Posts Tagged morel mushrooms
Finding food in the forest; Morels pt 2.
Posted by castironidaho in Foraged Foods, Hunting and Fishing, Recipes on June 10, 2011
Puff Balls!
We slowly crept down the mountain road searching the woods for our prey. Suddenly Alex screams out “Puff balls!” and I slam on the brakes. Before the car even comes to a stop the passenger door swings open. Alex is pulling his knife from his pocket before his feet hit the ground and he quickly charges the little white balls on the side of the road. I’m shocked at how similar mushroom hunting is to hunting game, only thing missing is the gun barrel resting on the floor board (at the ready). We even got the car stuck (twice) in a snow bank. Alex calls his fellow mushroom foragers mushroom nerds. Despite all the similarities of hunting and mushroom hunting, I can’t imagine Randy calling us all game geeks in elk camp.
Katie and I had another successful mushroom trip. Not as fruitful as Alex, but who’s counting mushrooms? Here’s what we made with our find.
Dexter Roast Beef with Morel Mushroom Gravy.
Like all good meat, the Dexter Beef was given to us by a really cool couple that raises this beautiful heritage bovine in Dry Creek about a mile from my Hill Rd. garden. Katie and I met the herd just as the calves were arriving. What a wonderful operation.
I cooked the roast “slow and low” in a enamel cast iron dutch oven like my mother and grandmother suggested.
250 degrees for 3 and 1/2 hours.
Salt, Pepper and fresh thyme. 1 halved onion.
At 2 hours remove onion and thyme sprigs. Drain drippings into a bowl. Let cool.
The Dextor Beef had no fat to spoon from the top!
Add beets, carrots and greens to pot roast to cook for the last hour.
In heated skillet melt butter and add morels. Salt, Pepper and garlic. Cook down until mushrooms are good and cooked and 1/2 the liquid is cooked off. Add a pinch of flour and roast drippings. Cook down until thick. Add a bit of crushed red pepper if you like.
How to Find Wild Morel Mushrooms
Posted by castironidaho in Foraged Foods on June 5, 2011
As a non-native Idahoan, I often don’t know whether to love or hate Idaho. This past memorial day weekend dawned rainy, nasty, cold, about 34 degrees or so. The rest of the country was probably basking in glorious sunlight, kicking off summer with barbecues and such, while we were still enjoying six more weeks of winter.
Marty and I were trying to salvage what we could of our Saturday, pulling some weeds in the garden, when our friend Alex Hartman showed up with a gift — fresh morel mushrooms, harvested from the forests of Idaho. Turns out that cold, dank, rainy springs are just what the morels love! With a few insider tips from Alex, we set off on our virgin morel hunting expedition the next day.
For the mushroom virgin, and/or non-Idahoan, hunting wild mushrooms is a mystical operation, shrouded in secrecy. I’ve heard stories of people taking people blindfolded into the forest, so they won’t be able to reveal a favorite morel hunting spot. Well, we found them easily enough, so let me fill you in on some basics.
Alex basically told us to go north on one of several roads out of Boise into the mountains, no higher than 4000 feet at this point in the season. As the weather warms, you’ll be able to find mushrooms at higher elevations. From another mushroom hunting expedition with Alex last summer, for porcinis, I remembered that we’d found most of the mushrooms on shady forest floors with little undergrowth. It would be hard to find them amongst too much underbrush anyway, so I headed for a shady, heavily canopied pine grove with its dark, rich soil mostly visible beneath my feet, and searched the ground for anything lighter in color than the surrounding soil. It wasn’t long before our first morel popped out at me!
Morels on the forest floor!
Once we’d found the first one, lots more popped into sight in the same area. Your eyes will begin to tune into the mushrooms and where you first didn’t see anything will now be mushrooms. We notice that the area also had lots of wildlife sign — poo, footprints, beds of deer, elk, and bobcat. Our area had recently had the underbrush cleared and burned and local lore tells us that morels come up after a burn.
The target morel habitat!
Once we’d identified our target mushroom area, we spent about an hour hunting and came up with almost a pound of morels. Not bad for first timers! But I’m sure we overlooked plenty, and only searched a tiny corner of forest! Which is why I don’t really understand why mushroom hunting must be kept a secretive process. The forest is huge! We don’t have time to find all the mushrooms that there are! There are some for you up there, too! Go find them!
We’re off on our second morel hunt this morning, so stay tuned for more updates and recipes!
–Katie
Mushroom Man Marty
Katie with our take!
Alex Hartman’s Morel Cream Sauce
Posted by castironidaho in Recipes on February 24, 2011
There’s nothing better than being invited to dinner. Especially when it’s Alex. A librarian by trade, but by candle light this man is a minor culinary genius. Alex is also a mushroom hunter and angler. We can always count on something from the forest when we eat with Alex. This evening we had lamb chops from his friend, Tim at Purple Sage in Middleton, served with Brussel sprouts, baked yam and (our favorite) morel cream sauce. Our dinner schedule is wide open! Dinner invites and recipe submisions (with pictures) always thoughtfully considered.
Here’s Alex’s recipe:
Hydrate morels in just enough hot water to cover for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat several tablespoons butter in a saute pan.
Add chopped shallot to pan. Saute until soft and golden.
Drain morels, reserving soaking liquid, and add to pan. Saute until
mushrooms begin to brown.
Add a few tablespoons of soaking liquid, and marsala (or another sweet
cooking wine) and simmer until liquid is reduced by two thirds.
Add cream. Simmer briefly. Add chopped fresh parsley or tarragon,
and salt to taste.
Optional – add a tsp or two of minced lemon zest.
Serve over steak, or with roast chicken, or on pasta with garbanzos,
asparagus tips, and parmesan.
