Anyone have any experience with morels?

[canfossi]

I was walking in my woods and came upon quite a few morels. They are the real ones, not false. I compared them with numerous pictures on the internet and they are hollow in the center. What do they taste like and do I fry them up like regular mushrooms in a frying pan? Hope you can help. Thanks, Chris

[mammabooh]

They taste like heaven!

After I soak them for a bit in salt water, I slice them once lengthwise, dip them in scrambled egg and then shake them in a bag of flour, cornmeal, garlic salt, and paprika and fry them.

Delicious!

[NoClue]

Morrels are good stuff.

Remember where you found them and go back for more next year.

I went Morrel hunting for the first time this year instead of just relying on the kindness of others. I didn't have very good luck, but can't wait to go again.

[eurycea12]

They taste real bad.
Send them to me, I will take care of them for you.
Then go hunt some more.

[eurycea12]

Seriously, they are fantastic.
I fry them up with a little butter.
They are too good to use in a recipe and mask the flavor, unless you hit the mother lode.
They are very expensive to buy.

[willow_girl]

They taste real bad.
Send them to me, I will take care of them for you.
Then go hunt some more.

LOL! You beat me to it!!!

[hollylequesne]

i don't mean to be thread stealer but where would you find morels?

[ErinP]

Originally Posted by mammabooh

They taste like heaven!

After I soak them for a bit in salt water, I slice them once lengthwise, dip them in scrambled egg and then shake them in a bag of flour, cornmeal, garlic salt, and paprika and fry them.

Delicious!

This is basically how we do them, too.
When I was a kid (in eastern Nebraska where it actually rains) Mom would bring them home by the garbage bag! We'd have an entire meal of morels.

[Gailann Schrader]

I slice them, soak them in water (salted or not), and then just flour and fry them. We always used Crisco (or similar) to make the taste of the morel be more apparent. But I usually mix some butter with the Crisco. Don't use lard. You'll taste more lard than morel. And vegetable oil isn't very good either.

OH. Make the grease kind of deep? They fry better? And then? Take an empty jar and SAVE THE GREASE. FABULOUS in the winter or flavoring beans or whatever. Eggs in morel grease? TO DIE FOR. I keep a jar of morel grease in the fridge... Yummy...

[Joshie]

You don't wanna eat a fungus among us! I'll take them off your hands.

I wash mine, then slice them if they are larger. I dip in egg and coat them with crushed/powdered crackers. Yummy.

Oh, some other goodies: pumpkin blossoms, zucchini blossoms, etc., prepared the same way.

[Lilandra]

they taste good sauteed in butter with mild onions too - wash them really good/soak them, then kinda slice them in strips before cooking, season with a bit of herbs or salt and pepper. I have a friend that makes a to die for soup out of them too... but my fave is just simply sauteed and serve on top of a nice steak or pork chop

[NoClue]

I found all of my morrels under old apple trees, but supposedly the kind of tree doesn't make any real difference, they grow where they grow.

I did make an attempt to be scientific about my search though, taking notes on where I found the shrooms and the conditions of the ground around them.

As I said, all of the ones I found were under old apple trees. All of them were within a four foot radius of the trunk (under the footprint of the canopy), and most were in the location of the first grass to push through the leaf litter.

[snoozy]

That's the problem with modern youth -- no morels!

[canfossi]

I found them just 50 feet from my door in the forest under beech trees. Eastern Ontario, is where I found them, can disclose anymore info on the location though (sneeky little laugh). I am soaking them in salt water now and will have them tomorrow night. From the sounds of some of your responses, they sound delicious.

[poppy]

One would think someone would have figured out how to grow them commercially by now, but I haven't heard of it yet. Whoever does will be a wealthy man. The kits you buy to grow them at home do not work from the people I know who tried them.

[Hoosierdaddy]

I can only imagine that the "old hands" here have taken for granted the fact that you should, from my experience, rinse them multiple times. I've seen spiders, ants, roly-polies, centipedes and various other unknown critters that don't necessarily come out after one washing / soaking. Not to mention the copious amounts of sand I've ingested when rookies offer some up.


Brett

[DaleK]

Canfossi I better not tell my Amish helper, you'll be surrounded by straw hat mafia by nightfall tomorrow if I do.

[poppy]

Originally Posted by Hoosierdaddy

I can only imagine that the "old hands" here have taken for granted the fact that you should, from my experience, rinse them multiple times. I've seen spiders, ants, roly-polies, centipedes and various other unknown critters that don't necessarily come out after one washing / soaking. Not to mention the copious amounts of sand I've ingested when rookies offer some up.


Brett

A few years ago I found a red mushroom 18 inches across. They are not a morel, but tasty none the less. They have LOTS of folds in them and an ant colony had taken up residence in that mushroom. I soaked it and rinsed it for 3 days and it still had ants floating out of it. I finally threw it away.

[ronbre]

i love morels..we have them growing in our lawn.

i however am one that does NOT soak them in saltwater..i rinse them good to get out any bugs or dirt..cut in half to find hiding things..and then lay on papertowels to dry off..

soaking can make them soggy ..they are sponges actually and soaking makes them take up water.

you can do anything with them you do with regular mushrooms..they are great dried if you have a lot of them...for your winter goodies.

i love em on pizza or in meat or vegetable dishes..they should always be served cooked.

they are also good with a flour coating or a cracker coating fried in butter or oil..just until done..not soggy.

i also like them just sauteed with other vegetables as you would any mushroom

[rambler]

I think they come from within, but are instilled by family, and your religious faith. It is easier to get them from others with strong ones, and caring about others.

Huh? Oh, the other spelling, the mushrooms? Ah.....

Seems they like shady hardwood forset areas, grow on dead wood like older stumps or trunks.

There is a moral concern. Couple days ago we were in a resturant & a fella was talking to his friends, about pretending to turkey hunt but really looking for mushrooms. Gathered a big bag full, then got his gun back just in time for the land owner to come along & ask what he was up to - eh, turkey hunting. The land owner went off with his friend to collect mushrooms, and didn't find any. A very old tom turkey showed up, & the fella had to shoot it to keep up his story, so he ended up with a bird too tough to cook.

Yesterday I was in a grocery store & heard kinda sorta much the same story - couple tramping over everyone elese's properties without permission looking for mushrooms and so proud of their finds.

See morels on Craig's list for $35 a pound. so, they are a real product, of real value.

Hum. Reading the above replies, I infer a lot of you are not on your own property when looking for the mushrooms either?

It seems there is quite a moral issue with harvesting morels. Something to think on.

--->Paul