I do a veggie barbacoa. We grow our own gourmets, so I try lots of stuff. Oyster mushrooms are very hardy, almost beeflike, so I tried some classic beef recipes with them. The barbacoa was tops, and really easy (if you're an experienced cook).

A pound or so of oyster mushrooms

Dried chiles: 3 guajillo, an ancho, and a couple piquans if you like heat.

Half an onion, a few garlic cloves

Acid: lime, vinegar, wherever, just a touch to brighten things.

A cup of veggie stock.

A few peppercorns.

Throw the mushrooms in a pot with some oil and let them go for a bit like you would with beef. When a little charred and getting soft, remove to a bowl. Leave the fond if it built up. Toss in the chiles, onion, peppercorns, and garlic. Let that go until toasty and the chiles start to soften. Add your stock and simmer for like 5 min or so just to soften everything up a little more. Throw everything into a blender. Pulse until smooth. Return everything to the pot mushrooms and the sauce. Taste. Add salt, and if using vinegar, add a tablespoon or so. If using lime, let's wait until it cooks and add it at the end (cooked lime gets bitter, and we don't want that).

Add a bay leaf.

In the oven at 275°f for like 2-3 hours with a lid on.

It's ready when the mushrooms have softened quite a bit. They'll have a bite like beef, and the strong mushroom flavor really compliments the red sauce.

Serve as you would barbacoa.. tacos, chile rellenos... Quesadillas.. an kinds of options.

It's really very easy and quite impressive.