Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Puffball Mushrooms

I have some puffball mushrooms growing. They're about basketball size. I took a slice of it egg washed it breaded it fried it in bacon grease and topped it with marinaara and mozzarella. Tasted good but the breading didn't stay crisp. Anyone else make them?

Love ‘em, just don’t run across them often.

Do you peel them? Buddy does, but I don’t.

I usually cut them into 1” thick slices, drizzle them with olive oil, S&P, then grill them alongside a nice steak.

I cut it in half and peeled the half that I cut the slice from. First time so I don't have an established method yet. I peeled it because one of the videos said not to wash it and it was dirty.

My buddy peels them and then cuts into cubes and blanches it in boiling water. You can freeze it then.

I prefer it fresh. Dice up some good sized chunks and fry in butter to make a mushroom omelette. They’ll reduce quite a bit but good flavour.

Back 30 years ago or so I supervised a work crew of Ukrainians with US work visas. First thing they would do upon arriving to work was to head out into the woods and fields and gather up all the various varieties of edible mushrooms. They said everyone in Ukraine knows how to do this, and it's a major supplemental source of food there. They'd come back with sacks full and put them in the trunks of their cars.

Yes, it’s huge in Ukraine. They do get the occasional poisoning but very rare. They’ll collect barrels full of them and pickle them in brine for the winter.

I've never had the nerve to try this, myself. I understand, though, that giant puffballs are almost impossible to misidentify and poison yourself with, since no poison mushroom looks anything like them.

Yes, those and shaggy mane are the two easiest to ID that I’ve found locally. I’m still leery of trying others.

There’s a place not far from me that offers mushroom picking tours from April to November. Problem is they have limited numbers and they’re booked up sometimes months in advance. Usually about $35 a week and they travel to different places depending on what they’re hunting for.

Here’s a type of Bolete mushroom Slavyanka found when she was in Carpathia (Western Ukraine) a couple years ago. This was growing on the lawn of the bed and breakfast she was at. You can see more underneath.

I've only had them fried in butter. Was a lot better than I expected.

I bet that's good.

Mowed about 6 Saturday.
Big enough that I blew white chunks all over.


I know some are edible, but not enough to be just eating them.

Slavyanka sent me pics from a monastery north of Kiev where the Orthodox nuns are picking mushrooms. They’ll be pickled and used for Lent in the run up to Easter (no meat) .

Mushrooms are full of water. Taking a guess, as you cooked them, you were also cooking out the water which would have soaked into the breading preventing the breading from being crisp. I saw a famous chef on You Tube who said to salt the slices, let them sit at room temperature for awhile, to draw out the water before cooking.

I've not tried it but it might help.

L.W.

Good meat replacement.

That's how sliced eggplant is done before breading and frying for eggplant parmigiana. The thought occurred to me for sliced puffballs, as well.

Just picked a few dozen king boletes yesterday elk hunting in E Idaho. Still looking for chanterelles

Chanterelles are done here, along with the leatherback.

Pretty much waiting on spring for morels now.


WBB, those are really beautiful mushrooms your wife photographed. They look like some type of bolete? Do you know the type? I've never seen any like them in America

I found a big patch of boletes while bowhunting and thought someone had dumped a bunch of hamburger buns for bait until I realized that they were shrooms. Never picked them. I do collect chanterelles.

Just came back from the UP Puff Balls are available after a rain....in the next couple weeks should start see them in South East Michigan....need cooler nights....