Morel's are thick this year

[uncle eddie]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but we found them after turkey hunting, so putting it in the "wild game" thread seemed appropriate.

We found about 5 pounds on Saturday and about 2.5 more pounds on Sunday...funny thing is, for the past 5 years we have found zero pounds on our farm in the spot where the former owner told where he found them all. I tried a different creek bottom and found a honey hole.

The funny thing is they do stay in specific areas. As we wandered up and downstream in identical looking areas, there were none.

I thought I would throw up some mushrooms captured on our "game camera" and also a shot of our Sunday "kill" on the hood our my sons truck :-)

 

[indaswamp]

YUM! Nice haul! We only get morels when we travel north. I always carry a bag with me......
I hear that it's best to carry them in a mesh bag so the spores can float in the air when you pick them. This will help seed new areas for future picking. Glad you got some...they are so good!!!

 

[JC in GB]

Very nice...

 

[indaswamp]

I may have a chanterelle mushroom spot for late summer/early fall....we'll see how that pans out though.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Awesome find hope you enjoy.

Warren

 

[Preacher Man]

We had a bumper morel crop in our area last summer. We decided to join in, and it was our first time doing so.

Honestly, I don't think I'll do it again. It took a ridiculous amount of time to clean them and even still, when we ate them (so delicious!) it felt like we were sanding our teeth with all the grit that gets trapped in the folds.

 

[uncle eddie]

We had a bumper morel crop in our area last summer. We decided to join in, and it was our first time doing so.

Honestly, I don't think I'll do it again. It took a ridiculous amount of time to clean them and even still, when we ate them (so delicious!) it felt like we were sanding our teeth with all the grit that gets trapped in the folds.

Soak 'em. Shake 'em. Slice 'em longways.
Soak 'em. Shake 'em. Then cook 'em up.
Takes about 5 minutes per soak - shake.

 

[Medina Joe]

nice haul, I have only found 5.

 

[yankee2bbq]

Nice find!
I’ve found just over a dozen this year.
I soak them in salt water over night, rinse and slice them longways and fry them in butter!

 

[Preacher Man]

We did the soaking, but found that it leeched some of the flavor away. Is there another way?

Also, last year was the first year after a wildfire so the soot was unimaginably thick.

 

[Medina Joe]

We did the soaking, but found that it leeched some of the flavor away. Is there another way?

Also, last year was the first year after a wildfire so the soot was unimaginably thick.

dehydrate them. If you find a bunch

 

[bassthumb32]

My honey hole for them dried up. It used to be in a hemlock grove with poplar trees. A blight came through and killed the hemlocks and now I guess the ground is getting to much sunlight and the Morels aren't growing. It's sad really.

 

[indaswamp]

We did the soaking, but found that it leeched some of the flavor away. Is there another way?

Also, last year was the first year after a wildfire so the soot was unimaginably thick.

I've heard of people splitting them in half and using a brush to clean the grit inside and out. I have never tried it though.

 

[uncle eddie]

We made a mess yesterday evening. I soaked them in water for 20 or 30 minutes and shook off the excess water one at a time. This actually went pretty fast. I immediately soaked them again for like 10 minutes and shook the excess water off a second time. I placed them in the fridge overnight.

To prep them for cooking I split them lengthwise, top to stem. If there was anything inside the hollow stem, I rinsed it and, again shook off excess water. Only one shroom had anything in it (a few dead ants).

Then I used flour seasoned with salt and pepper and liberally coated the damp shrooms - shaking off the excess seasoned flour before frying. They were fried in vegetable oil, flipping them on occasion until golden brown. Another light dusting of salt was in order.

They were eaten faster than we could make them. No grit, no grime, no bugs. Delicious!

 

[Braz]

Went down to the mailbox yesterday and saw a 4x4 parked at the edge of my woods. Found the guy hunting morels. He said he wasn't finding any. Told him to get off my property. If he had asked I would have given permission but he didn't ask.

 

[Ishi]

I’ll be hunting them Friday! Many locals are reporting good finds

 

[Ishi]

Forgot to post this grilled burger with homemade bacon and pan fried morels!