tasty ways to cook cat tail shoots?

[punkrockcaveman]

there seems to be a glut of fresh shoots around at the moment!

I'm keen to get the best out of them, I've tried raw which is edible but wouldn't call it tasty as such.

Any recommendations? I was thinking maybe grilling might be a way to go?

 

[Robson Valley]

Steam them to tenderize.

Here's a pizza that I really like done with fern fiddleheads or asparagus.
Read this all before you begin so no surprises in the middle (gruyere).
I don't write recipe like in the books.

>Half a thawed package of puff pastry, rolls no more than 1/8" thick with a 1/2" rolled edge.
Has to be quite a lot bigger than 12" x 12'"
>Dock hundreds of times with a fork so it won't turn into a gigantic pita bread.
>Bake 375F for 10 minutes on a sheet pan and expect it to shrink a lot.
>Make the "goop" =
3 tbsp each Dijon mustard, olive oil, white wine
1 tsp some sort of seasoned salt (Hy's, Lawry's, etc)
Whisk together really well.

>Baste the pizza crust with goop. Sprinkle with grated gruyere.
>Lay on the steamed greens. Baste with the rest of the goop.
>Sprinkle more gruyere.
Bake again 20 minutes @ 375F.
= = =
Now Punker, I need in trade a description of what you harvest for cattail shoots.
Our ditches are full of them, AND, I want a change from fiddleheads
although our mountain swamp are a lush bounty of edibles in the spring.

 

[Toddy]

Slice them up and stir fry them like bamboo shoots. They're quite starch rich, but I think they're sort of cucumber tasting.
You can pickle them too

 

[TeeDee]

Depends on how much effort you want to go into the Processing of it.

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Not too much effort, perhaps what can be achieved with standard camping gear over a fire ideally?

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Steam them to tenderize.

Here's a pizza that I really like done with fern fiddleheads or asparagus.
Read this all before you begin so no surprises in the middle (gruyere).
I don't write recipe like in the books.

>Half a thawed package of puff pastry, rolls no more than 1/8" thick with a 1/2" rolled edge.
Has to be quite a lot bigger than 12" x 12'"
>Dock hundreds of times with a fork so it won't turn into a gigantic pita bread.
>Bake 375F for 10 minutes on a sheet pan and expect it to shrink a lot.
>Make the "goop" =
3 tbsp each Dijon mustard, olive oil, white wine
1 tsp some sort of seasoned salt (Hy's, Lawry's, etc)
Whisk together really well.

>Baste the pizza crust with goop. Sprinkle with grated gruyere.
>Lay on the steamed greens. Baste with the rest of the goop.
>Sprinkle more gruyere.
Bake again 20 minutes @ 375F.
= = =
Now Punker, I need in trade a description of what you harvest for cattail shoots.
Our ditches are full of them, AND, I want a change from fiddleheads
although our mountain swamp are a lush bounty of edibles in the spring.

Sounds awesome! This link describes harvesting the shoots well;

foraging cat tail shoots

Next time I harvest some I'll be sure to take some pictures. I'm a lover of the early flower heads as they have a great texture, kind of like broccoli on the cob. If that makes any sense!

 

[TeeDee]

Not too much effort, perhaps what can be achieved with standard camping gear over a fire ideally?

Then par boil , season , finish on fire griddled.

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Then par boil , season , finish on fire griddled.

Awesome, thanks. That sounds great!