What to do with a TON of wild mushrooms?

After a few highly fruitful chicken-of-the-woods foraging missions this week I am now presented with the dilemma of what to do with 20+ lbs. of the mushrooms. I definitely have a range of recipes for the fresh fungus, but I am afraid that myself and my domestic companions may not even be able to put a dent in the stash. So, I have a dehydrator, that's the easy solution. I am more interested in pickling them or oil curing them. I have recipes for Polish style pickled mushrooms, which I may follow, though the recipe calls for the mild and more delicate domestic button mushroom. I have had Italian oil cured chanterelles (a mushroom to which the chicken may have a closer semblance to flavor and texture-wise). Does anyone have any experience with such methods of putting mushrooms by? I know that veggies in close contact with soil can create botulism- producing conditions when canned in oil. Could I blanch the 'shrooms? Thoughts?
Thanks.

I haven't been as lucky as you getting mushrooms, but whenever I've had an over-abundance, I've lightly roasted them, to deactivate the enzymes, and stored them in the freezer.

I asked a similar question on this forum a few years ago regarding a surplus of boletes. The suggestion to dry them in a dehydrator was the best. I am still enjoying the porcini that resulted.

HI,

Depending on age, people eat the entire sulfur shelf, chicken of the woods - Laetiporus sulphureus, or only the tender edges. You may want to see what your position may really be. You'd hate to defrost or rehydrate later a mushroom that you can chew forever and not break up.

I have some sulfur shelf edges that were blanched, vacuum packed and frozen in my freezer. I haven't used them because they are reserved for a program later this year.

If I had hen of the woods (Grifola frondosa), I wouldn't hesitate to dehydrate them. A fleshy mushroom like sulfur shelf, I am inclinded to freeze. If dehydrating slice them into 1/4 inch thickness, then dehydrate.

Regards,

Depending on age, people eat the entire sulfur shelf, chicken of the woods - Laetiporus sulphureus, or only the tender edges. You may want to see what your position may really be. You'd hate to defrost or rehydrate later a mushroom that you can chew forever and not break up.

I have some sulfur shelf edges that were blanched, vacuum packed and frozen in my freezer. I haven't used them because they are reserved for a program later this year.

If I had hen of the woods (Grifola frondosa), I wouldn't hesitate to dehydrate them. A fleshy mushroom like sulfur shelf, I am inclinded to freeze. If dehydrating slice them into 1/4 inch thickness, then dehydrate.

I have had these issues with older specimens of chicken, especially when dehydrating. The masses that I have collected recently seem young, some even with younger yellow bud- like growth and the bulk of the mushrooms are bright orange. They actually were dripping juices down my arms as I carried them home and all parts of the shelves that I have been cooking with are quite tender. I think that I am inclined to make a huge batch of a bisque of some kind, serve to as many friends as possible, and freeze the rest of it.
And yes, hen does dehydrate splendidly

I have also sauteed excess mushrooms in butter, salt & pepper, and frozen those.
You can thaw later and add to soup, gravy, chili, stew, anything, and they are equally delicious.
Sometimes I do this as pre-Thanksgiving prep for my gravy and stuffing mushrooms.

Once upon a time, in a paradisical past, a student gave me 5lbs of morels. After gorging myself for days, there still were 'shrums remaining (can you even imagine??!). So, I sautéd them in an excess of butter, until I could just smell them and they were just on the verge of giving up their water (you all know that exact point, of course!), I unceremoniously dumped them on a chilled-in-the-freezer pizza pan, put them back into the freezer, and, an hour or so later, put the heavily butter-glazed broken up sheet of morels in freezer bags. They defrosted admirably.

Jefe, we should all be so lucky as to have your oversupply problem!

Geo