Have you noticed the fungus frenzy in your yard or on the trail?
Haines has a reputation among foragers, and this year it’s living up to the hype. Mushrooms abound: Chanterelles—frilled, gilled and golden. King boletes—big and brown, with thick stalks and pores. Chicken of the woods—sulfurous orange fans clumped on tree trunks.
An especially rainy summer of 2020 resulted in a prolific mushroom season last year that seemed hard to beat. But 2021 might be outdoing its predecessor—certainly in terms of chanterelles and chicken of the woods.
“I can clear a patch and come back two weeks later and it’s twice the size,” said local mushroom hunter and chef Travis Kukull. He gathered 10 pounds of chanterelles in just a day, including blue chanterelles which he said he hadn’t seen before in Haines.
Another local forager, Sarah Bishop, who owns Old Field Kitchen, said that most years in Haines at least one variety does well but it “seems like everything is out this year.”
“If you go out in the woods you’re going to find mushrooms,” Bishop said. “They’re just all over.”
Once harvested, most mushrooms require a dry saute to release moisture, Bishop said. Boletes and chanterelles can be dried for use as pizza toppings or soup bases. Cauliflower mushrooms are tasty slabbed and fried with butter and herbs.
“It should be a part of everybody’s subsistence life because I think Haines has some of the best mushroom foraging in the entire world,” Kukull said.
For inspiration, see one of Kukull’s recipes below.
Mushroom Confit
Ingredients:
2 lbs. wild mushrooms (king bolete, chanterelles, or cauliflower)
2 ½ cups extra virgin olive oil
2 smashed garlic cloves
4 sprigs of thyme, rosemary or your desired herb. I used lavender this year.
1/4 cup sherry vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or balsamic
Salt and pepper to taste
Equipment:
1 stainless steel wide stock pot
Tongs
Instructions:
Clean your mushrooms thoroughly. Don’t leave any dirt or needles on them.
If you are using king boletes: cut them in half or quarters depending on size. (Don’t use older boletes. Save those for drying. Make sure they are solid and white throughout their flesh.) Score the inside of the boletes. For chanterelles and other mushrooms: cut them to your desired size.
Add the oil, garlic and herbs to the pot and heat it on medium to 180 degrees. Add your mushrooms when the temperature of the oil is at 180 degrees. Let the temperature come back up to 180 degrees then turn the burner to low. If the temperature goes over then turn the burner off.
Let the mushrooms poach for 30 to 45 minutes.
Add the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. You can add chili flakes too.
I store the mushrooms in vacuum bags with some of the oil and freeze them but you can also store them in glass jars with the oil and keep in the fridge for 4 to 6 months.
They will be ready to eat as is or you can remove them from the oil and eat them with pasta. It’s all up to you.