The common Puff Ball mushroom is found throughout most of North America and may grow to be basketball size, but is generally smaller. I see most of them in early fall when they will almost magically appear a day or so after a rain in areas that have full sun. They do not last long and often  mature and scatter their spores within a few days.

  There is a poisonous mimic that has a rough corrugated skin, so

A sliced 6-inch puff ball. The dirty roots are to the R.

 pick those with  white or brown dimpled skins. These mushrooms yield a soft white flesh, (if it has started to turn grey,  let that one mature and find another). 

 Cut off the roots, peel and dice the mushroom. It may be used immediately in meat loafs, hamburger steaks or in stews. If you have a bumper crop some may be dried and re-hydrated for later use. I store mine in used Mason jars.

The photo below shows three deerburger steaks being cooked in water. They were made up with onions, bell pepper, puff ball pieces and a little salt and pepper. Brown them in a pan, then add water and steam. I put no fat in my deer burger so it is necessary to finish off the burgers in a moist environment. Backyard Deer Hunting  also has a recipe for a meat loaf using the mushroom.