LauraGB Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Any tips for finding them? I've never gone picking, but apparently they are abundant around here. How about recipes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat in black Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 They can be really hard to find. I searched our woods for two hours last Saturday and found 10 morels. Last year they were much more plentiful. I wonder if it is because we had such a hard winter or something. I like to do chicken and morels in a white wine sauce over angel hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgeTea Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Ahhh...the Elusive Morel. I have my best luck finding them if I traipse up to the top of a hill and look back down. Get the sun behind you, too. (Or was it in front of you? I don't remember. Experiment! One way is definitely more helpful than the other.) I love to find them. Not crazy about eating them anymore. Clean them by soaking in salt water after they've been cut in half. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Fry in butter. Some people coat them in flour and then fry in butter. Serve with grilled steak. That's the only way I've ever had them. I believe they can be dried and kept like herbs in jars. And if you find more than you'd like to eat, I've heard they fetch a great price. Have fun walking in the woods! GD...Grateful Dead...mushrooms...I think I get it:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Check out this site. Upper left corner has a recipes link. http://thegreatmorel.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 Ahhh...the Elusive Morel. I love to find them. Not crazy about eating them anymore. Clean them by soaking in salt water after they've been cut in half. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Fry in butter. Why saltwater? Will do - just curious why not just wiping them down like portobellos. I've heard the finding is highly addictive. The fellow who is going with us doesn't care if he eats them any more - he just likes to find them. Don't quite understand it myself yet, but maybe I'll have found a new hobby. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 They can be really hard to find. I searched our woods for two hours last Saturday and found 10 morels. Last year they were much more plentiful. I wonder if it is because we had such a hard winter or something.I like to do chicken and morels in a white wine sauce over angel hair. We are going near a really long, big creek. According to our morel hunting friends, the like to grow near water, or in swampy-ish areas, but just where the hard woods start. I'm so new to it that I really have no idea - I've always been taught not to eat any mushrooms I find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 Check out this site. Upper left corner has a recipes link. http://thegreatmorel.com/ Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgeTea Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 (edited) Saltwater will kill whatever it is that comes crawling out of them...which is why you want to rinse like a madwoman afterwards. I like to do more than one saltwater soak, myself. But the crawlies are not what keeps me from eating them. I just had my fill as a kid. The hunt is addictive. It was a Mother's Day tradition for our family, because that's how Mom wanted to spend the day. I have great memories of walking through the woods with the whole family. Mom's gone, but we still go out. Wow, if you've got an old timer willing to share his hunting grounds, feel blessed. That's rare, at least around here. Information on favorite hunting areas is passed down through family lines only, from what I've seen. Edit: Break off the stems just above the ground, don't pull up. Keeps the species going. I think. We haven't studied mushrooms, yet. Edited May 1, 2010 by BridgeTea harvesting info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 Saltwater will kill whatever it is that comes crawling out of them...which is why you want to rinse like a madwoman afterwards. I like to do more than one saltwater soak, myself. But the crawlies are not what keeps me from eating them. I just had my fill as a kid. The hunt is addictive. It was a Mother's Day tradition for our family, because that's how Mom wanted to spend the day. I have great memories of walking through the woods with the whole family. Mom's gone, but we still go out. Wow, if you've got an old timer willing to share his hunting grounds, feel blessed. That's rare, at least around here. Information on favorite hunting areas is passed down through family lines only, from what I've seen. Edit: Break off the stems just above the ground, don't pull up. Keeps the species going. I think. We haven't studied mushrooms, yet. Thanks so much! Do you think soaking them in saltwater might weed the authentic ones from the posers? I told dh about what you said, and he thought maybe the bad ones sunk or didn't float like the real ones. (He's new, too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 The reason why people eat wild Morels is that they can not be confused with any poisonous mushrooms. They are unique with lots of holes, very different from other mushrooms. Another old wives tale about collecting. Put them in a wire basket, so that the spores will fall out and produce more in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 I hope you take pictures! Can you post a picture of your biggest one? We had a couple every year at our house in MD. Dh went often in Michigan when he was a kid, it was a family thing. They would have paper grocery bags FULL of MORELS. I think they are most delicious. Last spring dh found shaggy manes on our property here in Tx. I was scared to eat them, but he fixed them and we are still here! No upset tummies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Whoa, whoa, there are morel look alikes. Make sure you know what you're doing, it isn't hard.http://http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/2004/Morels.htm We had tons last year, so far this year nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 We've been out twice this year and haven't found any yet... We did find some false morels though. We're new to the area and need to meet someone who is willing to divulge their secret morel hunting grounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 I hope you take pictures! Can you post a picture of your biggest one? We didn't find any! Just a few woodears and toadstools. What a bummer. But, it was nice to walk around the woods for a few hours - haven't done that for so long since I was a kid. I could definitely go again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Don't give up, you'll find one some day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.