King Boletes (aka Porcini) are among the best edible wild mushrooms on Prince Edward Island. You can learn how to identify them in this blog post: https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/king-boletes---wild-porcini-mushrooms.
There are tons of great recipes around for using fresh King Boletes, and these mushrooms dry well if you are lucky enough to have excess on hand. If you're new to fresh Porcini, here are two simple cooking techniques.
Fried Kings
My favourite way to enjoy King Boletes is to just pan fry them in butter (Photo 1). Cut your Bolete into slices about ½” thick and melt a bit of butter in your pan (enough to lightly cover the bottom; you don’t want a deep pool of fat). Fry over low-medium heat until they are golden brown, dab off any excess butter, and enjoy (Photo 2)!
King Boletes are a rich, flavourful mushroom as unlike store-bought Button Mushrooms as Aunt Jemima is unlike real maple syrup. Fried like this, Kings are excellent on their own, or on burgers, sandwiches, or steak.
Two final notes: While the white flesh of Porcini is firm, the pores are softer. Some people prefer to scrape away the pore layer before cooking, especially on older specimens. I don’t bother with that, but if you do you can save the pores and use them to make a flavourful mushroom stock. And don’t toss the stems! The flavour is every bit as good as the cap.
Scrambled Eggs with Porcini Mushrooms and Smoked Gouda
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk (or more, as preferred)
1 cup chopped fresh Porcini / King Bolete mushrooms (about ¾-1” cubes work well)
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup shredded smoked Gouda (the good stuff, not the stuff that tastes like artificial bacon bits!)
Whisk eggs with milk and set aside (add additional milk if needed to get the consistency you prefer). Melt butter in a frying pan. Add mushrooms and cook over low-medium heat until lightly browned. Remove from pan and pat off any excess butter with a paper towel. Drain any butter remaining in pan. Pour in eggs and sprinkle with cooked mushrooms and shredded Gouda. Stir until eggs are cooked to your desired consistency and cheese is melted. Plate and enjoy! (Photo 3). I’m a die-hard meat-eater, but I don’t even bother with bacon when I make this dish – it’s that rich (there, I said it!).
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