King Oysters, Pleurotus eryngii, are stately mushrooms with a large stalk. The entire mushroom is great eating! King Oysters are a bit finicky to fruit, but well worth it! (Beginners might want to start first with a Blue Oyster mushroom kit.)
Within weeks you will enjoy your first crop of mushrooms grown indoors on your counter top. Kits can also be grown outdoors during the spring and fall. A humid environment is important to mushroom formation, and can be created by misting water from a spray bottle into a humidity tent.
All natural ingredients. Your kit contains a mushroom culture grown on pure hardwood sawdust and organic Canadian wheat bran. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used.
Fruiting instructions can be found here.
Kit size ~2kg (4lbs+)
Visit our Learn to Grow page to learn how to expand your mushroom kit into buckets of sawdust or used to inoculate logs!
Also known as the King Trumpet.
For peak viability we recommend using your mushroom products within weeks, and storing in a cool location until use. Refrigeration between 2-4C is ideal for the longest shelf-life. Even when refrigerated, the fungal mycelium continues to grow, and eventually mushrooms burst out one way or another.
After harvesting you should store the mushrooms in a paper bag. The best way to store mushrooms is in a paper bag, which allows them to breathe. Leave them in the main part of the refrigerator to get good airflow, not the produce drawer. If stored properly fresh mushrooms should last for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Raw King Oysters, though dense and spongy in texture, lack aroma and flavor, but when cooked, the mushrooms have a savory umami flavor, a soft, crunchy texture, and a mild flavor reminiscent of abalone. They are cultivated all over the world and are highly valued in Asian culinary applications for their dense, chewy texture and seafood-like flavor.
King Oyster mushrooms are best suited for grilling, roasting, baking, sautéing, and frying. They can be sliced or torn into thick pieces and simmered or braised to create a crispy texture, or they can be cut into rounds to develop a tender, meat-like consistency. King Oyster mushrooms are commonly used in stir-fries, soups, stews, tempura, chopped into meatballs or meatloaf, mixed into pasta, or grilled and served on top of barbequed meats. They pair well with legumes, grains, fish, poultry, scallops, Asian greens, ginger, garlic, chives, chiles, thyme, rosemary, peppercorn, soy, vinegar, dry white wines, blue cheese, grapes, and focaccia.
Blackened King Oyster Mushroom Scallops w/ Grits & Greens
King Oyster Mushroom “Scallops”
Grilled King Trumpet Mushrooms & Shishito Peppers on Rosemary Skewers
Mushroom Salad with Lentils and Caramelized Onions
King Oyster Mushroom Vegan Scallops with Persian Cucumbers
Baked King Oyster Mushroom Calamari
King Oyster mushrooms contain riboflavin, vitamins B6, C, and D, niacin, potassium, fiber, and folate. They also contain high amounts of a naturally occurring amino acid, ergothioneine, which is an antioxidant. This particular antioxidant is stored in organs like the liver and kidneys and helps reduce the risk of chronic disease.
