[shroomgirl]

Well~ I've been getting bidaily posts from a dear friend who is extremely intense (type A+) thank goodness he is as generous as he is driven.....
It is morel season in Mo. the blacks, semis and reds are out....yellows will follow quickly.
I want to address a line sent by a shroomer... DRY YOUR MORELS if you find alot.REALLY they rehydrate so well, I prefer using a mix of dried and fresh.

***First off this is a requisite warning, know what your doing when you are finding wild shrooms, no kidding, there are look-alikes out there so be absolutely sure before you eat them, also try a bite if you don't know your body's reaction....some people can't tolerate certain wild shrooms...I have little tolerance for chanterelles...**Another hunter question is do you wash them, most will say NO WAY...brush off debry,slice and make sure when they go in your mesh bag you don't put the forest floor in with them.

That's done....Now how do you fix morels?

I have taken huge ones, rehydrated them in water then stuffed them with a morel duxelle and served them with quail, dried cherries, pearl onions and a highly reduced chicken stock...

Many requests every year for Morel and Cream recipe (I'm serious, it is just not funny any more, it's been in the paper, it's been published many places and still people ask every year....??!!!)

Saute morels in butter (or light olive oil)
(optional shallots) throw in a bit of cognac or brandy, flame. Add 40% cream cook down...about 30 minutes per pint, until really thick....you may add reduce cream to the shrooms...but you want the flavor of your morels to permeate the cream. Salt and pepper during saute.
Serve on bagette or croutons...I've made this for 200 in the woods on a couple of burners, nothing like the chant of goddess!!!
This is amazing stuff.

Ok besides duxelle, morels and cream,How do you prepare them??? In your response say if your a hunter too please.

 

[angel]

ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH MORELS AND OYSTERS

1 lb. angel hair pasta
5 to 6 large morels, soaked, (juice reserved) and sliced
1 qt. heavy cream
2 Tbsp. shallots, minced fine
4 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
1/2 pt. select oysters with juice
1 Tbsp. butter
salt and white pepper
cheesecloth

In a large saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Reduce heat
slightly and skim residue and reduce by half. Soak the morels
in water for five minutes. Squeeze excess water from the
morels and reserve liquid after straining through cheesecloth.
Over medium heat melt butter in large saute pan and add shal-
lots. Saute for one minute. (Do not burn or dish will taste
bitter.) Add reduced cream to shallots and reserved morel
liquid. Add parsley and the oyster juice. Reduce to sauce
consistency and add oysters. Poach oysters in sauce for one
minute. Reduce heat to low. Cook pasta according to direc-
tions. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Portion pasta in
warmed bowls and pour mixture atop pasta and serve immediately.
(Morel mushrooms are most often purchased dry and must be
soaked in water five times the volume of mushrooms used. The
liquid is strained through cheesecloth to extract impurities
and reserved for later use.) Serves 6 as appetizer.


VEAL ROAST WITH MOREL SAUCE

1/4 lb. dried morel mushrooms
3 lb. trimmed veal loin
salt and pepper
1/4 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. chopped onion
2 c. white wine
3 c. whipping cream
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. sour cream

Wash the mushrooms, then soak them in 1 quart water for
2 to 3 hours. After they have been carefully removed from the
water, chop them and set them aside. Do not discard the water.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rub the meat with salt and
pepper. Brown all sides in a hot, lightly oiled skillet and
place in the preheated oven. Roast for approximately 20
minutes until medium rare. Remove from the skillet. Add the
butter to the skillet and saute the onions to a golden brown.
Add the chopped mushrooms and simmer approximately 2 to 3
minutes. Add 1 cup of the water used to soak the mushrooms and
the white wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by
one-half. Add the cream, bring to a boil and thicken with
cornstarch to desired consistency. Taste and add salt and
pepper to your liking. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer, add
the sour cream and taste again for salt and pepper.


Morel Sauce:
1 oz dried morels OR
4 oz. fresh morels
4 oz. basic brown sauce
2 Tbsp. Madeira
1 Tbsp. chopped shallots
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste

If dried morels are used, soak in lukewarm water 1 hour.
Wash all sand off morels and cut in half.
Saute shallots in butter; add morels.
Add Madeira and brown sauce and season to taste.

 

[w.debord]

I'm a tag along MOREL hunter...unless their big enough to trip me I don't see them, my husband is the knowledgable one. We DO wash them, in fact we soak them in salt water! It's a bit of a turn off when you see how many bugs come out of them. They're unlike other mushrooms, I don't really know how you would just wipe them clean?

We coat them in seasoned flour and fry them in butter until their VERY, very crisp. Served with a nice steak off the grill there's nothing quite like them.

 

[w.debord]

Any tips for drying them?

 

[shroomgirl]

slice and shake.....I'm so serious about the Mycololigical Society not washing um....

Drying....either a dehydrator, or string and hang them in a dry basement, or put them on newspaper and let a fan blow on them until you get them in a dehydrator....oven dry.

We're in the peak of the season right now...
my ankle is still not up to par so I'm not doing the intense forays my group goes on...But I recieve detailed e-mails 2x daily about the finds.

 

[cape chef]

Wdbord,
I understand about your concerns with the little critters that call morels there home.

I do however follow shrooms lead, I split them and spin them in a salad spinner, then I place them in a zip lock bag and shake the dickens out of them. I then give them another ride in the spinner. Works pretty good. I have had these shrooms washed and although good..not at all the same texture.
Anyway..a little extra protien could be good for us
cc

 

[shroomgirl]

Exactly~ not only hunting but eating morels are for the brave!!!!lololol

 

[mudbug]

shroomgirl,

Since I'm not far.... what tips would you give a morel hunting novice (besides what you've already posted...) where should I go?

 

[shroomgirl]

State Parks, with river bottoms, Dead elm trees, Ash, cottonwood, Apple orchards with dead trees....they are huge now!!! There is only about 7-10 days left, if you want um this year you gotta hunt for them now.

Springfield Right? Make sure you can identify them.

 

[shroomgirl]

I've seen tiny red shrooms that are out with chanterelles....they're good soup floaters

Websites are super to post!

Missy, I get grief from some of my cooking friends cus I reduce my cream with the morels in it..."your boiling the mushrooms"
I think it just gives the cream more morel flavor....so thanks for the recipe looks like what I did today (minus the cream)
Grilled Veal chops with morel sauce.
It is wonderful.

 

[pooh]

More on Morels at
www.epicurious.com/b_ba/b02_ingredients/morels.html

 

[cape chef]

BTW...
This months topic on the cover page is about morels..

scroll down a little bit to see what we Chefs like to do with them
cc

 

[kimmie]

Thank you, cc

Found it. WOW!

 

[pooh]

Found it! Thanks, cc.

Very very nice. Good job!

 

[kimmie]

Just found another very interesting site on Morels at http://www.mssf.org/cookbook/morels.html



[ June 11, 2001: Message edited by: Kimmie ]

 

[chef david simpson]

I loved this thread!!!!! Too bad thier out of season

 

[shroomgirl]

So bring it back the end of April, I'll be cooking fresh then.

 

[chef david simpson]

Yeahhhh Baby!!!!!!!

 

[kimmie]

Can't wait! :lips: