PORTLAND, Ore. — This week we're heading on a hunting trip with “man’s best friend” who has the keenest sense of smell for finding underground treasure just under the forest duff — it’s an Oregon truffle hunt.
Kris Jacobsen is a professional dog trainer and her canine partner is a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois named “Ilsa.”
We joined the team in a second growth Douglas fir forest near Eugene. They prefer hunting together in dark stands of 30-year-old fir where their hunting success depends on Ilsa’s famous nose.
The prizes they seek are gorgeous walnut-sized fungi that are more famous than you’d think: Oregon truffles! The small underground treasures are blessed with aromatic, almost pungent scents that are culinary treasures. In fact, the truffle’s strong aroma makes finding them easy for a trained dog like Ilsa.
“I give her a search command and she ventures out ahead of me,” said Jacobsen. “I pretty much stay put and keep an eye on her as she wanders about me trying to pick up the scent of the truffle.”
It doesn’t take Ilsa long to find a truffle treasure. She dips her head, sniffs the ground, scratches the surface twice and shakes her head to signal a find.
“Ilsa tends to stop right on top of them,” said Jacobsen. “She might nick it a little bit with her paw but by and large she’ll stop at the top of it.”
Jacobsen said that her job is to keep watch and follow Ilsa’s signs.
“There’s one right close to the surface – right there – and it’s a big one.”
Ten years ago, Jacobsen knew virtually nothing about truffles – what she calls a “mushroom that grows underground.” That changed when she tasted her first wild Oregon white truffle.
“A nice ripe truffle should have a distinct vein running through it – almost like marbling throughout a high-quality steak," Jacobsen said. "It’s got this amazing aroma coming out of it; a strong garlic-cheese like aroma – it’s very savory and it makes you hungry.”
Between 2 and 10 tons of Oregon truffles are harvested from Doug fir forests each year. The harvest varies each year depending upon climate and weather patterns during a season that stretches between November and February.
Oregon chef Karl Zenk of Marché Restaurant in Eugene said truffles have a remarkable ability to transform meals from delicious to out of this world.
“You’ve got the earthiness of the meat and the vegetables and the truffle kind of accentuates that and gives it a nice roundness of flavor and aroma that’s just special. Truffles are something we can really celebrate that we have in Oregon. We are proud of them – such a great thing.”
Back in the forest, Oregon truffle expert and mycologist, Dr. Charles Lefevre, said Oregon truffles are world-class delicacies, but not known widely.
The so-called "underground mushroom" ranges in size from a pea to a grapefruit and it is unrivaled in the kitchen. They grow throughout western Oregon.
“Habitat is typically farmland that has been converted to Douglas fir,” said Lefevre. “It’s often a crop found right in people‘s backyards; orchards or forest stands.”
Jacobsen added that truffle hunting is a lot of fun because she can spend a day in the field with her best friend and come home with a delicious reward.
“Just being outdoors with Ilsa and watching her work is fun — both of us enjoy each other’s company and accomplishing a task together.”
You can learn more about truffles at the annual “Oregon Truffle Festival” where you can pick up tips, techniques and sample recipes at a fabulous affair that’s held in Eugene. If you want to learn more about Oregon truffles, visit natruffling.org, website for the North American Truffling Society, based in Corvallis.
Be sure to watch the weekly half-hour program of Grant’s Getaways. The show airs each Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. on KGW.
For something different, you can follow my Oregon adventures via the Grant’s Getaways Podcast: Each segment is a story-telling session where I relate behind-the-scenes stories from four decades of travel and television reporting.
You can also learn more about many of my favorite Oregon travels and adventures in the Grant’s Getaways book series, including:
- "Grants Getaways I," Photography by Steve Terrill
- "Grant's Getaways II," Photography by Steve Terrill
- “Grant’s Getaways: 101 Oregon Adventures,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- “Grant’s Getaways: Guide to Wildlife Watching in Oregon,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- “Grant’s Getaways: Oregon Adventures with the Kids,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
The book collection offers hundreds of outdoor activities across Oregon and promises to engage a kid of any age.
You can reach me: Gmcomie@kgw.com