Oysters in the yard

[Al Agnew]

A few years ago, lightning struck a big tulip poplar that we had planted a year or two after we built the house.  We had to cut it down, leaving the stump cut off at ground level.  Mary came in the other day at the end of the warm spell and said, "I think we have some kind of edible mushroom growing in the yard."  Sure enough, the warm winter weather had popped a big cluster of oyster mushrooms.  We identified them in the MDC mushroom book (easy to ID and no look alikes, and one of the few mushrooms that can come out any time of the year), and noted the "oysters" Rockefeller recipe in the back of the book.  So I picked them and we just finished eating them.  The Rockefeller recipe turned out to be quite good.  I sauteed a few of them in vegetable oil and cider vinegar as I read online...not as good.  I sauteed a few more just in butter...better, not terrific but pleasant.

[Leonard]

thats great....

sounds like youre just start with your mushroom adventure...
I would agree that sometime (not often) oyster will grow off the ground. remember it always better to get a couple of opinions just to make sure..
pictures are always great..

we have done like a mushroom chowder.. almost like clam chowder.
we saute them and they go great in spaghetti sauce

 

but the rockefeller is fantasic!

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, I really want to try them dipped in flour and fried, too, but I already got most of the cluster.  Thought about looking around in the woods for more, but the cold snap probably damaged them if they were there...what's left of the bunch I got has turned darker and very dark along the edges.  Eating about a pound of them hasn't killed Mary and me yet, so I guess my ID was correct  

These were growing on the stump itself, and along an exposed root coming off the stump.  The stump has been dead for maybe two or three years...can't remember exactly when we cut it down.  

[Kayser]

I found a few yesterday on a dead willow, and I'm looking for something quick and simple for a recipe using them. Most of them are about 3" across, and they're soaking in salt water right now. I normally saute or fry them in cracker meal, but I'm looking for something a bit different from the normal, but still kind of simple. Any suggestions?

[BilletHead]

   Kayser,

Have baked them in dressing, fried, ingredient in fried rice and one we find pretty tasty is olive oil them and put on gas or charcoal grill and toast them up. A little S&P while doing that,

BilletHead

[BilletHead]

    Had another flush or bloom of oysters where we found some two weeks ago. This might be the last here for a spell it is going to be 17 degrees Thursday morning,

BilletHead