Went out looking for turkeys while doing some stumping and ended up mainly hunting morels all day..I got around ten of them..Now what do I do?? they are in the fridge now I get off work at 11..
Soak em in salt water about 15 minutes, make a big ole steak and put the morels in a fry pan with butter and garlic. Then put em on top of your steak.
Yeah, and invite us over!!!!!
I like to cut mine in half and rinse them good. Soak in salt water to force the bugs off of them. Lightly coat them with flour by putting the damp morels in a plastic or paper bag with a little flour and then saute in butter. Do not overheat them. If you cook with too high of temp you will scorch the flour. Only takes a few minutes on each side until they are a light golden brown color. Salt and pepper to taste.
If I have a lot (I have been told by old time residents around here that I happen to own and live in the middle of the best mushrooming grounds on earth and I usually do end up with several gallons of mushrooms every spring. I have picked over 2 gallons in the past 2 days.) I will have them for breakfast as well. After the salt water soak I put them in a pan with a couple tablespoons of butter and heat them up until they are warmed clear through and then I pour a couple of well beaten eggs over the mushrooms. Makes your eggs taste great. I have used them in sauces over steak, in spaghetti sauce and they make a divine cream of mushroom soup.
Towards the end of the season when I have had my fill of them I will leave them out on the counter top and let them air dry. Do not cut them, do not rinse them, do not soak them in salt water. They will air dry and shrivel up like a little hard raisin. After they have dried up I put them in a paper bag in the deep freeze and they will keep for at least a year, probably much longer. These dried morels can be placed in a dish of salt water later in the year and they will swell up and reconstitute to the point you can use them to cook with and add that great morel flavor to your cooking. You can pan fry them too but they do not compare well with one that has just popped out of the ground. I have tried freezing them and they just do not freeze well at all.
Missouri, I have had very good success with freezing. I prep as you described all the way to flouring. Then instaed of frying I place them on cookie sheets, put them in the freezer until frozen, place them in baggies, then in big freezer bags. When the cooldest winter day is upon you, take em out of the freezer, let em thaw and enjoy a spring delecacy. One year for New Years we had "fresh" Morels and wild Turkey for dinner. Man that was good!!
There is nothing quite like a whole morel encrusted in very light puff pastry and deep fried in sesame oil.
You guys are killin' me...I guess I know what I'm doin' tomorrow.
Making me hungery ! Another week and they should be popping up around here. I have a turkey breast that is just waiting for some morels !!
dont forget the crapie. morels, crapie, and turkey breast.
Budog56 the best thing you can do with those smelly old clumps of fungi is to put them in a zip lock bag with some water then seal them tight. Then wrap them up in some wax paper, once you have them wraped up put them in a small brown box and seal it tight. Then put 3 or 4 stamps on it along with my address and put them in your mail box :D
4runr
Add vacuum packing to your method and they hold thier flavor a lot better (no freezer taste). And they last for ever.
How do they compare to regular cooking shrooms? I hate mushrooms but it sounds like morels have a different flavor than your typical shroom. Is that the case?
Talondale, I think they are meater than you'r regular mushroom, plus they kind of have an earthy tatse to them. If you ever get a chance try them.
Missouri, those fresh and dried morels will bring a pretty good price at a market somewhere. Some restaurants will buy fresh ones also. Have you checked into that? Here is the price for 4 oz. from one online store:
"These morels are picked and dried the same day. Only Grade A quality, no burnt mushrooms. The stems have been trimmed so you can eat the whole thing. DM4oz $36.00 "
Joe
I cannot imagine selling morels. That would be like selling off your children. It is something I just couldn't bring myself to do.
They do taste good, don't they :thumbsup:
Joe
Yes they taste great,,, I just can't find a one this year.
Many feel that they taste best after dehydrating them. After cleansing dehydrate. Dont keep them in the water long- not even over night as I've been told. When cooking later cook them in cream and butter. I dont know I cant find them YET....
Can you say Iowa ROADTRIP!!!
Ya know there's site in Pa about hunting that has a wild edibles forum and it's quite nice to see what folks are doing all year long.
Maybe a thought for the folks that run this great site.
~(8o)
I'm sitting here reading and wondering what the crap a morel was ?lol. Thanks for clearing that up I don't think we have them here in Alabama. Do we?
Here in Texas Morels are as scarce as lips on a chicken. There are a few here, but not like up further north. What I'd really like to find though are some of those truffles that grow in Oregon.
I love them.
** you have to cook them!!** There are people that make good money hunting morels in this area; and I think you need a permit to pick even one.
Check your local rules about it.
I seem to run into them when I'm hunting spring turkeys, i have never eaten any maybe i should give them a try.
Just cooked them up last night.. Followed GoldenHawks suggestion minus the steak only cuz I forgot to thaw one out :knothead: :banghead: and new I needed to get them eaten..Def gonna keep my eyes open from now on..Besides now I have a better excuse to go stumpin (not that i needed one anyway)..
They's GOOOOOD!