It's almost that time of year again!
Morel Season.
For those of you that don't know Morels are mushrooms. They are a woody and unique tasting mushroom that goes amazing with venison and wild asparagus.
The general rules about morels very from person to person.
It depends on who you ask! These amazing mushrooms are still fairly unknown to scientists.
What we do know is that once the ground reaches 53°F at 4" they start coming up. The general rule is the temperatures at night stay above 40° for at least 4 nights in a row and during the day reaches above 70°.
Morels start out popping up on south facing slopes early in the season. They can also be found in fields and on the edge of the woods. As the season goes on and the weather keeps warming up, they are typically found deeper in the woods.
Morels favor dead and dying trees. Elm, Ash, Poplar, and Apple trees are favorites of the fungus. My best luck has been around Elm trees, more specifically in a triangle of dead elms. Elms have whitish wood when dead, I look for the ones that are still half way covered in bark or more.
New York Strip with a creamy morel sauce and asparagus
The general rules about morels very from person to person.
It depends on who you ask! These amazing mushrooms are still fairly unknown to scientists.
What we do know is that once the ground reaches 53°F at 4" they start coming up. The general rule is the temperatures at night stay above 40° for at least 4 nights in a row and during the day reaches above 70°.
Morels start out popping up on south facing slopes early in the season. They can also be found in fields and on the edge of the woods. As the season goes on and the weather keeps warming up, they are typically found deeper in the woods.
Morels favor dead and dying trees. Elm, Ash, Poplar, and Apple trees are favorites of the fungus. My best luck has been around Elm trees, more specifically in a triangle of dead elms. Elms have whitish wood when dead, I look for the ones that are still half way covered in bark or more.
This is a dying elm that still has too much bark.
Now you also need to decide on the type of bag that you are going to use to collect your morels. More often than not you will see people recommending mesh bags so that the spores can fall out. I have also seen canvas and burlap recommend. Some people still swear that the spores do not fall out that way so its fine to use a plastic bag. I am not going to take my chances, I use mesh.
My find after an hour in a mesh potato sack
Ok so you have your bag, you know what you are looking for, you have even done your research on what kind of trees they are most commonly found around in your area! What else do you need? A knife.
Showing the size
Why do you need a knife? This goes back to how people aren't really sure how they grow and reproduce. Once upon a time I had it driven into my brain that you do not pull the entire mushroom, you cut it off at the base. This will help more grow next year. Is it true? I don't know, but again, I'm not taking the chance.
So you manage to get out and actually find some morels. You get them home, now what? Here's what I do. I cut them in half and soak them in salt water then put in the fridge. Anywhere from an hour to 24 hours is suggested to kill the bugs and clean the dirt. Then find a recipe online and enjoy! Up until last year I had only ever had them fried. Dip the halves in eggs then seasoned flour and fry them in butter.
Mushroom hunting is an activity that I have enjoyed doing for years. I was a little girl when I first went with my mom and dad. Now I love taking new families out mushroom hunting. I look forward to taking my son out this year!
Jackie and her daughter
Jackie's daughter and her haul
Eko and a boy
Me at 4 months pregnant
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