The Truffle Trail Part 2: A Taste of Truffle

An entire pound of Oregon white truffles is nestled in a small cooler along with 25 pounds of hazelnuts, both harvested a few miles away from Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery.

If you walked up to the bar on truffle day, you could smell the truffle aroma through the sealed cooler where they resided, from outside the 2-inch-thick walk-in cooler door.

The two ingredients spend some close time together to transfer flavor and aroma from truffle to hazelnuts, destined for Wolves and People Farmhouse Brewery’s annual release of “La Truffe,” a truffle-infused hazelnut chocolate stout celebrating the truffle harvest season.

“People couldn’t believe that we had a natural white truffle beer,” said Wolves and People Owner Christian DeBenedetti about debuting La Truffe at the Oregon Truffle Festival in 2015. “There were a lot of truffle extracts at this time. That first batch we made way too much truffle, but it’s worth using natural, wild truffle for our flavor. We’ve learned every year since.”

DeBenedetti refined the idea over the past eight years — after the first batch was aggressively truffled (thanks in part to the small batch size as the brewery was establishing), the brewery developed a new process with much more balanced results. The aromatic gas released from wild truffles binds with fat. And hazelnuts have plenty of that.

DeBenedetti thought about storing the two together: the hazelnuts take on just enough truffle character to count, but not overwhelm the underlying beer. Then, the truffles are removed to be served on dinner plates and the truffled hazelnuts go into a tank of fermenting beer right toward the end of the process.

“What grows together goes together,” he said. “They’re very complimentary flavors, and by highlighting them both, we think we’re bringing the best of both words to the beer.”

La Truffe is one of several examples of ways truffles find their way into unique dishes and beverages around the Willamette Valley during the Truffle Trail. The Oregon Pioneer Spirit lives on in culinary circles, encouraging local chefs, brewers, ice cream makers, and baristas to stretch the perception of where a truffle belongs.

“We love truffle on top of risotto,” said SubTerra Kitchen and Cellar owner Javier Santos. “It’s a classic combination. But we wanted to see what else we could do. Truffles can really highlight and accent a lot of different flavors. Why wouldn’t we want to explore that?”

Santos’s special “Truffle Shuffle” menu at SubTerra features a few truffle staples, including truffle fries with lemon and garlic aioli, a mushroom pate with white truffle contrasted with guava paste, and of course truffle risotto with fresh shaved Oregon white truffles.

But as bookends to the meal, he expanded the truffle horizons. Those enjoying the truffle menu, which is live “until the truffles run out,” start with a white truffle-infused tequila mixed with St. Germain, fresh grapefruit, and lime juice surrounded by a house-made white truffle salt.

On the other end lives a black truffle-infused ice cream, finished with black truffle shavings and Oregon Coast salt. The ice cream dish, Santos said, partially came to him out of necessity. Truffles have a short harvest season (as detailed in part one of our truffle series), with most losing potency after seven days. Storing them in a refrigerator with other ingredients can lead to disastrous results, as the aroma can bind to any fat — an intentional process, in Wolves and People’s case. Santos said the best option to extend the truffle season is to freeze truffles.

And then it hit him. He already froze black truffles, which generally have smaller harvests in the Willamette Valley. What if he was able to preserve the truffle by infusing frozen ice cream and having it as a specialty menu option?

“The whole thing came together naturally,” Santos said. “It extended the life of our black truffle stock, which we don’t have as much of, while doing something unique and interesting for our customers.”

Santos echoed statements made by many regarding cooking with truffles: subtly goes a long way. The ice cream has a vanilla base, which rounds out the earthiness of the truffle into something sweet and savory. The aroma is there, but as a cold dish isn’t assaulting your olfactory system. And then the light sprinkling of sea salt ties the sweet and savory together.

Wolves and People Head Brewer Shilpi Halemane said he was excited to try brewing this recipe for that reason. The balance between two aggressive ingredients — hazelnuts and truffles — meant erring on the side of caution.

“When it says truffles and hazelnuts on the description, you want to be able to taste and smell [the ingredients]” Halemane said. “This year is lighter in flavor and aroma than previous years, but it feels like the right amount. It’s very drinkable and enjoyable while having some complexity.”

“It’s in there, but not overwhelming,” said DeBenedetti, adding that he’s updated the recipe each year to refine the beer. “People who really don’t like truffles will probably be able to pick it out. Otherwise, I think people will taste it and appreciate the depth of flavors without it assaulting your tastebuds.”

Both DeBenedetti and Santos say the same thing: enjoy these while they’re fresh. La Truffe Truffle Hazelnut Stout was kegged and canned in 16-ounce cans at the brewery on Wednesday, February 14. Some will make it out of the brewery sent to bars and restaurants around the region.

The SubTerra menu will run until the truffles run out, which Santos said is unpredictable.

“We’re going to try and make it all the way to March, but you never know,” Santos said. “We may have already reached the peak of our harvest for the year, or we’re just getting started. It’s tough to say.”

Truffle tasters will have the chance to explore the elusive fungi on March 9 at the Taste of Truffle Market. Whether you’re interested in cooking with truffles, tasting wine and truffle pairings, or learning about truffle dogs, the market hopes to provide a community cap to yet another bountiful season in the Willamette Valley.

Full List of Truffle Trail Participating Businesses

• Adelsheim Vineyards
• Brick Hall (Dayton, Ore)
• Chapters Books & Coffee
• Cream Northwest
• Good Company Cheese Bar & Bistro
• The Joel Palmer House (Dayton, Ore.)
• JORY
• Miss Hannah’s Gourmet Popcorn
• Newbergundian Bistro
• REX HILL Winery
• Rosmarino
• Ruddick/Wood
• SubTerra Kitchen + Cellar
• The Painted Lady
• Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery
• Wooden Heart Kitchen

Learn more at Taste Newberg’s website.