"Pulled" Mushroom Sandwiches

So I bought a bunch (WAY too many!) King Oyster mushrooms the other day, to make a recipe from the FABULOUS Herbivoracious site. (While his recipe is not what I'm making today, DO check out his site when you get a chance!!)

Anyway -  I had several of these giant mushrooms sitting in my 'fridge for several days, trying to think what else to do with them.
On a whim, I shredded them, sauteed them, then cooked them down in some homemade BBQ sauce - and had a "pulled" mushroom sammich.
Seriously? Takes a little while, but the EASIEST supper ever!

The texture is a little softer than chicken, but it still looks and tastes deliciously shreddy-meaty-BBQ-y.
By delicious accident, I also discovered I had no sourdough bread that night, just some rustic, artisan raisin bread. Sounds weird, but the sweet of the raisins complimented the BBQ sauce PERFECTLY!!
I served this again tonight to my good friend Shaun, and he agreed it was crazy stuff, we scraped the pan clean!

The texture won't work so well with other mushrooms, you really need the firm but easy-to-shred texture of the giant King Oysters.
If you've never worked with these, they're great big things - roughly the size and shape of a chicken drumstick, usually found in your local Asian Market or better-stocked grocery stores.
They're meaty but silky textured when cooked, add a rich hearty flavor to vegetable dishes and are a great source of protein, vitamin B6, folate, iron, magnesium, zinc, dietary fiber, riboflavin, phosphorus, potassium, and copper.
And I also like them because they're CHEAP!

"Pulled" Mushroom BBQ Sandwiches

4 King Oyster Mushrooms, (they're mostly a big stem - the size of a large chicken drumstick or larger (sorry for the comparison but that's what they remind me of!!)
2 Tb. Earth Balance
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 large sweet onion, very thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups favorite BBQ sauce
1/2 cup water

Finely shred the mushrooms using the finest shred, matchstick or julienne blade on your Mandoline Slicer; You want toothpick-thin slices.
If you have a food processor with a feed chute and shredder blade, you can use that but the texture may be mushier...

Melt Earth Balance in a large skillet, add shredded mushrooms, onions and salt; heat COVERED over medium high, stirring occasionally, until until mushrooms release liquid and become juicy, about 10 - 15 minutes.
Continue to simmer, covered, until vegetables are soft and tender, about another 10 minutes. (Add a couple Tbsp. water if it isn't still a bit "juicy")
Stir in BBQ sauce and water, remove cover and simmer another 10 minutes. Turn heat to high and stir frequently until extra moisture evaporates and mixture becomes thick and sticky. Allow to "stick" and caramelize a bit, but scrape pan to prevent mixture from actually burning.
Serve over hot sourdough toast (or try with a hearty, non-sweet, rustic raisin bread like I did.)