Home-Dried Wild Mushrooms
Dry your foraged haul at home and carry umami that weighs almost nothing.
- calories
- 60
- weight
- 0.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 100
- protein
- 5 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- 250 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Fresh wild mushrooms | 1 lb | porcini, morels, black trumpets, and lobsters all dry well |
|---|---|---|
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | added at camp, not before drying |
Method
- At home: brush the mushrooms clean with a dry brush and trim dirt or mold off with a paring knife. Do not wash them. Grit that goes in wet comes back out wet.
- Slice thick caps into 1/4 inch pieces. Leave small morels and trumpets whole. Sort by size so a tray finishes at the same time.
- Lay them on dehydrator trays in a single layer with air space between pieces. Crowded trays hold moisture and delicate mushrooms will rot faster than they dry.
- Run the dehydrator at 135-150 F until every piece snaps instead of bending. Thick slices can take 8-12 hours.
- Cool completely, then seal in jars or vacuum bags. Warm mushrooms sweat and reintroduce the water you just removed.
- In camp: drop a handful into 250 ml of water, bring to a boil, and hold at a simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until they soften. Add the salt and use both the mushrooms and the soaking liquid.
Drying is the least fussy way to keep a mushroom haul, and for backpacking it is the only one that matters: a pound of fresh mushrooms comes down to about an ounce that stores for years at room temperature. The soaking water is not waste. It is concentrated broth, and pouring it out throws away most of what you dried the mushrooms for.
Two things ruin a batch. Dirt that was not brushed off in the field never rehydrates clean, and mushrooms packed shoulder to shoulder on a tray get warm before they get dry, which is decomposition rather than dehydration. Space them out, dry them the day you pick them, and let them cool before sealing the jar.
Packing
Portion an ounce at a time into small zip bags. Push the air out. Dried mushrooms crush easily, so pack them in a hard container or inside your pot.
Variations
- Grind the dried pieces into powder and carry it as a seasoning for rice, couscous, or instant potatoes.
- Toast dried boletes in a dry pan for a minute before adding water. It sharpens the flavor.
- Cold soak them in a jar for two hours instead of boiling, then use the whole jar as broth.
https://foragerchef.com/treasure-hoard-tips-for-dryingdehydrating-wild-mushrooms