dried mushrooms

[surrealAmerican]

Is anybody else having trouble finding them locally?

I've recently been making a mushroom and barley casserole that really needs dried mushrooms, and they are getting super hard to find.

[orthoclad]

1. Online ordering

Plus I dry morels when I find them.
Just about morel season now.

[fierywoman]

2. Costco often has big plastic containers of them ..

[spinbaby]

7. I have one of those

The Costco container of dried mushrooms is, I’m convinced, a lifetime supply.

[RockRaven]

3. Do you have any local Asian markets?

Depends on which type of mushroom you're looking for, of course, but that might be a place to check.

[surrealAmerican]

4. It almost doesn't matter what kind.

All I could find today was "dried portobellos". They work.

The only walking-distance Asian market is a very small specifically Japanese place. I'll check there next time.

[Warpy]

5. Try Amazon

They have all sorts of blends from Europe and Asia. I usually just use shiitake mushrooms, I like the flavor the best, but YMMV, especially if the varieties are specified.

[Retrograde]

6. No, my regular grocery has a large selection

Where do you live? I'd also recommend Amazon - I got a pound of mixed dried mushrooms mid-pandemic and still haven't used them all.

However, given my druthers, I'd go with fresh mushrooms when available.

[spinbaby]

8. Please post the recipe

Pretty please?

[surrealAmerican]

10. This is adapted from an old cookbook of mine:

Mushroom Barley Casserole

1 oz. dried mushrooms
2 tbls oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 cup chopped celery with leaves (optional)
1/2 lb. pearl barley
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

Soak dried mushrooms in water to cover for 2 hours. Remove from liquid (keep this liquid). Chop.
Preheat oven to 350.
Heat oil in 2-quart casserole. Add onions, stir, cover and steam for 10 minutes. Remove cover sauté until lightly browned. Add fresh mushrooms. Sauté until tender. Add celery, dried mushrooms, and barley. Stir to combine.
Add broth and mushroom soaking liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and put in oven for about an hour or until liquid is absorbed.
Remove from oven, stir. Let sit covered for about ten minutes before serving.

[spinbaby]

11. Thank!

I’ll probably wind up adding more mushrooms because that’s just the way I roll.

[FarPoint]

9. All these dried mushroom options

They are fantastic! I too have struggled to find dried mushrooms...I never looked when I was at Costco...