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FORAGER | CHEF

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

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Red Chanterelles

red chanterelles from wisconsin

One of the most exciting things that happens for me is discovering something that I haven’t found before. This year, one of those things was red chanterelles.

One day I got a picture message from an old coworker, and I was shocked to see a big basket of what looked like red chanterelles. I didn’t think it was possible-I hadn’t ever heard of them before in the Midwest.

I told my friend I’d do anything to get my hands on some to play with. He told me he’d see what he could do, but the person that had picked them lived a couple hours away.

A day or two later, I got an online message from someone around the St. Cloud area in Minnesota requesting an I.D. They shot me some pictures of the mushrooms, and sure enough, they looked to be the same species that my friend’s buddy had found. Now I was really interested, how on earth could I have never found these before?

Habitat

The next week, I went on a little hike on a farm in Wisconsin. We were in an area with mixed hardwoods, with plenty of oak, maple, and aspen-the same type of habitat I hunt golden chanterelles in the same area. On a large slope I started to see some lobster mushrooms and dried up golden chanterelles (their season was over by this time in August). After picking a couple lobsters, I noticed a few pink mushrooms hiding under the duff. Could it be?

red chanterelles from wisconsin

I picked one up and noticed the tell-tale chanterelle veins under the cap, running down the stem. They had the scent that anyone who’s hunted chanterelles or black trumpets will know too-they, and most of their related species (hedgehogs excluded) have a very similar aroma.

That night, we went to a local brewery outside Menomonie Wisconsin for a couple drinks. I decided to walk down the dirt road since it was still light out, and because there was plenty of oaky looking, open woods across the street. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted more. More oaks and dead golden chanterelles, and more of the red guys in their prime.

Cooking

The next day I brought them home and played around with them in the kitchen. Here’s how they cooked up:

  • The aroma of the red chanterelles was not as intense as golden chanterelles or black trumpets.
  • Their flavor ended with some peppery notes, almost a bit spicy.
  • Their season in the Midwest, from what I can glean, is definitely after golden chanterelles as they were growing in mid-August.
  • They were all much smaller than golden chanterelles, but still had the meaty stem you would associate with one. Given this, since their texture is closer to a chanterelle than a hollow black trumpet, or yellowfoot chanterelle, drying is not a great way to preserve these in my opinion. I would pickle, marinate or saute in butter and freeze to preserve them.
preserved red chanterelles

Sauteeing in butter and freezing is a decent way to preserve these. 

Recipes

Heres some recipes specifically for chanterelles, or places they could be substituted. My advice: the first recipe you make should be mushroom conserve.

  • Wild Mushroom Conserve
  • Wild Mushroom Duxelles
  • Chanterelle Torte
  • Potted Chanterelles
  • Mangalitsa Pork Chops With Chanterelle-Skyr Sauce
  • Herb Gnocchi with Cockscombs and Chanterelles
  • Black Trumpet Bouchées With Chanterelle Mousse
  • Chanterelle Custard, Hedgehog Mushrooms And Chives
  • “Last Chance” Cream of Chanterelle Soup
  • Heirloom Tomato Salad with Pickled Chanterelles and Ramp Leaf Oil
  • Squab With Gooseberries And Chanterelle Wild Rice
  • Whole Chanterelles Roasted With Thyme
  • Rabbit Poached In Wild Carrot Broth With Chanterelles
  • Classic Chanterelle Omelet
  • Carbonara of Chanterelles and Black Trumpets
  • Sole With Chanterelles
  • Chanterelle Infused Vodka
  • Mixed Wild Mushrooms With Garlic And Parsley
  • Bavette Steak With Mushroom Pan Sauce
  • Chanterelles With Sweetcorn, Cream, and Chervil
  • Veal Liver With Chanterelle Cream Sauce And Garlic Mustard

Related

Previous Post: « Quark-Lime Mousse, Black Walnut Praline, Currant Coulis
Next Post: Cockscombs »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Patty Dye

    July 25, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    Hi. Thanks for the advice !
    Being the only mushroom lover in my immediate family,
    I’ve wondered..(as many others have I’m sure) how best
    to preserve chanterelles. Is it safe to assume that you could do
    this with most any chanterelles?
    And what do you think of a dry saute before adding the oil ?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      August 1, 2015 at 2:37 pm

      I don’t recommend doing this with young golden chanterelles, they’re much better pickled. Freezing cooked young chanterelles seems to destroy their texture. Older chanterelles don’t have the same bouncy tooth as the young ones though, they’re more soft, and could be cooked and frozen like this. It would be fine to dry saute the chanterelles before adding oil, especially if they’re water logged.

      Reply
      • John

        July 28, 2018 at 9:21 am

        I freeze golden Chanterelles regularly with no problem. Maybe you’re not cooking the water out of them thoroughly? After cooking, I freeze them spread out on a cookie sheet and if I’m not going to eat them soon, I vacuum seal them.

        I’m currently eating a batch of Red Chanterelles for the first time and was surprised by the peppery bite in the flavor.

        Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Chanterelle Mushrooms with Brandy Butter + How To Prepare and Store Chanterelles - BaconFatte.com says:
    August 28, 2017 at 9:21 pm

    […] Red Chanterelles Preserved in Butter […]

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Alan Bergo
Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each instead of the pound. 

Good day today, although my Twin Cities spots seem a full two weeks behind from the late spring. 2 hours south they were almost all mature. 

76 for me and 152 for the group. Check your spots, and good luck! 

#morels #murkels #mollymoochers #drylandfish #spongemushroom #theprecious
The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natu The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natural secretion of water I typically see with plants. 

I understand it as an indicator that the mushrooms are growing rapidly, and a byproduct of their metabolism speeding up. If you have some clarifications, chime in. 

Most people know it from Hydnellum 
peckii-another polypore. I’ve never seen it on pheasant backs before.

Morels are coming soon too. Mine were 1 inch tall yesterday in the Twin Cities. 

#guttation #mushroomhunting #cerioporussquamosus #pheasantback #naturesbeauty
Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a grocery store. 

#groceryshopping #sochan #rudbeckialaciniata #foraging
Italian wild food traditions are some of my favori Italian wild food traditions are some of my favorite. 

Case in point: preboggion, a mixture of wild plants, that, depending on the reference, should be made with 5-23 individual plants. 

Here’s a few mixtures I’ve made this spring, along with a reference from the Oxford companion to Italian food. 

The mixture should include some bitter greens (typically assorted asters) but the most important plant is probably borage. 

Making your own version is a good excercise. Here they’re wilted with garlic and oil, but there’s a bunch of traditional recipes the mixture is used in. 

Can you believe this got cut from my book?!

#preboggion #preboggiun #foraging #traditionalfoods
Oh the things I get in the mail. This is my kind Oh the things I get in the mail. 

This is my kind of tip though: a handmade buckskin bag with a note and a handful of bleached snapping turtle claws. 😁😂 

Sent in by Leslie, a reader. 

Smells like woodsmoke and the cat quickly claimed it as her new bed. 

#buckskin #mailsurprise #turtleclaws #thisimylife #cathouse
Bluebell season. Destined for a Ligurian ravioli Bluebell season. 

Destined for a Ligurian ravioli as a replacement for the traditional borage greens. 

#mertensiavirginica #virginiabluebells #spring #foraging
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