Have we just missed these in the six years we've been looking for mushrooms? More than likely we just haven't been in the right place at the right time. Now we know where to look and about when.
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| Clean and uncleaned Chanterelles. Your tolerance for grit will change after you've cleaned a few pounds of these. |
We've tried these highly regarded mushrooms in a cream of mushroom soup, sauteed with herbs and a little wine for a pizza, and sauteed in butter. I am just not as wowed as I thought I would be... it could be the terroir or type of Chanterelle (since the Splitters might not yet have a name for the ones that grow in the northern part of our state), or maybe I'm just spoiled by the Boletus barrowsii, B. edulis, and Sparassis crispa we find.
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| Sparassis crispa or Cauliflower Mushroom. One of our favorites. |
Chanterelles might be a second-tier mushroom for me, the jury is still out. We have some frozen as duxelles and I look forward to trying them in a few different recipes, maybe a risotto this winter, as a stuffing for flounder, who knows? Don't get me wrong, we'll definitely pick Chanterelles when we are lucky enough to find them, we'll just have to keep looking for that perfect application to show us why they are so highly touted in the world of mycophagy. Tough job, but we're up for it.
