My method is much like one of those Alain describes. If they are of inferior quality, they need to be picked over first, to eliminate any large bits of dirt or pebbles and other foreign objects. The best quality ones from Italy, such as these...
viewtopic.php?p=293021#p293021... they are free of such refuse and one can pass directly to the soaking stage. I use very hot water -- not boiling, mind you, but very hot -- and let the mushrooms steep in the hot water for about a half-hour; in a rush, you can get by with perhaps just 20 minutes. On all occasions, regardless of whether one is using both products immediately or not, one strains and saves the liquor and also prepares the mushroom pieces appropriately for the recipe at hand.
From something I haven't posted on yet but now will probably do so, here's the liquor waiting to be strained...
... and here the mushroom pieces from a batch of pretty good Polish (or possibly Croatian -- I can't remember) mushrooms...
Both the liquor and the mushrooms, well chopped, were used in the same dish.
I've been trying to upload some parallel pictures of Italian dried porcini but can't do so just now for some reason. The difference in how they look is considerable.
Kenny - I have never seen or heard of an Italian cook throwing out the actual mushrooms after soaking and the idea of doing so sends shudders through me -- it seems possibly even worse than throwing out a piece of bread!
As I said above, good quality dried porcini are an expensive pantry item, just as, for example, saffron is an expensive item for the spice rack. And that's why there are lots of inferior quality ones available from Poland and elsewhere. I use a lot of porcini in my cooking and so it behooves me to keep an eye out for bargains in the Polish stores, where some batches are quite good but they typically require more handling than the always pricey Italian ones. WIth lesser quality mushrooms, there are pieces that are tough or woody that one needs to eliminate and the good pieces don't have great texture but they do have great flavour. With the high quality products, the number of pieces that need to be eliminated after soaking are very few in my experience and the best pieces, nice slices of porcini caps and stems, have a pleasant enough texture and phenomenal flavour.
Antonius
Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
- aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
________
Na sir is na seachain an cath.