Growing up in Appalachia there is just something magical about eating from the earth. But foraging for your own mushrooms can be scary. If you are new to the foraging world, morels are a great place to start.
First, there is really only one other mushroom that looks like the morel: the false morel. And it does not look that much like the morel. It lacks the characteristic Christmas tree shape of the morel, and it’s not hollow. That’s your key. The morel is a hollow mushroom. Hollow stem; hollow cap. If you find a mushroom that looks like a morel and it is completely hollow, then you have hit the jackpot.
Admittedly, they are hard to find, but once you have some experience it gets easier. While they shrink a little when cooked, the good news is that the flavor goes a long way, so you don’t need that many to add that great earthy goodness to a dish or two, although I confess they are also quite good just sautéed in butter or olive oil and garlic with a sprinkle of coarse salt.
Where Do You Find Morels?
Sycamores. Many people say under any hardwood, but I have always had luck keying in under sycamores and near May apples. They like to be near water so look on slopes of depressions near these majestic giants. Sycamores are easy to spot even from a distance in the spring woods because of their patchy bark. If you are really lucky you can twist the arm of someone who already knows where some morels can be found. Once you find one, get your eyes to the ground.
If your back does not hurt after a couple of hours you are doing it all wrong. Once you find one, take a pair of scissors, and snip them off right above the ground.Morels first emerge when the ground temperature hovers around 50. In West Virginia that’s in early April. They can be eaten at any size, but leaving the small ones to grow may be folly if you are in a commonly picked area. Do not eat them raw. First, they must be cooked, and, second, they tend to be a little buggy.
How Do I Get Rid of the Bugs?
Usually culinary advice cautions against mixing water and mushrooms, but with morels that’s the key. Slice them in half lengthwise and plunge them into a bowl of ice cold water. The tiny bugs that harbor in the crevices where you ultimately want butter or olive oil or cream to be will float to the top of the water. Use a spoon to skim these off, then change the water to remove any grit that has settled to the bottom of the bowl. Depending on your bug tolerance (mine is zero bugs), you may need to repeat this soak multiple times. When no more grit settles and no more bugs rise you are clear. Allow them to drain for a few minutes on paper towels, and you are ready to cook.
Do not soak the mushrooms before you intend to use them. If you do not intend to use them right away, then wrap them loosely in a paper towel, grit, bugs, and all, and store them in a bowl in the fridge. Don’t worry. The bugs are not looking for a new home.
You can freeze morel mushrooms, but I never do. Sensitive to over foraging, I only pick what we can eat within two or three days, and I enjoy the seasonal aspect of eating these seasonally, as they were meant to be eaten.
What Do I Do with Them?
While we have cooked morels 1,000 ways in our house we have three ways we love them: sautéed simply in a little butter or with garlic or ramps and olive oil, on a morel mushroom pizza with caramelized red onions and ramps, and a pasta with peas and morels in a cream wash. Look for both the pizza and the pasta recipe in an article coming soon. If you missed the morel season this year, both of those recipes are great for just about any mushroom.