic French way with a green herbed breadcrumb topping, I thought I might try making a seasoned breadcrumb mix with a high proportion of lobster mushrooms mixed in.

The lobster mushrooms would coat and flavor the breadcrumbs, and some hot clarified butter mixed in would help activate the aromas, hydrate the tiny pieces of lobster mushroom with fat, and make the flavors come together. Adding fat to them would also make it a turn-key topping for anything baked, especially fish.

Skrei cod baked with lobster mushroom breadcrumbs, lobster sauce, potato pave and bok choy

The dish I ran at Lucia’s: Skrei cod with lobster mushroom crumb crust, lobster sauce, bok choy, potato pave.

As you’ve might be guessing, the lobster mushroom breadcrumbs don’t suck. If you try your hand at them, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out plenty to put them on, but here’s a couple ideas for them:

  • Like I mentioned, I think my favorite is putting a generous amount of the mushroom crumbs on top of flaky white fish (or other protein, etc) and baking on high, say 400F, try that first.
  • Sprinkled on top of pasta, especially something light like spaghetti with clams or mussels
  • Try sprinkling some on fried eggs, with the addition of some crushed chili or a teeny pinch of cayenne, alternaltely, bake with crumbs on top, or put the crumbs in a pan and crack the eggs into them and cook (yes, it works).
  • Orrechiette a la Barese is a classic Italian pasta with an oil based breadcrumb sauce, see a version of it here, you could add the lobster mushroom crumbs, removing the anchovy since the flavor will take over.
  • Adding on to the pasta, you could toss simple dried pasta with this, but make sure to drain the pasta well, and heat in a pan with the breadcrumbs for a minute or two to get rid of any excess moisture.
  • Spread on top of a gratin, or really anything baked, macaroni and cheese with lobster mushroom crust? Yes please.
  • Another dish I ran was a simple, appetizer of gnocchi is white sauce made from goat brie, topped with a pile of the crumbs instead of cheese.

Don’t get too creative

Less is more here. This is a simple recipe all about clean flavors, and trying to showcase the lobster mushrooms. A little tweaking for personal taste is fine, but don’t monkey with the proportions too much, and especially, resist the urge to add garlic powder.

There’s a little dried wild onion powder in this one I was making at home, but it’s an 1/8tsp in 3 cups of other matter by volume–it is, as Richard Olney would say, a suggestion of onion, just a hint. You can probably get away with a little more, but start small and taste as you go.

Lobster Mushroom Breadcrumbs

 

 

Skrei cod baked with wild lobster mushroom breadcrumbs
Print Recipe
4 from 3 votes

Lobster Mushroom Breadcrumbs

Course: Snack
Keyword: Breadcrumbs, Lobster Mushroom
Servings: 3 Cups

Ingredients

  • 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup ground lobster mushrooms made from very clean, dried mushrooms
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon finely ground dried wild onions ramps, or onion powder
  • Fresh chopped thyme to taste, about 1 tablespoon
  • Pinch of kosher salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup clarified butter or ghee

Instructions

  • Warm the butter just to melt, then keep warm. Combine the remaining ingredients, then drizzle in the butter and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a container with a tight fitting lid.
  • The mushrooms aren't hydrated (as long as you use clarified butter or lard) so you don't have to worry about them going bad, per-se, but the flavor will be best fresh, within a couple days of making, so make it in small batches for whatever you'll need.
  • For the best flavor retention, refrigerate them. When the crumbs chill, they'll firm up from the butter, simply let them come to room temperature and stir, or gently warm to break them up a bit.

More Lobster Mushrooms 

Related

Previous Post: « The Chestnut Bolete: Gyroporus castaneus
Next Post: Caramelized Shallots and Black Trumpets »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tess

    August 3, 2019 at 1:09 pm

    Wow….GENIUS! What a great way to sneak in mushrooms. Will definitely try this with mac & cheese ???? If I can’t find lobster mushrooms, what’s a good substitute I can find at the grocery store?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      August 3, 2019 at 1:12 pm

      You want a good, flavorful shroom here. As far as widely available ones, Porcini would be fine, too, but lobsters are available online.

      Reply
  2. Ellen

    August 3, 2019 at 1:35 pm

    Dammit! (and I mean that in a good way) I’ve always been underwhelmed by lobsters but you have given me hope, thank you. And btw, I’m enjoying Honey from a Weed.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      August 3, 2019 at 1:44 pm

      When they’re dried, and toasted, they’re excellent. Interesting weird fact is that these seem to be causing a good number of GI poisonings, after cooking they need to have a strict shelf life, and older mushrooms (some people can’t seem to tell what’s past prime) have made at least 2 people I know sick straight out of the pan.

