When winter is finally over and it is coming to the end of April in New York. The old saying goes “April showers bring May Flowers” is true, but it also brings out something else that is really special.
This is when the mystique mushroom called the Morel starts to grow, camouflaging its self with the brown-toned leafs litter on the forest floor. Finding a wild Morels is no easy accomplishment, even for the skilled mushroom hunter never find any. When mushroom hunters find their Morel patch it’s not something they share and tightly guard it as a secret treasured.
Morels are not you ordinary mushroom that grows off dead trees and can find almost year-round. This fungus has a very short season to harvest them, appearing for just a few days a year and only in early spring when soil temperatures and conditions are ideal for there fruiting. The Morel is very particular in the environment where it grows having a close association with specific trees. Tree identification is crucial when trying to hunt for the different types, some of the common names are Golden, Black, Gray, Half, and Blushing Morels.
Half-Free Morel
I was a little scared to try this one, so I didn’t. When trying new mushrooms, It’s always good to not eat too many different verities in one sitting, just in case you have a bad reaction to one.
I started harvesting wild mushrooms 3 years ago and for the last 2 years, I have been on the gold rush to find the Morel mushroom. Being an avid hiker I tried to remember where I would have seen the best conditions and retraced them for Morels and had no luck finding anything this year in April. One rainy Sunday afternoon on May 5th I decided to take my luck to a location where I remembered seeing some really big tulip trees. Once at the location I walk up to this 100 years old tulip tree that was so massive, it would take 4 of me to wrap my arms around it. As I approached and stopped at the base of the tulip tree, I look down, “BAMB”, my first True Morel.
It was not hard to miss with its golden color against the dark wet forest floor. I quickly cut it from the ground to further inspect to finish positively identifying it. With its honeycomb structure on the outer body with a pale white to tan stem and completely hollow from stem to cap in one continuous piece, I found my first True Morel. With most mushrooms, if you find one you will find more. With this excitement, I ran around addicted to spot that golden glimmer against the dark foreground to find more. The only way I can compare the excitement of finding each additional Morel was landing that fish on your fishing rod. Also, within this hunt, I also found some dryad’s saddle and some oyster mushrooms.
Dryad’s Saddle
With the dryad’s saddles, I removed the top skin layer and scraped out the pores underside with a spoon. I did pan fry a little bit to try and I did not like them, some people enjoy them. But, what I did with the rest of the dryad saddle and Morel stem bottoms was make a mushroom vegetable stock and it was delicious.
Morels have a honeycomb structure tends to trap dirt and critters, all of which can lead to a disappointing experience. The way I cleaned the Morels was got a deep bowl with cold water and I quickly dunked the Morel underwater to knock off any dirt and hopefully any critters as well. I did try a couple of methods of also soaking the Morel in a salt bath, and found and recommend to do no longer than 5-10 mins. I cut off the bottom stem of the Morel where if felt tougher then the rest of the stem and set that aside. I also dry some by slicing them in half and laying them on a wire rack for a few days to completely dry.
So what’s the big rave and excitement over Morel mushrooms, if you never tried it will surprise on the taste. It’s not your typical mushroom flavor it’s nutty and earthy in an undescribable addicting delicious way. Grand Central Market in New York City sells them in the early spring for $70 a pound if you don’t have luck with finding your own fresh ones. You can also find the dried also for about $15 for one ounce.
The way I prepared Morels are usually pan-fried with some butter/oil. Other ways I have prepared Morels are making a cream sauce which served with pasta, and also batter and deep-fried them.
Morel growing out of a rock. 
Double Morel 
Morel in the morning light.