Back in May OTT celebrated Forage Month. I wrote about morels, of course, as well as fiddleheads, pheasant tails, ramps, watercress and I think a couple others that escape me right now. The reason Forage Month only lasted a month was that fishing season was on the way. Walleyes and crappies need their time to shine too, but recently I had a chance meeting with some oyster mushrooms. 

I need to give credit where credit is due, to Big Thunder Dan. He led me right to some oyster mushrooms, even if it was more by accident than planned. I’ll explain that a little further. Big Thunder Dan has been bear baiting and he had a couple of different bears coming in to his setup. I sidenote that story because he is dealing with some of the craftiest bears in Pierce County. About half of the time the bears slip in and gorge themselves on the feast and then slip away without a trace. Even the trail camera pictures provide little proof as to how exactly those bruins remove the heavy stone from the top of the bait and get in and out without a photo as proof. Interestingly enough, once the bears expose the bait whatever is left behind is quickly cleaned up by racoons. There are hundreds of pictures of that happening.

Last week BTD was telling me all about his stealthy bears and fat racoons. I was able to tag along the next time he went out to refresh the bait. He discovered that right next to his bait station was a huge cluster of oyster mushrooms. They were an off yellow/white color springing up on and alongside a decaying log. The cluster was huge! Now Big Thunder Dan is normally my mushroom hunting arch enemy but this time he graciously offered me some of his huge find.

Where is the best place to find oyster mushrooms? A great rule of thumb is that if you find a mushroom growing on the ground, it’s not an oyster mushroom. They always grow on dying trees or decaying logs.

What is the best way to prepare an oyster mushroom? Because I’m not an accomplished outdoor cook I will always look for the easiest way to prepare food. Thankfully oyster mushrooms are pretty simple: sautee them in butter, garlic and parsley, or your preferred seasoning. I even use Meis All Purpose breading which I plugged a few weeks ago.

You can eat an oyster mushroom in the same way you do with any other mushroom. From topping a pizza to blinging out a salad, oysters are pretty easy to use up. I have added them to a sandwich but I ate the bulk of them like they were hors d'oeuvres. I would guess that oyster mushrooms would also be pretty tasty on the top of a bear steak. I’ll let you know if BTD shares any of that with me.  

Before signing off I must add a cautionary note: if you are not sure what you are picking out in nature, don’t. If you’re not sure what you’re eating, don’t. When it comes to mushrooms there are only a small number that are poisonous, so double and triple check and pass if you’re still not sure.

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at dave@piercecountyjournal.news Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @thepiercecountyjournal