puffball bonanza

[George]

I did a short turkey hunt, yesterday, saw no birds, but when driving out I spotted something white in the grass by the lane. It was a large puffball, in the perfect stage for harvest, and when I looked around I found 5 more. The very first "rendezvous" I ever attended was a small affair, 8 guys, billed as a survival weekend. We survived very well, because the host had spotted a large puffball a couple of days before, and he fed us one evening with slices batter fried in deep oil. Wow. I've kept my eyes peel for them since, but have never found one early enough, they were always black and full of smoky spores. I collected all of them, yesterday, took them home and experimented a bit and was reminded how absolutely delicious they are. The largest was 11" in diameter and weighed 3 3/4 lb. total weight was near 9 pounds. My freezer is groaning with bags of sliced puffball. I didn't collect a turkey, but I wouldn't trade one for my puffballs. Now I just have to figure out how to fix them for a trek. I never carry a frying pan, but this may make me change my mind.

Does anyone have any recipes?














Spence

 

[wpjson]

I ate some for the first time this past summer. Not bad, but I still prefer meadow mushrooms my father showed me and are common in these parts. I have not seen any of those giant puff balls, but will keep looking.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Looks absolutely delicious, too bad they don't grow down here...I'm so jealous! :wink: Will look through some of my frontier/mountain man/Native cookbooks and see what I can find. Some more deal with hunter's recipes and will check them too. After reading an old "Outdoor Life" story by Ted Trueblood about trail cooking with a skillet, I'm all fired up to fry! :wink: :haha:

 

[jamesthomas]

That looks very good!, all the ones I see down here will either kill you or make you see things. :surrender: .

 

[ny griz]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Good find Spence :thumbsup: Griz

 

[Wes/Tex]

That looks very good!, all the ones I see down here will either kill you or make you see things. :surrender: .

I think of it as "make you see Jesus or send you to talk to Him in person"! :wink: :haha:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

They grow smaller down here, OR I've seen them but not known they were at the eatin' stage instead of the stage where the rain drops make them spit spores...

AND..., I've seen a person once poisoned by a toadstool... so you're braver than me ...,

Yeah I probably miss out on a real treat, but the guy who messed up on his mushroom harvesting and died was pretty awful to behold.

LD

 

[George]

My puffballs were of the giant variety, Calvatia gigantea, and there is no look-alike poison mushroom to worry about. There are many varieties of puffball, and most are considerably smaller with a brown color. I don't monkey with those, only the giant white ones will ever wind up on my table. You can't mistake those, any more than you can morels.

Spence

 

[Loyalist Dave]

CRAP!
:cursing:

I've seen the smaller ones, but I think I've seen once in a great while, the really big ones... I remember them as I said to myself "that's a really freakin' big mushroom"....since I'm skittish about wild fungus I never looked into them...I just learned what the smaller puff balls were from an old survival-in-the-wild book. I had no idea they didn't have any "similars". I've been missing out.

Thanks for the lesson... now I have to get a book on them and learn to spot them...Murphy's Law I probably won't find any now that I'm aware of them. :haha:

LD

 

[Blizzard of '93]

for gourmet meal have puffball slices battered and fried along with a pan roasted steak and onions grilled until a little shorched.
for the batter use buttermilk instant pancake mis2 parts and 1 part corn flour. add seasoning to taste mix in beer slowly until a medium gruel then dip the slices and fry.
they're commonly found in upstate s. carolina north thru the WNC mountains during late summer.
fried in bacon grease with eggs and taters is a really filling yummy meal.

 

[George]

Have a look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhoVBOKjlFA

Spence

 

[Brokennock]

Why not try dehydrating them? They could then be added to soups and stews either cut up as a vegetable or ground up as a thickener, or both.

 

[George]

I've read that they do dry well, and I'll probably try that after a bit. I'm a bit distracted right now. Life happens.

Spence

 

[Grumpa]

I get them in my backyard like that, but I usually notice them when they are too far gone. I'll have to keep a closer look out, now that I see how to prepare them.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Glad you enjoyed them. And survived. :shocked2:
The first thing I know about mushrooms is if you don't know for sure they are edible, stay away and don't eat.
The only ones I'll pick to eat are morels and brain coral.
The others my wife picks and trys to get me to eat. I won't.

 

[satx78247]

CHUCKLE.

That reminds me of the old story of the lady who was widowed 4 times by age 35. - 3 of her husbands died of eating poison mushrooms & the 4th died of a fractured skull.
(He wouldn't eat the mushrooms.)

yours, satx