Foraged oyster mushrooms are one of my favorite wild mushrooms. The frequently produce big beautiful flushes of soft sweet smelling wild mushrooms that quickly fill up a bag or foraging basket. These versatile wild edible mushrooms are a culinary delight for the very beginner foragers to even the seasoned mushroom hunter. Easy to prepare fresh they meld well into a variety of wild food dishes like stir fry, soups, or sit elegantly along side steak, pork, or any seafood. Add them to pasta with your favorite sauce and they are a stand alone delicious treat. For a hunter gatherer like me these are a staple for the pantry.
Another feature of these wild edible mushrooms is that they are easily stored by simply drying them and storing in any sealed container or vacuum sealed bag. Once dried they easily re-hydrate back to a form very close to their original. In this state they are less versatile but still make excellent additions to wild mushroom soups, sauces, and gravy. In their dried state they will store for a very long time.
I recently finished off a jar of dried wild edible oyster mushrooms that I had foraged in north central Minnesota almost two years ago. The mushroom soup that I made was excellent as a stand alone dish but also worked well as a sauce or wild mushroom gravy that I served over baked potato. Here is my recipe for this delicious soup.
Wild Foraged Mushroom Soup
Dried wild mushrooms
Two cans of cream of mushroom soup
One can of Ro*tel diced tomatoes with chilies
Diced greens wild or store bought
One diced green onion
Use however many wild mushrooms that you want, I like mine thick with them! Pour nearly boiling water onto the dried mushrooms into a sauce pan or crock pot. Just enough to cover them and let sit for ten to fifteen minutes. Then add all ingredients and mix well so that the broth and soup mix completely. Season to your preference with basil, black pepper, garlic, mustard seed, salt, and turmeric. Feel free to change the seasonings to your preference. Let sit on low in a crock pot overnight or all day while your at work. If using a sauce pan simmer on low for twenty or thirty minutes. I prefer in cooked long and slow but either method will work.
Serve alone as a soup or use as a sauce for omelettes, potatoes, or over steak and chicken. This is a great way to use your dry stored wild foraged mushrooms and you can make enough to last all week. Enjoy!
