Course
Main
Duration
1 hour
Serves
2 to 4
Using a giant wild mushroom like ground meat isn't a revolutionary idea, but it will help you figure out what to do with a 10-pound Chicken of the Woods (COTW) when you find one on your next foray. But, as with any wild edible, ensure you are 100% confident in what you are bringing home.
Also known as “sulphur shelf,” COTW is top-tier table fare, easy to identify, and one of the greatest bangs-for-your-buck finds in the foraging world. The dense, meaty texture makes it a perfect substitute for meat in almost any dish, and this Americanized taco recipe is a top-notch
You can use blanched and frozen or fresh-from-the-woods mushrooms to grind up for your taco filling. I tend to keep a few packages of cleaned and blanched COTW in the freezer because of the high yield. The key to really crispy and luscious taco filling is to hard sear the COTW twice. First, just as mushrooms in fat, then frying again after the mixture has absorbed all of the taco seasoning.
Ingredients
- COTW taco filling
- Crispy tortillas
- Iceberg lettuce
- Monterey jack cheese, shredded
- Chipotle crema
- Pico de gallo
- Sliced avocado
- Hot sauce of choice
- Pork, duck, or bear fat
- Butter
COTW Taco Filling
- 1 lb. COTW mushrooms, raw or blanched
- 1½ - 2 cups stock
- 8 tbsp. butter and/or pork fat
- 2 tbsp. Achiote paste
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. Guajillo powder
- 1 tbsp. Ancho powder
- 1 tbsp. Mexican oregano
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. ground coriander
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
Pico de Gallo
- 5 large Roma tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped white onion, soaked in cold water
- 1 large jalapeno, seeded, roughly chopped
- 1 cup cilantro
- ⅓ cup fresh lime juice
- Kosher salt
Chipotle Crema
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3-4 chipotles in adobo with sauce
- 2 tbsp. lime juice
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
Also works with
Special equipment
Preparation
- Clean and grind the mushrooms in the large die of the grinder. Grinding it down too much will create more of a paste than something similar to ground meat. Set aside.
- Combine all of the spices to make the taco seasoning mix.
- Puree the cream ingredients together and set aside. Shred the iceberg lettuce.
- Buzz or finely hand chop the pico de gallo ingredients until your preferred size and texture. (I like saving time and using the blender for a salsa consistency.)
- Warm the stock and vinegar in a small pot. Whisk in the achiote paste.
- Add half the butter and fat to a large skillet on high heat, preferably cast iron, and brown the ground mushroom in two batches until slightly crispy. You may need to add more fat to accomplish this.
- Put the ground mushrooms back into the skillet on medium-high heat and mix in the taco seasoning. Cook for a minute or two. Add the stock mixture and reduce the heat. The mushrooms will absorb this fast, but the point is to cook out the raw flavor of the spices. Remove the taco filling from the heat after around five minutes, or once the liquids have cooked out.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to a nonstick pan. Sear the mushroom mixture in batches to get extra crispy edges.
- Crisp the flour tortillas in a pan or over an open flame, slice some avocado, and plate the tacos with the crema, lettuce, and pico de gallo.
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Using a giant wild mushroom like ground meat isn't a revolutionary idea, but it will help you figure out what to do with a 10-pound Chicken of the Woods (COTW) when you find one on your next foray. But, as with any wild edible, ensure you are 100% confident in what you are bringing home.
Also known as “sulphur shelf,” COTW is top-tier table fare, easy to identify, and one of the greatest bangs-for-your-buck finds in the foraging world. The dense, meaty texture makes it a perfect substitute for meat in almost any dish, and this Americanized taco recipe is a top-notch
You can use blanched and frozen or fresh-from-the-woods mushrooms to grind up for your taco filling. I tend to keep a few packages of cleaned and blanched COTW in the freezer because of the high yield. The key to really crispy and luscious taco filling is to hard sear the COTW twice. First, just as mushrooms in fat, then frying again after the mixture has absorbed all of the taco seasoning.
Ingredients
- COTW taco filling
- Crispy tortillas
- Iceberg lettuce
- Monterey jack cheese, shredded
- Chipotle crema
- Pico de gallo
- Sliced avocado
- Hot sauce of choice
- Pork, duck, or bear fat
- Butter
COTW Taco Filling
- 1 lb. COTW mushrooms, raw or blanched
- 1½ - 2 cups stock
- 8 tbsp. butter and/or pork fat
- 2 tbsp. Achiote paste
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. Guajillo powder
- 1 tbsp. Ancho powder
- 1 tbsp. Mexican oregano
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. ground coriander
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
Pico de Gallo
- 5 large Roma tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped white onion, soaked in cold water
- 1 large jalapeno, seeded, roughly chopped
- 1 cup cilantro
- ⅓ cup fresh lime juice
- Kosher salt
Chipotle Crema
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3-4 chipotles in adobo with sauce
- 2 tbsp. lime juice
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
Also works with
Special equipment
Preparation
- Clean and grind the mushrooms in the large die of the grinder. Grinding it down too much will create more of a paste than something similar to ground meat. Set aside.
- Combine all of the spices to make the taco seasoning mix.
- Puree the cream ingredients together and set aside. Shred the iceberg lettuce.
- Buzz or finely hand chop the pico de gallo ingredients until your preferred size and texture. (I like saving time and using the blender for a salsa consistency.)
- Warm the stock and vinegar in a small pot. Whisk in the achiote paste.
- Add half the butter and fat to a large skillet on high heat, preferably cast iron, and brown the ground mushroom in two batches until slightly crispy. You may need to add more fat to accomplish this.
- Put the ground mushrooms back into the skillet on medium-high heat and mix in the taco seasoning. Cook for a minute or two. Add the stock mixture and reduce the heat. The mushrooms will absorb this fast, but the point is to cook out the raw flavor of the spices. Remove the taco filling from the heat after around five minutes, or once the liquids have cooked out.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to a nonstick pan. Sear the mushroom mixture in batches to get extra crispy edges.
- Crisp the flour tortillas in a pan or over an open flame, slice some avocado, and plate the tacos with the crema, lettuce, and pico de gallo.