Every summer our family enjoys foraging chanterelle mushrooms. They are abundant in Missouri, easy to spot, have a delicious fruity taste and few lookalikes. Join us on or adventures in the woods. Plus, find below a delicious Bacon Sourdough Pizza recipe using these delicious mushrooms.
Every summer we bust out our Missouri Mushroom field guide and hit the woods in search of some of our favorite wild edibles. Most people in our area seek out the morel mushroom that can be found in early spring, but it seems like few look for the more obscure varieties.
This translates as less competition, and more mushrooms for us!
The June heat and Missouri humidity has the chanterelle mushrooms out in full force. They have a delicate taste and fruity aroma, and are high in vitamin C, potassium and vitamin D.
These gourmet mushroms would be really expensive if you were trying to buy them at your local Whole Foods Market.
Although I don’t mind cooking up a mess of morels when we come across them, chanterelles are by far my favorite.
We love them on homemade sourdough pizza, cooked into scrambled eggs and tossed in a tasty stir-fry.
How To Find Chanterelle Mushrooms
They range in color from a soft yellow to a bright orange, and are fairly easy to spot on the forest floor. They are sometimes mistaken for the poisonous (but not lethal) jack-o-lantern mushroom.
Look for them in shady damp areas, especially after the summer heat has set in.
We find them here in Missouri in June-August.
Foraging Chanterelle Mushrooms | Wild Edibles video
Be sure to know the common lookalikes
Mushroom hunting is a safe, and delicious, hobby, as long as you do your research and are absolutely sure that you know what you are doing.
There are certainly varieties out there that can kill you, if you misidentify and eat the wrong ones.
Chanterelles are a great place to start because they have few poisonous lookalikes and a very distinct smell and flavor.
We actually went on a few forays with our local Mycological society to learn more about safe mushroom varieties in our area.
Do your research and see if you can find a local group in your area. Reach out to your local conservation department to see if they have a field guide for your state.
What do they taste like?
They have a mild earthy and woodsy flavor with a hint of a peppery bite.
Where do Chanterelles grow?
In our area, golden chanterelles are abudent. The golden and different varieties can also be found in many places in North America (like the from the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and event the east coast), South America, Canada, Europe, and more.
They can usually be found in mossy forests under large trees.
Can you eat them raw?
It is not recommended. They are better eaten after they are cooked and may even make some people sick if they try to eat them raw.
How to clean chanterelles?
Mushrooms can be slightly difficult to clean. You don’t want to soak them and want to use the least amount of water possible. Clean them under a slow running faucet and use a toothbrush or a mushroom brush to clean out any dirt in in the crevices. Place cleaned mushrooms on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to dry.
How do you cook chanterelles mushrooms?
There are so many ways to prepare them.
- Add them to scrambled eggs.
- Pizza (see recipe below)
- Stir fry dish
- Or simply saute in butter
Find more delicious recipes straight from the farmhouse:
Breakfast Pizza Recipe With Sourdough Crust
Chicken Alfredo Sourdough Pizza Recipe
Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Beef
Best Chicken Pot Pie Recipe With Sourdough Biscuits
Bacon Chanterelle Sourdough Pizza Recipe
And now to the really good part…cooking up those tasty morsels!
By far the best way to enjoy these mushrooms is on a sourdough pizza crust with cream sauce, bacon and fresh herbs. There is no better way to experience summer’s goodness.
Bacon Chanterelle Mushroom Pizza
Sourdough pizza crust topped with a creamy alfredo sauce and topped with bacon, cheese, chanterelle mushrooms, and fresh basil.
Ingredients
- 1 Sourdough pizza crust
- 12 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup alfredo sauce (homemade or store bought)
- 1 cup fresh chanterelle mushrooms, sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh herbs, basil and oregano
- 1 pound bacon
Instructions
Make a simple sourdough pizza crust according to these directions.
Cook the bacon until almost crispy.
Spread the alfredo sauce over the crust.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the sauce.
Toss the mushrooms in some of the bacon grease.
Top the pizza crust with the chanterelles, cooked bacon and herbs.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
Bask in the deliciousness that is this pizza.
My husband and I feel like total foodies when we bring home locally foraged mushrooms and cook them up on a long fermented sourdough crust. Just sayin’.
And the kids love it too.
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Valerie says
To our surprise a few years ago, on a REALLY rainy summer, we found all this beautiful orange trumpeting goodness all over our woods. I never really paid too much mind to them before, until……….. I decided to look them up on the internet and to my surprise…….gourmet food!!!!!!! And not cheap to purchase. We only get them in the rare rainy summers here in Arkansas, but boy when we get them, we enjoy the to the hilt. I have dehydrated a bunch of them because we only manage to get a good amount of the every so oftern. I LOVE YELLOWFOOT CHANTERELLES.
Lisa says
Oh nice! Aren’t they the best?! Its so great when you can find something thats gourmet and expensive. Great you are able to enjoy them and not let them go to waste!
Taylor says
So fun! We tried foraging for morels with spring with no luck. Will have to attempt to find these. Fingers crossed because that pizza looks great!
Lisa says
They are the best! Morels are so hard to find, especially because the color blends right in with the leaves.
Amy says
I’m so impressed and a teensy bit jealous! And: the pictures of your beautiful daughter are priceless. I live in Nebraska and my son and I hunt for morels during their brief season, but now I’m going to have to look up information about chanterelles. Thanks, Lisa!