Pleurotus eryngii × Pleurotus ostreatus
Black Pearl King Oyster
Don't tell the others, but this might be my favorite
The short version
The meatiest one I grow, and my favourite. Slice it up, throw it in a pan with butter, a little salt and garlic, and let it melt away. Great in stir fries, as a mushroom steak, or instead of chicken in butter chicken. Skip it on pizza and pasta, the chew takes over.
Or read why it's S-tier ↓Oh Black Pearl King, how I love thee.
Seriously. I just can't not love these things. If there was some sort of strange scenario where someone demanded to know my absolute favorite mushroom, rejecting my usual brush-off of 'they're all my favorite' which is totally what my mom used to say about me and my brothers, but like...we all knew it was me. Wait, where was I? Oh right. Black Pearl King is the S-tier in my books.
This is by far the meatiest mushroom you'll find, or at least that I've found, and if you're looking to replace meat in a dish, look no further. We put this in a butter 'chicken' sometimes instead of chicken, and I swear to you that they should be calling it 'butter black pearl king' instead because it might very well be better. And I know how controversial of a statement that is, but I will not stand down.
As you can imagine, this one fits beautifully into stir fries and anything with a more substantial bite, but I would advise against using it on things like pizza or pasta just because the chewiness can kind of overtake everything else.
If you want that kind of chew, though, and are looking for an unreal flavour, you got to take this one home. It's honestly not really a strong mushroomy flavour like blue oysters or shiitake, it's more like a very light and slight sweetness...it's probably closest to a chanterelle. Try it in just butter to see what I mean, little bit of salt and garlic and just melt away to heaven.
This one is probably also my favorite for absorbing the flavour of what you cook it with because it doesn't have an overly powerful flavour on its own. It just takes in whatever you give it and makes it a party. Finally, because of its size and texture, it works great as a mushroom steak — but between you and me, I just slice this one up, throw it in a pan with butter, and eat it as a meal by itself.
Oh Black Pearl, I could recite your beauty for time eternal. But this is likely more than the reader signed up for. Trust me on this though. Try the Black Pearl.