Fistula means "with little pipes or tubes" which makes it alot different then other polypores, the walls of each tube are apart rather then being shared with neighboring tubes. Most polypores have tubes that are tightly fused to each other.The specific name hepatica means liver like appearance, as this is what the fungi looks similar too!
It's known as the beefsteak fungus as it looks very similar to raw meat, it's red and even bleeds when it's cut.
The young fungi look more like a strawberry and are around 5cm until they are fully developed! Once they are fully developed it will be much larger and look like a liver or ox tongue, it gradually turns a deep red and develops a rough warty surface.
The yellow pores turn into reddish-brown as the fruiting body ages, it is very easy to separate the tubes!
It has been used as a meat substitute in the past and can still find it in some French markets. The taste is slightly sour and acidic, but is very high in protein; by dry weight the mushroom contains around 30% protein, that's a higher percentage of protein then actual steak!
BEEFSTEAK MUSHROOM TARTARE WITH TOASTED PINE NUT-CORIANDER CRUMBLE
1/2 cup finely diced beefsteak mushroom
3/4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup pine nuts
1.5 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp finely diced onion chives
1 tbsp wood sorrel leaves
basil flowers/leaves, melon flowers, squash flowers, fennel, other seasonal ingredients as-needed or as your garden or foraging excursions allow
salt, to taste (add a pinch to pine nut-coriander crumble + pinch to diced mushrooms after they're removed from fridge)
1 tbsp butter or olive oil if you're sautéing squash flowers
INSTRUCTIONS
Finely dice beefsteak mushroom and place in bowl. Add lemon juice, and stir until evenly coated. Cover and put in fridge for 30 minutes.
Toast pine nuts and coriander seeds with a pinch of salt over medium low heat for about 5 minutes or until just toasted (pine nuts lightly golden and coriander seeds highly fragrant). Put in pestle and let cool to room temp for 15 minutes. Once cool, grind into crumble/paste. (You can also use blender if you don't have mortar & pestle.) Spoon onto plate to form bed for other ingredients.
Remove mushrooms from fridge and mix in onion chives and sorrel leaves. Pack into small bowl, then turn upside down onto pine nut-coriander bed, maintaining the rounded shape of the bowl. Garnish and serve!
Recipe source: https://www.tyrantfarms.com/beefsteak-mushroom-fistulina-hepatica-how-to-find-id-eat-recipe/