The Morel Mushroom.....Mother Nature's Hidden Gem.

****please make sure that the mushrooms you eat are edible. If uncertain.....don't eat. Some mushrooms are deadly!****

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With winter here I'm starting to get cabin fever and I still have over 3 months of cold left! Well, I thought I would lay out some info on the morel mushroom for the upcoming spring.

The most important thing is safety. Make sure you know what you're looking for. These beauties can be described as cream colored to a dark brown. I would say they look like an upside down ice cream cone....or even a sponge. They pop up in spring time. My favorite time to go is during the spring when you get a good 5-7 days of mid 60's.....especially after a good soaking rain. Mushroom hunters have different tactics when finding morels. The provided link contains different habitat that these hunters use. Me? I look for birch trees around creeks. Again, please do research and get as educated as possible.

Now the mist important thing......is the taste. OMG!!!! They are rich, woody and almost have a steak taste. I like to roll them in flour and Fry them in peanut oil. Ive seen them for sale on some websites for as much as $100 a pound!!!

Once you find you're first one, your addicted. I took my reluctant wife several years ago. She's not a country girl by any means. Mrs. Catfishjoe is a city girl!! Any who , she found the first one and was hooked. We ended up finding 85 that day and a new tradition was started.

Again, do some research. Even ask around. I've taken several people with me and shown them the ropes. There is one rule on morel hunting. Its the most important rule of all. Never, never tell anyone where your honey hole is. My dad had one spot in which he would find about 200 a year. He didnt even tell me!! Once you find the first one and eat a couple you will understand.

Again, please be careful with mushrooms. If not 100% sure, do not eat.

reply to post by catfishjoe


You can mince some pecans then roll them in flour and fry in bacon grease. I know a few spots where they grow around bitch and hickory nut trees around ponds. Once you find them they will come back year after year. I hunt them after the first night is around 65-70 degrees and rain.

Yummy!

reply to post by catfishjoe

People should be especially cautious about identifying mushrooms in the wild. So many are so toxic, the government makes BIo weapons out of them.

If you don't know anything about Mycology, then don't hunt your own.

False Morel

reply to post by catfishjoe


Oh, boy! what a natural treat they are! Better than chocolate!

Our way of fixing them is for them to be dipped in a whole-egg batter, rolled in crushed crackers and fried in butter.

Of course, as survival food, they are rarely found except in (my old neck of the woods) in the spring and that can take some hunting. However, there are other eatable types that can be found several months of the year. But as he advised, know what you are eating!

I recently enjoyed a mess of 'em that a friend found here near Austin. She, formerly of Washington state where they find literally tons of the eatable type, assured me that they were OK. She was correct and we had a fine addition to our meal. I didn't die!

To find them in stores, Whole Foods carry them so I suppose that they are grown commercially also. but they are expensive!

LDragonFire
reply to post by catfishjoe

 

You can mince some pecans then roll them in flour and fry in bacon grease. I know a few spots where they grow around bitch and hickory nut trees around ponds. Once you find them they will come back year after year. I hunt them after the first night is around 65-70 degrees and rain.

Yummy!

Bitch trees??

Those sound delicious!!! Bacon grease....mmmmmmmm.

Aliensun
reply to post by catfishjoe

 

Oh, boy! what a natural treat they are! Better than chocolate!

Our way of fixing them is for them to be dipped in a whole-egg batter, rolled in crushed crackers and fried in butter.

Of course, as survival food, they are rarely found except in (my old neck of the woods) in the spring and that can take some hunting. However, there are other eatable types that can be found several months of the year. But as he advised, know what you are eating!

I recently enjoyed a mess of 'em that a friend found here near Austin. She, formerly of Washington state where they find literally tons of the eatable type, assured me that they were OK. She was correct and we had a fine addition to our meal. I didn't die!

To find them in stores, Whole Foods carry them so I suppose that they are grown commercially also. but they are expensive!

Washington is i guess a hotspot for Sasquatch and morels!! I like the cracker crumb recipe. We do that for sand bass!!

I LOVE Morel's!

