A simple ragu of wild mushrooms was one of the recipes on the saute station back in the day when I was working at the now-closed Trattoria Da Vinci under Chef Angelo Volpicelli. Angelo was super talented, barely spoke English, and had owned his own restaurant in Rome for 12 years. Twelve years is a…
Slippery Jacks
Suillus luteus
An under-utilized species of bolete. The Suillus genus is also known as the slippery jacks, they're much beloved by Eastern Europeans. I rarely eat slippery jacks fresh, as much for the improved texture as for the flavor. I typically use them to make mushroom rubs, like my Suillus-Coffee Rub.
Slippery Jack Coffee Rub
Come the end of fall It’s getting colder, the mushrooms are fewer and farther between and alot of times I’m just hoping not to get skunked. When the blewits, hens, shaggy’s, puffballs or parasols aren’t playing nice, I know I can probably run over to a patch of pine trees and grab a few slippery…
Bison Stew with Dried Bolete Mushrooms and Coffee
The good part about the dead of winter is that I can run all the heavy stuff the line cooks like to make, or as we call it: fat kid food. Braised meats galore, pastas layered with cheese, sausage and breadcrumbs, different types of lasagna, ragus of beans and smoked meat, sauces made with…
Slippery Jack Gnudi, Ramps, Wild Rice, And Nettles
Here’s a great recipe I donated to the non profit cookbook for the Cascade Mycological Society of Oregon. They were looking for recipes featuring slippery jacks, as well as a couple other underused species, like Lactarius. I’ve fought off Eastern European grandmothers a’plenty here in Minnesota for them, so you bet I have plenty of…
Hot Beef Commercial, With Dried Bolete Mushrooms
Childhood food memories, everyone has some, those dishes that take you back in time. A hot beef commercial is one of mine. It reminds me of being a kid, about waist high on my Father. My dad and I would make trips back and forth to Willmar Minnesota from Grove City where the family…
Chicken Fat Bolete Ricotta Cheese
Mushrooms in their fresh state are wonderful, but there are some species that I actually prefer dried. The chicken fat bolete is one of these. By itself when its fresh, like other slippery jacks, it isn’t too powerfully flavored or overly interesting. It’s not bad, but it’s not as prized as porcini and understandably so….
Slippery Jack-Cabbage Soup, For An Old Russian Man
I have come across Russians picking slippery jacks in a particular local park I frequent. The first time I saw them there, it was groups of old Russian Grandmas out picking chicken fat boletes. The next time it was a group of elderly Russian ladies and men who split into two different groups, the men…
Suillus Luteus
This is the “original” slippery jack. Original in that it really possesses to a T the characteristics associated with suillus species: slimy, sticky cap, and the presence of a veil covering the gills when young, which eventually leaves a ring around the stem. Even though I had read about it for a while, it did…
Slippery Jack Escargot: With Garlic Butter, Parsley And Breadcrumbs
I cannot take credit for this awesome method, that honor is due to Jack Czarnecki, author of numerous books on mushroom cookery and an inspiration to people who delve into the strange circles of mycophagy (people that are obsessed with eating mushrooms). In his book Joe’s book of mushroom cookery, he describes a recipe in…
Chicken Fat Bolete Mushroom or Suillus Americanus
The Chicken Fat Bolete, a funky looking, relatively unloved mushroom. The best part about picking these is that every year I inevitably have to try and beat the Eastern European population of the Twin Cities to the spots where these grow in order to get them first. Essentially, these are a type of slippery jack…