Morel's are out

[grundle]

For anyone interested in wilderness edibles now is the perfect time to start finding Morel mushrooms. I found a few this weekend and already cooked em up and ate them.

This year they will probably be a little later here in the midwest (i.e. the season just beginning) due to unexpected low temperatures late into spring.

[nell67]

Been getting a few here and there since just after Easter,yummy!

[wareagle69]

was looking the other day but only thing found was little brown dog found a porkypine she was not happy had a few quills go thru the roof of her mouth out the snout just looked painful

[nell67]

poor puppy!

[Tactical Tom]

Here in Ky, we call'em dryland fish & i just washed a mess for myself Got a ZipLock quart bag full ! Supper for tomorow !

[grundle]

I went looking again yesterday and had zero luck :'(

[nell67]

part of my find for today.YUMMY!

[Rick]

Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang! for me.

Great! Great! Great! Great! Great! for you.

[nell67]

Thought you would like those Rick!

[Leon]

Could one of you be as so kind as to describe their flavour to me? I have only recently started eating mushrooms, but i did spend a lot of time with my parents when i was younger gathering such fungi so i can identify them and seem fairly common in Europe. (shame i never used to eat them back them, my dad always said when i got older my opinion would soon change!).

Also i have heard that although cooking them removes the toxins, combining them with certain other foodstuffs such as alcohol can still cause mild poisoning?

[Rick]

It sounds like your question is more general than specific. Flavors vary amongst the mushrooms. Morel's being some of the best I've eaten. I'm sure others on here might have a different opinion but I don't venture too far into the mushroom family.

If it's poisonous, it's poisonous. Just leave it alone. I'm not aware of any mushroom that can be rendered edible by some process to remove toxins. Again, I'm a bit limited in scope so others may have some information to share.

[Sarge47]

Went out late this afternoon and found about a full plastic grocery bag full of large Morels. Seems like I got them just in time as some of them were starting to dry a bit and fall back to the ground. I found one, then two more, and it just kept getting better & better! This was all in an area about 20 to 30 feet square!

Grundle, I think you're right about the late season!

Nell, way to go! Great pics!

Rick, sorry dude! Get out tomorrow and look, you might still find some!

Leon, do they have Morels in England? They're the only 'shroom I eat from the wild as I'm not sure of the others & don't want to chance it! Like Rick says, if it's poisonous, let it be. Check out that old Clint Eastwood movie: "The Beguiled"! Get together with a "Mushroom Expert" & learn the difference! Also, there's no way to define the taste of the Morel! There is no "frame of reference" as they have their own taste, which varies as their are several varieties that grow at different times. Funny, but you either love them or have nothing to do with them! I'm the only one in my family that likes them! (awwww!) Oh well, I'll just have to eat all of them!

[Leon]

To Rick: To clarify i did not mean in general i meant specificaly the common (white) and black morels.

Sarge: Yes they are found in the UK, they are in fact very popular on the content particularly in France.

A little known fact about them is that they do contain toxins which is why they should not be eaten raw, but cooking them removes this - but what i heard was eating them with alcohol sometimes causes illness but i am unsure if that is just an old wives tale or not. (And i do not mean the false morel which is entirely poisonous and must be avoided).

I have heard they are very tasty but as i have never had them i wondered what they were like, or perhaps what meals suit them best?

[Leon]

Actually i double checked and i think may just be the false ones which have toxins in and apparantely the Finns cook them and it does remove these toxins. My fungal knowledge is rather rusty, please excuse that confusion. And i agree about the comment about going out with an expert, i was lucky in my youth as my mother and her boyfriend ate a lot of wild produce particularly mushrooms so i learnt a lot - but that was some years ago, one of the reasons i signed up here was to relearn things.

[Sarge47]

Sounds like both UK & France are really "civilized". Anyway I just got back from re-checking the area I was at late yesterday and found about 10 or so that I'd missed. The false Morel can be easily identified as it's similarity in appearance does not stand up to close-up inspection. As for "cooking them to remove the toxins", I would never do it! Sounds too risky to me. I know at least one co-worker that loves his beer,(ale) & loves to eat mushrooms when drunk, which is usually quite often. Hmmmm, come to think about it, he does seem to lack certain brain cells, maybe there's something to that!

[Leon]

Yeah i agree i wouldn't trust that either it is risky, ill definitely try some whites or black though as it seems they are recommended.

(I meant continent not content in my previous post btw)

[RobertRogers]

Its funny you mentioned this - I just saw one yesterday

[Survival31]

Are these mushrooms (pics above) poisonous or not??

[Sarge47]

Are these mushrooms (pics above) poisonous or not??

YES!!! The 'shrooms that Nell posted are VERY poisonous! If you find any contact me immediately and I will send you my mailing address with instructions on how to transport them safely to my home where I will dispose of them in rapid order! Remember, I'm a "Super-Moderator" & have been fully trained in this so don't try to eat them yourself, but send them to me as fast as you can!

So okay, I'm pulling your leg. (the "false-morels are solid, not hollow and have a 2 part "cap"; also usually don't show up until later in the year.)

Here's Sarge's "quick-fix recipe" for Morels.

1st, after picking, I always cut the morels length-wise in half and soak them in salt-water in the fridge for about 24 hours to pull all the little bugs and crud out of them. It's not unusual for me to drain them and re-fill them 3 or 4 times during that period. Next I pour about 1/4 cup of pure Virgin Olive Oil into a small pan, add a half a stick of real butter, and, using a garlic press, press out 2 cloves of garlic into the mixture & heat for several minutes until the garlic cooks into the oil/butter mixture. I use this to cook the Morels in once I'm ready.

2nd, I use the "double-breading" method like so. In a bowl I sift 2 cups of flour, add salt & white pepper & blend them together. In another bowl I mix an egg with some milk. I take about 10 of the Morel "halves", one at a time, out of the water, place them into the flour, making sure that they are coated evenly. Then I take them out of the flour & soak them in the milk & egg mixture, then back into the flour mix.

In the meantime my cast-iron skillet is set over a medium heat with the oil/butter/garlic mix just starting to simmer & that's where I place the finished Morels, browning them evenly on each side before transferring them to a plate from which I devour them ravenously!!!

Any other ideas?

[Rick]

Any other ideas? Yeah, send me some!