Foraging for Deer Again – The Cauliflower Mushroom

Creeping along a thick laurel edge, I paused, listening hard as the silence broke with a deer snorting a few hundred yards ahead in the thicket. My eyes flicked to the windicator—a strand of unwaxed floss tied to the top limb tip of my bow—and confirmed my scent was blowing safely away.

Then a sudden movement behind me made me jump. I spun, coming to half draw, just in time to see a large white dog explode out of the thicket. A whistle followed, and a guy in a plaid shirt and ball cap appeared. Ugh. Just another Saturday on popular public land.

The rest of the hunt was quiet, aside from a squirrel I irritated when my judo point lodged in the branch he was running down. I used the slow morning to scout, exploring a few promising spots for when the rut gets the bucks moving.

Oddly enough, the highlight of the day wasn’t wildlife—it was a fungus. While scanning beneath some oaks for the dark, rounded shape of hen-of-the-woods (a little early yet), I noticed a mound of yellow-tan folds that looked like egg noodles piled together. I had a strong suspicion they were edible, so I cut out the mass and slipped it into my cargo pocket. A little farther down the edge, I found more. By the time I was done, both of my big shirt pockets were stuffed with five clusters of mushrooms.

Back home, I confirmed they were eastern cauliflower mushrooms. Cleaning them turned out to be the real challenge—so many tiny specks wedged in those folds. One cluster was basically hopeless, but I painstakingly pulled apart and cleaned the others. Thankfully, five clusters still left me with plenty of usable mushrooms.

I already had a pack of venison straps thawed—my last from the late-season muzzleloader doe whose hide I’d recently tanned. These mushrooms would make a perfect gravy for medallions.

I heated olive oil in my cast iron and tossed in chopped onions. Once they turned translucent, I added the mushrooms, some salt, and garlic. After everything softened, I dusted the pan with about a quarter cup of flour, then poured in a quart of beef stock to simmer into a rich gravy. Outside, I grilled the venison medallions with salt, pepper, and a touch of Cajun seasoning.

The resulting dish was amazing.

The following day, I used the remaining mushrooms to make a rich soup—and it was even better. I’ve now added cauliflower mushrooms to my list of treasures to look for whenever I’m in the woods. I couldn’t be more pleased…well, maybe if I’d had an opportunity at a deer too!