They aren't exactly hard to separate from the bad ones. Look for fins underneath. If it has them, it's not a Morel.

Fresh fried catfish, home fries, brown beans, wild onions and eggs and a dozen morel mushrooms. Put a fork in me. I'm done.

That's one of the biggest things I miss about the midwest. I used to go morel hunting so much. It's a really good way to get fresh air and away from the madness of the real world.

Yup, they are worshiped around here. Lol

reply to post by catfishjoe


My wife and I love Morel mushrooms. At my local grocer, they are $22 an ounce. It's a good thing I know a good place to collect them.

Have you ever heard about cultivating them? I've often thought of trying, in preparation for when I can no longer make the hike to pick them from my spot.

reply to post by catfishjoe


Morels are the bomb, especially in a beer batter. Every spring we used to go to our honey spot and collect them and sell them, which was always a bittersweet moment. Part of me wanted to keep them to eat them, but the other part of me said I needed the money. Which was, and still is, to good to pass up.

Of course, I did always keep some around for a couple of meals.

TDawgRex
reply to post by catfishjoe

 

O
Morels are the bomb, especially in a beer batter. Every spring we used to go to our honey spot and collect them and sell them, which was always a bittersweet moment. Part of me wanted to keep them to eat them, but the other part of me said I needed the money. Which was, and still is, to good to pass up.

Of course, I did always keep some around for a couple of meals.

You had me at beer!! Awesome story. I feel your pain. I sell frog legs(fresh) during the summer and it kills me. But Mrs. Catfishjoe needs a new coach purse!!!

reply to post by catfishjoe


I've never seen anyone not smile after biting into a beer battered mushroom (especially good with a horseradish dip at hand). I've seen many a mushroom hater fall in love with Morels. They'll pass on a Potabella though. It's actually a good business to get into.

reply to post by catfishjoe


You want to make sure that you pick the hollow stem ones and not the ones with the white webbing in the stem, if I am remembering correctly. The white webbing ones are poisonous, again, if I am remembering correctly.

I grew up in an area with lots of morels, and my dad has white ones in his front yard every year.
As a family, we used to go morel mushroom hunting, and would spend several hours looking. It was fun to find the first mushroom.

However much fun it is to find them, I have never liked eating them. But my dad dries them and puts them in his scrambled eggs and spaghetti sauce.



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TDawgRex
reply to post by catfishjoe

 

I've never seen anyone not smile after biting into a beer battered mushroom (especially good with a horseradish dip at hand). I've seen many a mushroom hater fall in love with Morels. They'll pass on a Potabella though. It's actually a good business to get into.

Thats the word on the street. I live in Oklahoma so there's not really a market. Mrs. Catfishjoe hates mushrooms but love morels????? We eat ours without dipping sauce. Care to share a horseradish recipe? Hmmmm??

catfishjoe

TDawgRex
reply to post by catfishjoe

 

I've never seen anyone not smile after biting into a beer battered mushroom (especially good with a horseradish dip at hand). I've seen many a mushroom hater fall in love with Morels. They'll pass on a Potabella though. It's actually a good business to get into.

Thats the word on the street. I live in Oklahoma so there's not really a market. Mrs. Catfishjoe hates mushrooms but love morels????? We eat ours without dipping sauce. Care to share a horseradish recipe? Hmmmm??

Fresh ground horseradish and some mayo. Add the HR to taste. Be aware that one guy I knew who ate a raw horseradish compared it to eating a tablespoon of tear gas. But that's another story.

You guys are getting me hungry, I have some cheap Green Giant mushrooms in the fridge. They don't even come close to Morels for taste but spring is five months away

reply to post by rickymouse


Step away from the fridge. Having a button mushroom does not even compare to the good stuff. (Though I do have to admit, they're still good)

I didn't pig out this last weekend on bar food like I wanted to but am thinking about it this weekend. Hot Wings and Beer battered mushrooms....it's been ages.

rickymouse
You guys are getting me hungry, I have some cheap Green Giant mushrooms in the fridge. They don't even come close to Morels for taste but spring is five months away

Ho ho ho green giant. Its going to be a long winter.