”The Dryads saddle is notorious for being a difficult one to cook and only best when very young. Here is how I treated it for a great result that has the softness of pork belly.
GeorgeFlavour Fred
Dryads saddle / Pheasant Back (Cerioporus squamosus)
I’ve been on the lookout for methods to cook the Dryads Saddle for years. It’s a very common, unmistakable dense Funghi that’s out right now and has a cucumber/watermelon-y aroma. I’ve always made it into bhajis as a rule as it’s quite good at holding spices/flavours but saw a post from @foraging_wales about getting it to a “pork belly” texture. Obviously immediately obsessed so I bothered Siôned (Thank you!🍄❤️) until I got an idea of the process.
This was a young specimen so quite tender as the dryads saddle becomes tougher with age. I also avoided the closest part to the tree which is also tough. For more information I posted about this Funghi previously so take a look for more information there on its structure.
Slicing the Funghi into 1/4 inch slices after cleaning and marinating in dark soy, miso, chilli, elderflower vinegar & noble fir molasses overnight. After which I cooked it pretty hard on the grill giving a good char. Bit of garlic sauce, elderflower vinegar, salt and the poplar field caps on toast made it sing. So good. A great vehicle for flavour by marinating. More tests to follow.
Really good and enjoyed by many attendees this weekend.
So happy to find another method and loved the end result. So thanks again Siôned.
