Pheasant Back Burger

In my opinion, pheasant backs are one of the most under-appreciated mushrooms in the woods. They offer themselves up abundantly along wooded streams and rivers, and are one of the earliest spring mushrooms around. They have a pleasant, mild flavor- not too earthy or mushroomy- and a wonderful aroma of cucumber or melon rind. Foraging for them is pleasant- in the early spring, the bugs haven’t yet gotten to be too bad, and the woods are just turning verdant and green, bursting with birdsong. I think part of the problem is that they generally play second fiddle to THE spring mushroom, morels, and people see them as a consolation prize, not something to seek out in their own right. 

The thing about the pheasant back is that yes, it can be tough when it gets older. But just like you don’t throw away your whole deer just because the shanks are tough, you shouldn’t write off the pheasant back as being generally difficult to eat or prepare. You just need to know how to use it.

A young pheasant back is pretty tender, but you can’t judge by size alone- some small pheasant backs might have been on that stump for a while, and gotten just as chewy as some of the bigger ones. Some people go by the pore size- when the pores underneath are wide open, they say it’s too tough to eat. I’ve found that to be a decent rule of thumb, but I won’t pass on a mushroom just because the pores have opened. Each pheasant back can usually be divided up into two or three different “grades” of tenderness, and we use each a little differently. 

First, in a crescent along the outside edge of the mushroom is the real tender stuff. When you cut into it with a knife, it should be soft and yielding, like any other mushroom. Then, on some of the mushrooms, the middle is kind of in-between- tender enough to not be unpleasant, but maybe a little toothier than what you’d like. Finally, there’s the woody stuff near the stem. We have found that the woody, chewy parts of the pheasant back mushrooms make a great mushroom broth, and dehydrate well into a powder that we use to bulk up soups and sauces. And the more tender parts? Well, read on.

We’ve already posted our tempura-fried pheasant back mushrooms, and the stinging nettle and pheasant back saag paneer, but we were looking to make a dish that incorporated some of the super tender parts and some of the “middles.” And then the thought occurred to us- what if we grind them? Plenty of people grind tougher cuts of meat.

Ultimately, we decided against breaking out the grinder, and instead used our food processor to pulse the mushrooms into small pieces. Bound together with egg, breadcrumbs, and mayonnaise, they came together perfectly. The flavor and texture was excellent. The mixture of edges and middles gave it a nice variation in texture- each bite had a little bit of chewiness and a little bit of tenderness. It had a little bit of “crumble” to it- almost like how a crab cake will fall apart when you bite into it. Because the pheasant backs have such a mild flavor, the burger wasn’t overly mushroomy and will play nicely with any seasoning or toppings you decide to add. 

Note: When you’re dividing up and cutting your pheasant backs, my recommendation is to err on the side of caution in terms of the texture. When you’re cutting off the tender edges, the minute your knife hits part of the mushroom that makes you think “hmm, it’s getting tougher” is the time to stop and separate the next pieces into either your “middles” pile or your “tough” pile. We generally find so many pheasant backs at once that it makes no sense to potentially turn the dish into a chewy minefield in order to maximize yield. 

Pheasant Back Mushroom Burgers

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

12-16 oz pheasant back mushrooms, mostly tender & some middle parts, cut into ~1” squares

2 tbsp butter

Splash white wine

1 medium onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp mayo

1 cup breadcrumbs

2 eggs

Method:

Heat a pan to medium high heat, add a small amount of canola oil and mushrooms, and season lightly with salt. Stir often to cook the mushrooms evenly. When about half way cooked, around 3 minutes or so, add in butter and continue cooking for another 3 minutes or so. Add in a few splashes of wine and stir. Pour all mushrooms into a mixing bowl and refrigerate. 

In the same pan over medium heat, cook onion, garlic and pepper until fragrant and somewhat soft, approximately 5 minutes. Add to mushrooms and allow to cool under refrigeration.

Once the mixture is cool, place in a blender or food processor and pulse until crumbly. The mushrooms should be similar in size to cooked ground beef. Use only the pulse setting- you don't want to liquify the contents, just break it into smaller pieces.

Pour into a mixing bowl and add the mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, and eggs. Mix well and taste, adjust seasoning as needed.

Form into patties and press, just like you would forming beef burger patties, ~1” thick

When ready to serve, brown one side in a medium high pan with oil and flip, then place in oven preheated to 375F for 8-10 minutes. 

Serve with your favorite burger fixins.