Morel Mushrooms...
- Thread starter CWS4322
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Greg Who Cooks
Executive Chef
That's very interesting but I feel really queasy when thinking of picking mushrooms off the ground and eating them. I feel a sympathetic pain in my liver.
Yeah, sure, they look exactly like Morels to me. I've never seen anything like that on my own lawn. Only toad stools.
Yeah, sure, they look exactly like Morels to me. I've never seen anything like that on my own lawn. Only toad stools.
Steve Kroll
Wine Guy
That's definitely a real morel! I love morels, but when I was at the store the other day, they were selling them at $99.99 a POUND!! 
We used to hunt them when I was a kid. We would collect them in garbage bags, they were so plentiful. If dad had known back then what they sold for in stores, I'm sure he wouldn't have been so quick to give them away to the neighbors.
We used to hunt them when I was a kid. We would collect them in garbage bags, they were so plentiful. If dad had known back then what they sold for in stores, I'm sure he wouldn't have been so quick to give them away to the neighbors.
Dawgluver
Chef Extraordinaire
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Better keep your location secret! Yup, a morel.
Greg Who Cooks
Executive Chef
I would feel more comfortable growing mushrooms in a greenhouse or cellar, seeding them with known stocks.
I have a large bag of dried Morels, I am stingy with them.
Steve Kroll
Wine Guy
Good luck with that. As far as I know, morels can't be cultivated. That's why they sell for $100/lb.
Greg Who Cooks
Executive Chef
Good luck with that Steve. That's why emergency room rates are so high, because somebody ate something off their lawn that looked like a gourmet mushroom.
But yeah I agree with you. Morels: $100/pound. Emergency room: $200/visit. Your health: priceless!
But yeah I agree with you. Morels: $100/pound. Emergency room: $200/visit. Your health: priceless!
Kayelle
Chef Extraordinaire
I've only seen dried morels but the size of that one is a whopper, even considering how much it would shrink when dried.
I know I wouldn't go out looking for mushrooms, but I know many people who I would trust to find them for me.
Dawgluver
Chef Extraordinaire
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We had a local kid featured in the daily rag lately, he and his dad found a huge morel, about the size of his forearm. The morel locations are very closely guarded around here. We have many friends who search, and who I trust. From what I've read and seen, the bottom of the cap is the determinate. If it's tight to the stem, it's a morel. There's a poisonous lookalike that's not tight.
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Steve Kroll
Wine Guy
Well. I've seen, picked, and eaten hundreds of morels and I 100% guarantee that's a morel. But if CWS has any doubt, she can send it to me. I will be happy to taste test it and report back. 
Dawgluver
Chef Extraordinaire
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Steve Kroll said:Well. I've seen, picked, and eaten hundreds of morels and I 100% guarantee that's a morel. But if CWS has any doubt, she can send it to me. I will be happy to taste test it and report back.
I'll split it with ya!
Morel Mushroom
Hi glad to be here this morning. Look at the false morel on the internet and it should show pictures of the false morels At one time I wrote wild edible columns in Tennessee. Morel mushrooms was easily found in an area of East North Carolina where I always gathered them in an apple orchard. They love damp environments.
If you are not sure about the mushrooms you found... take it to to Biologist that is an expert in this field at a local college or wildlife office.
Hi glad to be here this morning. Look at the false morel on the internet and it should show pictures of the false morels At one time I wrote wild edible columns in Tennessee. Morel mushrooms was easily found in an area of East North Carolina where I always gathered them in an apple orchard. They love damp environments.
If you are not sure about the mushrooms you found... take it to to Biologist that is an expert in this field at a local college or wildlife office.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
mmm, i'm reminded of ag great dish i used to make, veal morel.
it was veal scallopini in a morel cream sauce. the sauce was made from a reduction of the liquid used to rehydrate dried morels, the rehydrated morels minced well, cream, and salt and white pepper. the veal scallopini were floured and barely fried in grapeseed oil, chopped sage was added, then some chopped fresh morels, and finally the cream reduction was added and it simmered for just a minute more until the cream bubbled.
i need to make that again soon.
it was veal scallopini in a morel cream sauce. the sauce was made from a reduction of the liquid used to rehydrate dried morels, the rehydrated morels minced well, cream, and salt and white pepper. the veal scallopini were floured and barely fried in grapeseed oil, chopped sage was added, then some chopped fresh morels, and finally the cream reduction was added and it simmered for just a minute more until the cream bubbled.
i need to make that again soon.
Claire
Master Chef
You know what my foraging friends say? There are old mushroomers, and there are bold mushroomers, but there are no old, bold mushroomers. I do go foraging, but only with very knowledgeable friends. The first time I went was with Opa, an old German friend (father of friends of my parents in Germany), and I remember him telling me all these different things about mushrooms, most of which I've long forgotten. Then, 40 or 50 years later, I've gone foraging for morels here. Yum, yum, but I don't think I'd trust myself to do it alone.
OP
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CWS4322
Chef Extraordinaire
I've seen spore for morels on "mushroom" sites. The spore sells for around $40, I don't know how prolific they are. They grow on a "string" so hopefully, there are more on the lawn. My dad has been harvesting morels for about 40-45 years. Some years are better than others. I am also very, very stingy with the ones I bring back from MN--it is a long drive to pick up about 4-6 oz. of dried morels! But, imagine my surprise to see it on my lawn! My reaction was "OMG--is it?! I think it is!!"
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CWS4322
Chef Extraordinaire
I am 100% sure this is a morel. I did check on the Internet, I also sent several photos to my dad. I trust my dad's ability to tell me if it is a morel. One of the reasons I photographed it in my hand was to show how BIG it is. The cap is attached, the stem is hollow.
My guess as to how it is there is a morel (I hope there are more) on the property is that (a) I had a dead elm tree removed years ago, the stump remained for a long time, (b) I have received several cords of wood from a neighbor's property and the spores came with those logs/stump parts. Talk about getting more than you bargained for!
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sparrowgrass
Head Chef
I've got you beat, C-dub!! I almost mowed over these this spring--they were growing over an old apple tree I cut down a couple years ago!
Mom, cleaning and cutting up the bag of mushrooms:
Mom, cleaning and cutting up the bag of mushrooms:
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CWS4322
Chef Extraordinaire
Ahh--this one was about 4 ft from the base of my apple tree. Guess I better get out in the fields and check around the apple trees there!I've got you beat, C-dub!! I almost mowed over these this spring--they were growing over an old apple tree I cut down a couple years ago!
Mom, cleaning and cutting up the bag of mushrooms:
