Slippery Jack - an under-appreciated wild edible mushroom - 100% original - Part 2 - cleaning, cooking, preserving
Alright, I took sticky, slimy Slippery Jack home. Sure, he's wild, and that scares some folks. Other folks are acquainted with him, but don't think too much of him. I think he's decent - pretty good, even, once you get to know him.
Here in Part 2, learn to clean up Slippery Jack, take him to dinner, and keep him in shape for more than a couple days. You can find Part 1 right here. That's where we got to meet Slippery Jack, Suillus luteus. We found out where he hangs out, and learned some helpful some details about his lifestyle. I hope you get to know Slippery Jack well. You may even want to introduce him to your friends and family!
Getting Slippery Jack Cleaned Up
When I get Slippery Jack home I have to clean him up - every time! And I need to get busy with it, pretty quick. If I wait more than a day, Slippery Jack ages before my very eyes. Certainly, I cut off the lower part of the stalk if I didn't do that outdoors, because that's where most of the dirt is - and insect larvae. If you are bothered by the mention of insects in food - please look away. They are a reality of some mushrooms and have to be dealt with.
If Slippery Jack's stalk is still solid, I will use it, too, but I peel it. Either way, I remove his stalk from his cap. Then I focus on his cap. Every time - every time - I peel his cap. That's important.
If he is older, his pores are going to be spongy, not firm. If that's the case, I remove them - mostly to check for bugs. If his pores are young and tight, I leave them on the cap.
Then I do more assessment. If he in in prime condition, that's great! But if he has some larvae in his cap, I have to take action. I soak him in salt water for a few hours and then rinse him off well. I use about 1 Tablespoon of salt per cup of water. How much larvae is too much? That depends on your own personal squick tolerance level. That's not an official term, but you will know it, if Slippery Jack has crossed it.
Have Dinner With Slippery Jack
Perfect Slippery Jacks
Now that Slippery Jack is all cleaned up and dressed nicely, what will we be having for dinner? It depends on how we are getting along. If I am hungry, I will cook him right away, in a skillet. If Slippery Jack is in good shape, I like using the caps whole. I did just that when I made my Slippery Jack Sandwich in one of the Steemit Culinary Challenges.
Damaged Slippery Jacks
If I soaked Slippery Jack in salt water to remove insects, then I'll only have smaller pieces to use. In either case, the key is to dry-saute the Slippery Jack, without any oil. Because he is slippery enough already - he needs a lot of moisture cooked out of him. That's means he will shrink up a lot, by the time he's cooked and ready to eat.
Dehydrate Slippery Jacks
If Slippery Jack is in good shape, but I want to save him for later, I like to dehydrate him. I just slice him up, even with the pores on, if they are young and tight. I set the dehydrator somewhere between 105-115 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes a couple days to really get Slippery Jacks dried out. Sometimes, I also dry the older pores, if they are in good shape, too - not buggy or too soft.
I think the dehydrated Slippery Jacks are good in soup. I used them in my Sheep Sorrel Weed Soup in the most recent Steemit Culinary Challenge. They give a nice depth of flavor to a light soup, so I don't have to use chicken broth or a vegetable stock.
Pickle Slippery Jacks
I also pickle Slippery Jacks. I made some refrigerator pickles with them this fall. I only had a few at the time and didn't need to preserve them for a long time. So I made refrigerator pickles using some leftover pickle juice. I just boiled the Slippery Jacks for 15 minutes. Then I covered them with them with pickle juice from a jar of pickled hop shoots that I had made this spring. I had eaten all the delicious pickled hop shoots, but saved the juice for an occasion just like this with the Slippery Jacks. After a couple weeks, those Slippery Jack pickles were great in a weed salad. They would be even better on a cracker with some cream cheese and parsley - like escargot!
What Do You Think?
Would you eat any of these Slippery Jack mushrooms? Do you eat other wild mushrooms? Are you interested in learning to eat wild mushrooms? What about other wild food? I really want to know!
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Great stuff! Yes I would eat them. Yes I am interested in foraging and would like to learn more about other wild food.
When I lived in Canada I spent some time every year living in the wilderness and going on survival trips. We ate berries, bull rush roots, fish, frog legs etc...
Some of my best memories were spent on long portaging canoe trips!
@kus-knee (The Old Dog)
Glad to hear that you would take Slippery Jack to dinner, lol. It sounds like you know a lot of wild food already!
Your Canada trips sound like a great time! Canada has so much great wilderness, canoeing, and fishing! When I lived in Michigan, I made a lot of trips to Canada for canoeing, too, mostly in Ontario. It's easy to live on the fish in a lot of water there. What areas did you go to? I think @countryinspired has spent time in the Boundary Waters Area. Watch your step on those portages!
Great post @haphazard-hstead! I'm not much for eating mushrooms, but still find them fascinating and try to always stop to photograph them.
Thanks! Supposedly, these Slippery Jacks grow in your area, too, among the pines. So maybe next fall we will see some in your photos - that would be nice. You do have a lot of mushrooms to photograph in your area - or at least you are very good at finding them!
Very informative post! I try eating some wild mushrooms, I can't remember the name, and the flavor was to intense.
Definitely more intense. Here in Ticino where I live people are crazy about porcini. They are often eaten with polenta which dulls the intensity.
@kus-knee (The Old Dog)
Thanks! That's interesting about the taste of the mushrooms you ate. Some have a strong flavors and others are more mild. You might like the Slippery Jacks, because their taste is not so powerful. Do you like mushrooms from the grocery store? Some wild ones taste like those. Maybe you would like them. Thanks for commenting, too!
Wonderfull ! I picked and ate mushroom "steak" on the bread 2 or 3 times last weeks cooked in the fire. Tasty ;)
That sounds good! What kind of mushrooms were you eating? There are so many tasty ones to enjoy, aren't there! :D
feel good ~^^
Thanks!
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Looks very good!!!
Thanks!