Morels?

[Jimmer]

Totally new to Morels, first time. My uncle and I decided to try Morel picking. Over the years in the woods Ive seen them often, never gave them two thoughts. We found a spot up at my parents place last year and filled up two 5 gallon buckets in less than an hour. Very large area packed with them, could have filled a truck bed if we went back I kept some, but gave most away. Anyways I was going to do it again this year and was wondering if the same spot would produce again? Also looking to see if you guys have some great recipes, ways to store them or any other advise.
Thanks

[NorseNW]

Jimmer - no way that spot will produce for you again.  Just send me the GPS coordinates and I will monitor for you free of charge!

I'm new to the morel game as well (2 whooping years under my belt).  The few we have found have come from the same location / area both years.  Limited time for trips has limited our exploration so we always hit the place that produced first.  Hoping to expand our horizons with some overnight / multi day trips this year.  The only advice I have is once you find the elevation they are growing at keep working that general vicinity.

Again feel free to PM those coodinates 

[jackmaster]

Yes it will as long as the area hasn't changed!! And I am not sure but we always cut our mushrooms to leave a stump if you will, we never rip them out of the ground..

[Jimmer]

Yes it will as long as the area hasn't changed!! And I am not sure but we always cut our mushrooms to leave a stump if you will, we never rip them out of the ground..

Good to know thanks. We each had a knife, but it was slower so I started picking. I'm impatient 

[Jimmer]

Jimmer - no way that spot will produce for you again.  Just send me the GPS coordinates and I will monitor for you free of charge!

I'm new to the morel game as well (2 whooping years under my belt).  The few we have found have come from the same location / area both years.  Limited time for trips has limited our exploration so we always hit the place that produced first.  Hoping to expand our horizons with some overnight / multi day trips this year.  The only advice I have is once you find the elevation they are growing at keep working that general vicinity.


Again feel free to PM those coodinates 

Haha.. when we were walking out, a guy on a 4wheeler was asking the same thing

[Boss .300 winmag]

Got these today same spot as always.

[buglebrush]

Pinch or cut them off, and carry in a mesh bag to help repopulate for next year. 

[merkaba93]

Pinch or cut them off, and carry in a mesh bag to help repopulate for next year.

New to the morel game? OK so tips. It's not a bad idea to clean your morels, bugs love to live in the gaps. Just dip in water and wash around gently for a few seconds. See what comes out. You may want to repeat this process in another container with fresh water, create a one two step process.

Fresh morels will keep for about a week, always store in a brown paper bag in your fridge.

Never eat raw. Some people say that you can get sick from eating morels and drinking alcohol at the same time. Feel like for me this has only happened once. But I had like 30 morels and at least 3 glasses of wine. So maybe just practice some restraint and play it conservatively. And when I say sick I mean "mild gastrointestinal distress". Nothing to worry about too much.


Find some that are about 1" in size and use those as an appetizer. Dredge in an egg wash and then dust with breadcrumbs. Cook over med high heat with a tablespoon of butter.

Very large ones it's a good idea to slice them into rounds and dehydrate them. Morels dehydrate really well. Then you'll have some for the whole year. I love to use dried ones to infuse broths for paella or risotto.

Id say morel risotto is possibly the best meal to treat yourself to in the spring.

[merkaba93]

I know I'm stingy with giving away recipes. It's a personality flaw. I'm working on it. Ha.

Morel Mushroom Risotto

Take about 5-7 dried pieces of morels from last year and heat dried mushrooms in 4 cups of chicken broth in a stock pot. When mushrooms are hydrated remove from stock and dice (set aside). Keep chicken stock warm but below a simmer.
Then in a wide bottom pan with a lot of surface area heat 1 tbs olive oil and sauté 2-3 diced shallots until soft then add and sauté 2-3 cups mushrooms (crimini,oyster, fresh morels) over med high heat for about 4 min. Then add and toast 1 cup arborio rice for about 2 min. Add 1 cup dry white wine (preferably a Sauv Blanc from Washington). Stir constantly until absorbed. Slightly turn down heat, just above med. Start timer and add chicken stock one ladle at a time making sure it's absorbed before adding the next pour. Stirring at all times. Do this over 15-20 min. Taste test at about 15 min, will probably be al dente at this point and will need to go the full 20 min. When it's finished add 2 TBS butter, 2 TBS shaved parmesan cheese, 1 TBS diced sage or thyme (or rosemary, chives, tarragon or whatever you want. Dealers choice), 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon smoked salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and the diced rehydrated mushrooms. Stir until well mixed.

Garnish with shaved parmesan and whatever herb you used for the recipe. It would work well to lighten up the recipe with some peas, asparagus or fiddleheads. Keeping with the spring theme. I would just blanch some asparagus tips in some boiling water and then shock them into ice water and serve on top at the end.

[Chase2008]

I use the same risotto recipe as mercaba93 but when the risotto is cooked I add butter, grated parmesean and grate in about a half ounce of local black truffles. Then shave truffles on top and sprinkle with a bit more parmesean. Is a great meal

[jhawk13]

First time for me cooking up a bunch of morels. Seen a ton of them and decided to pick some. Anyway I cooked them up and I found that they lacked any firmness and contained a lot of moisture. I believe I might have handled them improperly or cooked them wrong.

Cleaning:
I soaked in salt water for 5 minutes, removed water and started cutting into strips.
Laid out on a paper towel for 2 hours to help soak up water and let them dry.

Cooking:

Sautéed over high heat with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Served with backstrap and taters.

They weren't bad, but weren't good. Am I missing something here?

[Skyvalhunter]

I don't soak mine I rinse them off. When storing in a ziplock bag I put a paper towel in the bottom to absorb any moisture. Made mushroom soup and fried up a batch last night. Have a batch in the dehydrator right now. Got 8 gallons last Sunday

[dr.derek]

anyone finding them on the west side ?

[Boss .300 winmag]

Got these today same spot as always.

anyone finding them on the west side ?

Yep.

[Tenkara]

Got these today same spot as always.

anyone finding them on the west side ?

Yep.

[Da stump]

I like drying morals then putting them through a coffee grinder to powder them. They last a long time like that and a spoonful into soups or stews is great.

[KopperBuck]

Ran into some while looking for bears. Never picked one this big this early.


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[NOCK NOCK]

Found a few today, 5000' elevation. 

[pianoman9701]

With morels that are large, 3" or more, you can cut off the white stem and stuff them with a mixture of crabmeat and mozzarella cheese. Once you stuff them, pre-heat the oven to 400, brush them with butter, and cook for 15-20 minutes. Season with a little salt and go nuts! These are super-tasty.