Skip to main content

Fun with Slippery Jacks!

 
Frozen chickenfats

We are fortunate to have, where I live, a great profusion of suillus mushrooms, locally called "slippery jacks," during the mushroom season. Russians, who I think have a greater appreciation of mushrooms, call these fungi "chickenfats," possibly because of their color.

My fondness for them is, locally anyway, a minority opinion. Most foragers walk right past the chickenfats because they have a high water content and, when just thrown in a pan and sauteed, have a sort of slimy consistency that many find offputting.

Their loss, and a gain for those of us who know what to do with our chickenfats!

So one option is to go with the texture. Saute and serve them up with an escargot butter and the texture will be right at home.

Another is to harvest and dry them. I have found that when reconstituted, the chickenfats have lost any textural issues and have, on top of that, a fuller funkier flavor than their more respectable bolete cousins.

The third way, inspired by NOMA, is to freeze the fresh shrooms, and then later thaw and lacto-ferment them.

I freeze them in a vacuum seal bag until needed. Then I weigh the bag, snip a corner, add two percent sea salt by weight, and seal the bag shut again. Leave it out on the counter for at least a week, until the bag inflates somewhat.

Having done that, you get two products. The first is lactofermented mushroom juice, which is absolutely a secret umami weapon in the kitchen.

The second is the mushroom solids. You can dry these and they take on an incredibly complex flavor, with everything from salty to sour to shroomy to smoky going on.

You can also make a lactofermented mushroom ketchup, which would be familiar to the English of two hundred years ago, and which IMO deserves reviving as a culinary tradition.

Of course, know your mushrooms, and if you don't know for sure what it is, don't put it in your mouth.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chicos and Beans!

Chicos and Beans, Ese! They go together like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. But what ARE they, and why are they so good? Chicos are as far as I know an ingredient peculiar to northeastern New Mexico. Chicos are sweet corn which is roasted in an outdoor wood-fired adobe oven called an Horno (pronounced or-no, as rhyming with “porno,” but don't make that association with the older generation.) The result is that the corn is preserved, but it keeps its sweetness and the sugars in the corn are caramelized, resulting in a wonderful, distinctive flavor. It is best to buy them from someone who has roasted them, as one never really knows how old the ones in the stores may be. Just like beans, if they are more than a year old, you have to cook them forever to make them tender. The classic winter repast of chicos and beans is about the sweetness of the ingredients and how they harmonize with each other. The chicos provide the sweetness of roasted corn, the smoked ham hocks provide the swe...
3 comments
Read more

Oregano de la Sierra

One of the culinary herbs peculiar to this region is Oregano de la Sierra. It is used in place of oregano in the local cuisine. It is not oregano. The latin name for this plant is Monarda Menthefolium, and it is a variety of bee balm. It does have a flavor reminiscent of oregano with a bit of mint. It is a beautiful plant. It is normally foraged in the mountainous areas, hence its name, which translates as "oregano of the mountains."Those who enjoy word play will note that the word "oregano" itself derives from the Greek "ganos" meaning brightness or ornament, and "oros" meaning mountains. So cross-culturally, "oregano de la sierra" means "ornament of the mountains of the mountains." The photo at right is of oregano de la sierra growing in my back yard. It is drought-hardy and likes filtered shade. As you may guess, being a bee balm, bees love it, so it doesn't just feed you, it feeds our little friends as well. If you wan...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jalapeño Cranberry relish

One of Thanksgiving's culinary clichés is cranberry relish. Often, it is plopped on a plate straight from the can, a gelatinous, quivering cylinder. In such form, it really doesn't add distinction to the holiday table. A pity, because you can take cranberry relish in some interesting directions. Southwestern-style cranberry relish can add a New Mexico flourish to your Thanksgiving dinner, and provide a welcome relief from the predictable and ordinary cranberry cylinder. Southwest Cranberry Relish 1 12oz package fresh cranberries 2 key limes (or 1 large lime) 2 jalapenos or more to taste ¼ cup chopped cilantro with stems ½ to ¾ cup sugar, to taste Chop key limes and add to blender or food processor with ½ cup sugar. Pulse until finely chopped and put in bowl. Put cranberries in food processor or blender and pulse until chopped. You do want some texture, so don't puree them. Chop the jalapenos finely. As jalapenos vary widely in heat, I recommend taking a tiny nip ...
Post a Comment
Read more