Beefsteak Mushrooms

JoeBow · Mar 29, 2005

Beefsteaks are my favorite mushrooms to eat. Don't get me wrong I love morels with some scrambled eggs, but those big ole beefsteaks are where it's at. Anyone have a good recipe ideas. I'm always looking for a new dish to try!

goggleye57 · Mar 29, 2005

What do you call a beefsteak? The one that grows on the sides of trees

or the kind that comes up like a morel in the spring?

The second is Gyromitra esculanta - the guidebooks say its poisonous- I've eaten them before I found out they were poisonous They contain Hydrazine- rocket fuel!

rico · Mar 30, 2005

both dont look very appetizing to me...i have hunted with a few fellas that pick something strange looking in the spring..."fungy" thing is, they grew around my morels...maybe he is talking about puffballs????????

Noblebowhunter · Mar 30, 2005

I know what ya mean joebow...geesh some mushroom hunter you are goggleyes...neither of those is what hes talkin about. I refer to the one on the bottom as a "false morel" i believe its called and yes...dont eat those...we found 60 of them up in MI last year..left em all. The other one is just like a toadstool i would call it. The beefsteak has a very short stem and just grows in diameter. The top looks sort of like the "false morel" just wider and not as tall. Rico...puffballs come up in August generally. They are big round balls soem up to 2' in diameter. At our old house we used to have "Hen of the Woods" come up int he summer as well and they were delicious to eat. Im not a huge puffball fan. UPDATE!! 1st black morel that I KNOW OF was found this morning somewhere down south. Here they come boys!!!!

goggleye57 · Mar 31, 2005

I love those hen of the woods! taste like morels only chewy. I'm sure I've seen the beefsteaks but I'm not sure which mushroom you guys attach the name to.

JoeBow · Mar 31, 2005

I'll look into it, and see if I can find a scientific name for them. What's this hen of the woods you guys are talking about?

ChapstickCharlie · Mar 31, 2005

I never was sure on identifying beefsteaks, and there is still more confusion on their edibility. In any case, ladies and germs, shroomin time is here. Thanks for the forum.

rico · Mar 31, 2005

i know when puffballs grow...i kick them in the spring and spores go a flying...i also know what a "beef steak" is. the problem is, most people dont...ever eat an "elephant ear"? and not one that comes from the carnival...be careful of terminology...i would like to think everybody here, at this time of the year, knows what to eat and what not to. i eat gooseberries. i am always surprised at how many people ask me to describe them...and then i wonder if they go out and pick nightshade...rico---the concerned citizen...do ya know what i mean?.lol:coco: :coco: :coco:

rico · Mar 31, 2005

ps---hey goggleye that second pic does look close to a beefsteak if you were describing it to someone...without showing them......just a shorter stem, and a rounder head...and a close resemblance(in color) to a black sponge....heat up the board boyz!!!!!!!!