Found several Pheasantbacks yesterday in souther WI. Young ones were OK with olive oil and garlic salt on grill. Older ones were too tough to even chew off a bite? Any ides on how to prepare?

A few people have suggested cream of mushroom soup in some other posts- I can totally understand that, we made a cream sauce with some older ones and it was a pretty strong mushroom experience (pleasant on our table, but maybe not for everyone if you don't really love mushrooms). We harvested a few older ones too that were quite tough, but they dehydrated beautifully- my plan was to crunch/powder them up for soups gravies and meat rubs but I haven't put that idea to use yet beyond the dehydrator.

The younger ones that were still tender we just pan fried up in some butter and seasoned flour, as I said on the other post those disappeared faster than I could get them out of the pan.

We slice them thin,roll in flour and fry in a pan!! They get eaten as fast as they come out of the pan!!

I have found (imho) saddles 2 be the best shroom for pickling. Younger specimens or properly trimmed medium aged specimens really stand up well 2 the preparation for pickling and they retain their mass and consistency in the jars.

Never had a pickled shroom,are they good??What do they taste like??

They taste quite good actually and that's what most people that get 2 try them say. The recipe I use works on a few different shrooms but Dryads Saddle is my favourite, mostly because of its consistency. The process is a little long winded but worth all the effort. I was given this recipe from an older Italian fellow who has been picking mushrooms for 40+ years. He also took me out a few times and taught me quite a bit of important basics to shrooming. Here's my recipe just in case you're interested in trying it out. The main concern in choosing a shroom 2 pickle, is choosing a species that stays firm after processing.

Pickled Mushrooms

1) 8 Cups of White Vinegar
(2) 2 Cups of Water
(3) 2 cups of white wine
(4) 1 Cup of white sugar
(5) 1/5th cup of pickling salt
(6) 1 stainless infuser full of pickling spice

I cut the shrooms in2 thumb sized pieces.

-Allow all above ingredients to simmer on the stove for at least 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
-Remove infuser and blanch shrooms, no more than 1 - 2 cups at a time, for 2 min. ( 4 min. for dryads saddle)
-Place shrooms on towel and let dry for 2 days (1 day if using a fan) This removes the water and concentrates the spices. The pieces should still be soft and pliable after the drying.
-Mix with veg. oil (enough 2 coat very well but not 2 soupy), garlic (2 taste), bit of salt (2 taste), oregano (2 taste), touch of black pepper. Allow to sit in fridge for 24 hrs.
-Pack in jars (250 ml. is the best size) and add 1 chili pepper, 1 garlic clove (must be sliced) and one small bay leaf.
-Top up preserving jar with oil and pressure can for 45 min. (I pressure can my shrooms but the old Italian fellow and his wife simply topped up with oil and screwed the lid on. I would think that at the very least, a boiling hot water bath for 60 min. would be a good idea)

My pressure canned jars keep for years.