      Reply
      • Amy H. Abrams

        August 4, 2019 at 11:32 am

        Is it also true that they are a parasitic mushroom and grow where other mushrooms have grown earlier in the season? I read somewhere that they can absorb toxins if they grow on the site of a poisonous mushroom? I’ve been meaning to research this more to see if there is a bonafide scientific study to back that up? Have you ever heard this before?

        Reply
        • Alan Bergo

          August 4, 2019 at 11:43 am

          They are a parasitic mushroom that infect the subterranean mycelium, so when the mushroom fruits, it is not the host, but the Hypomyces. IMO speculating that they contain toxins from the host is crazymaking, and ignorant information parroting. Basically, it is either a lobster mushroom, or it isn’t. There are maybe one of two half-looking infected mushrooms I see posted each year but they’re so rare it’s not even really worth mentioning. I have seen no studies backing up any of those claims.

          Reply
          • Carla Beaudet

            August 5, 2019 at 7:35 am

            Wow; I always assumed the parasitic infection happened after the host fruited, but I verified your assertion that the infection occurs to the host mycelium with someone who would know (editor of Fungi Magazine). The fear that H. lactifluorum would infect a deadly Amanita species seems unfounded; the parasite appears to be specific to a few Russulas and Lactarius species. Some of these species are quite acrid on their own, and cited as non-edible and even emetic in the field guides, but the Hypomyces transforms them into something delicious. There are no known cases of amatoxin poisoning resulting from ingestion of Lobster Mushrooms, only fear based on (admittedly reasonable) speculation.

  3. Carla Beaudet

    August 3, 2019 at 1:40 pm

    The timing of this post coincides with my finding of 9, count ’em, 9 lobster mushrooms on my walk in the woods today. But I don’t have any dry ones, so this will have to wait for me to find more. The last time I found lobster mushrooms was several years back. I perused your site for inspiration, but I think I’m going to do what I did the first time I found these – lobster mushroom corn chowder, New England, not Manhattan. I did pick up your excellent tip on using the dirt-laced trimmings to flavor butter, which is sitting across the kitchen from me now, waiting for me to get on with it. I used a coffee filter to strain the butter so there would not be any grit, but I had to put that in a strainer and press with a spoon to get everything I could out of it.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      August 3, 2019 at 1:45 pm

      Chowder is a great way to use them. I love how they tint dairy light yellow.

      Reply
  4. Joseph Miller

    August 20, 2019 at 5:18 pm

    I’ve been wondering about some recipes I’ve seen with dried mushrooms. Would it be an issue if the mushrooms weren’t cooked after being added to a recipe? Like this one sprinkled on fried eggs or over spaghetti. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Alan

      August 20, 2019 at 6:09 pm

      Generally speaking, protein denaturization from dehydration should make a lot of wild mushroom edible after drying. That being said, they taste better cooked whether raw or dried, so it’s a bit of a moot point. If you wanted to use this recipe as a garnish for fried eggs or pasta in lieu of cheese, like I suggest, you’d want to toast the crumb mixture first, in a pan or oven. As it seems like that isn’t clear I’m going to make a note of it. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

      Reply
      • Joseph Miller

        August 20, 2019 at 11:09 pm

        Thank you so much for replying! I have tried a lot of your recipes and tips and they are amazing thanks so much for your expertise.

        Reply
  5. Joyce

    September 15, 2019 at 7:21 pm

    I love your blog! Thanks so much great info and recipes! I have dried some lobsters and pheasant backs intending to use them as powders and will probably also dry some puffballs if I don’t eat them all fresh! Here’s my question. When you dry mushrooms, do you save them sliced and powder them as needed? I am wondering if the powder would collect moisture and get clumpy or otherwise icky. I live in VT where the winters are cold and dry, but the spring and summer can be damp and dance wildly between cool and hot.
    Joyce

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      September 21, 2019 at 8:41 pm

      I dry the mushrooms and powder as needed. Don’t worry about powder getting funky or deteriorating as long as the mushrooms are well dried.

      Reply
  6. Steven Kang

    May 14, 2020 at 3:17 am

    5 stars
    Just made a half batch of this recipe as I found a small bag of remaining dried lobsters. Didn’t have ramp powder (though I do have fresh leaves), so I used garlic powder instead. As soon as the warm butter hit, I could notice the familiar aroma from the mushroom. Looking forward to use this on lobster mac & cheese tomorrow… hopefully it will complement.

    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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