Morel (Mushroom) Season Is Almost Here

GlueGuy · Mar 9, 2002

Ahhh Morels!

I remember them fondly from when I grew up. One of the few things that I liked about living in Illinois. When it was morel season, my mom would ask my brother and I to go out and pick some for dinner. We'd usually come back with 6 or 12 after a couple hour search. She'd look at our pathetic collection and scoff "That's not enough for dinner!". Then she'd go out with a bag for about 20 minutes and come back with the whole bag full.

Delicious! She would typically slice them in half, and soak them in salted water for a half hour or so, then dip them in melted buter and roll them in flour and saute' them in a skillet. They were heavenly!

Out here in California, I've been told that there are morels, but I've never seen them. We do have chanterelles and shaggy manes and puff balls and bolletes (not sure of the spelling on that last one). All but the shaggy manes are more "substantial" than morels, but not necessarily tastier. The chanterelles are my local favorite. One good sized chanterelle is a huge mushroom. I would not say that it tastes better than a morel, but different. A little bit of a fruityness for lack of a better adjective.

Old_Wanker · Mar 10, 2002

I think thats Coprinus Comatus - the Shaggy Ink Cap.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.lincstrust.co.uk/species/fungi/shaggy.html>http://www.lincstrust.co.uk/species/fungi/shaggy.html</A>

GlueGuy · Mar 11, 2002

We got a good rainstorm Saturday night/Sunday morning, so on a hunch, I ran down to my local "secret spot" to see if any of those tasty chanterelles might have popped up. Out here, it's getting pretty late in the season, so my hopes weren't too high. I found 1 huge one, and about 5 smaller ones to my delight.

I saute'd the little ones for lunch on Sunday, and my sweetie & I will eat the big one tonight. Although that may not sound like a lot of mushrooms (especially for morels), with chanterelles, that can be quite a lot-o-mushroom.

DaveM · Mar 11, 2002

Oh yea! /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Growing up in southern Indiana I think it's some sort of law that all able bodied citizens must hunt mushrooms. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif And that was never a problem for us though my Mom's hunting ability would shame the rest of the family. I've been told they can be found here in NY but I haven't seen any yet. I'm kind of planning a road trip to CO next month with a big lay over in Indiana just so I get the chance to find and eat them once again. Oh yea!!

The way we always fixed them, after letting them soak awhile in saltwater was to dip them in milk, roll them in a flour/corn meal/salt/pepper mixture then fry them in vegtable oil.

Hunt On!
Dave

Devildog · Mar 11, 2002

GlueGuy,
You sure know how to hurt a guy/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif I sure hope you enjoyed them. If we dont get some rain I dont think well get to many.

Dave, Theres 2 prerequisites for being a Hoosier,
1. Play Basketball
2.Mushroom Hunt /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

TerryinMD · Mar 11, 2002

Think dead elm trees..... find them and you chances might be a little better.

Terry

DaveM · Mar 11, 2002

Yes, dead Elms, old apple orchards, Hickory trees (preferably dead) and Tulip trees are all good trees to look around. Of these, the only ones we find on our place are the old apple trees and they haven't showed us anything yet. /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif They also tend to grow near May Apples which we have just a few of. I suspect I'll have to hunt somewhere off our property but I haven't given up all hope yet. We just looked for the first time last spring.

Dave

TerryinMD · Mar 11, 2002

Yes, come to think of it. They do hang around the May Apples. Need to mention that one to the wife.

Terry

Egon · Mar 11, 2002

Mr. Glue:

You know how to hurt a poor old fellow whom just loves mushrooms and knows it's still a month or two away for the garlic, olive oil and fresh picked mushrooms.
Happy eating. I'm just bidding time till the season rolls around.

Egon