I think porcini would work really well in this recipe. I would try to source them from an Italian specialty food shop or at the very least porcini grown in Italy or North America. Make sure to check the label for product of Italy, not packed in Italy. I have heard that mushrooms grown in China have high levels of heavy metals and toxins. They sell porcini powder in Italian specialty shops and it images an amazing difference in gravies, risotto, etc…
From a cooking standpoint, I don't see why not. In fact, most dried mushrooms should work in principle with this dry grate technique.
Your big challenge would be to source dried porcinis (or alternate) that doesn't have sand or grit. Porcinis have not been successfully cultivated in any large scale production. They are always harvested wild; they grow at the base of pine trees where the base of the stems are prone to collect some dirt and grit. This is going to be an issue with all mycorrhizal fungi that grow at the dirt at the base of a host tree (basically all the varieties picked wild).
Avoiding grit is far easier with varieties that are cultivated on carefully prepared mediums in controlled environments like white buttons, brown Criminis, Portobellos, enoki, shimeji, shiitakes (the latter are cultivated on oak sawdust).
As a test you should grate a couple of your porcinis and soak the resultant mushroom powder in a little bit of water for a while, remove the mushroom and feel the bottom of the cup/container with your finger for any hint of sand/grit. Some producers are likely more careful in cleaning than others so you might need to try several vendors before you can find a product that has less grit.
/124b27d3-127b-4ce5-bbb4-0f2a967c4d80--2021-0602_genius-shiitake-salmon_3x2_rocky-luten_037.jpg)
2 Comments
They sell porcini powder in Italian specialty shops and it images an amazing difference in gravies, risotto, etc…
Your big challenge would be to source dried porcinis (or alternate) that doesn't have sand or grit. Porcinis have not been successfully cultivated in any large scale production. They are always harvested wild; they grow at the base of pine trees where the base of the stems are prone to collect some dirt and grit. This is going to be an issue with all mycorrhizal fungi that grow at the dirt at the base of a host tree (basically all the varieties picked wild).
Avoiding grit is far easier with varieties that are cultivated on carefully prepared mediums in controlled environments like white buttons, brown Criminis, Portobellos, enoki, shimeji, shiitakes (the latter are cultivated on oak sawdust).
As a test you should grate a couple of your porcinis and soak the resultant mushroom powder in a little bit of water for a while, remove the mushroom and feel the bottom of the cup/container with your finger for any hint of sand/grit. Some producers are likely more careful in cleaning than others so you might need to try several vendors before you can find a product that has less grit.
Best of luck.