BrewerShroomers Unite! Who's lookin for Morels?

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MrShake

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I know there are at least 2 shroomers here on the boards... Anyone else wanna chime in as a dedicated or less than dedicated Morel Hunter?
 
Can I just be jealous?

Growing up as a kid in Northern MI, we used to go morel hunting every year. Total blast walking around in the woods looking for them. Nothing better than morels fried in butter or simple flour. Haven't had them in almost 20 years.
 
I finally found some last year. We used to have decent luck when we lived in Indiana, but haven't found a decent spot around here that wasn't private land, until last year - at the end of the season. It wasn't much, but it was better than nuthin'. It'll be 3 weeks yet for the earliest ones
 
I try to line up a visit to my sister around mushrooming time for this very reason, sadly it isn't happening this year. We don't limit ourselves just to morels though, lobster, porcini and chanterelle mushrooms are all in season right now on the west coast.
 
In Michigan, May is Morel Month. I haven't put a lot of time in morels for about twenty years, but I used to be very active every year.

Michigan has:
early Black Morel
midseason Morel
and late season Giant White Morel

I found a place that has all three and later, high bush wild blueberries. I believe that this year, I will be active again.

I found a huge White Morel in my yard last summer, but it was already old-I may take a look around the nearby woods this spring.
 
We used to go every weekend with my parents when I was younger. Lately, work gets in the way. Most ever was about 10lbs in a weekend. I wanted to sell them, my parents wanted to eat them. They won of course.

Largest ever found was a behemoth White Morel than was 13-15" tall. It was so big that it actually fell over under its own weight and was barely even alive when we found it. It had started to dry out a day or so before. I know there is a picture floating around somewhere.

To those reading and thinking of going out for the first time, get a book that details the differences between the real ones and the false ones. (Its impossible to get them mistaken if you know what you are looking for) Gyromitrin is rocket fuel, so keep those false ones out of your mushroom bag, lest you eat something that could harm you.
 
Mycology class got me started in this back in college, but I haven't had the opportunity or an area in Northern Illinois to get looking for them. I spied a couple of the bike trail last year, but maybe this year I'll get back into it and get out in the woods.

Anyone ever try or have any luck with the morel spore kits you can purchase online? A friend, she usually buys gag gifts for me, purchased one this past winter and I forgot about it until I saw this thread. I'll have to look at the name when I get home if anyone is interested.
 
I once dug up a large section of earth around a White morel that was still in its early stages of growth and stuck it in a pot and attempted to grow it in the basement. Strangely it stopped growing altogether and remained the same size until it died a few weeks later.

The spore kits however sound VERY interesting. Off to Google I go! :)
 
I thought around here the date was about mid april, I have a friend telling me it is the week before mothers day which is in May. I will be giving it a go this year with people who know where to find them.
 
I dont have easy access to morels here but chicken of the woods will be coming back into season in not too long, the only morels Ive seen around here are all the way out on long island and its a pain in the ass to go there just for them. Around here we also occasionally find various oyster mushrooms and a few giant puff balls.
 
I haven't tried morels, though I hear they are fantastic. Im more of a cubensis guy myself being that they are much easier to come by
 
I have been walking around the Douglas Fir grove we have on our property every few weeks to see what is popping up. I can not positively identify 99% of them, so I let them grow. I would recognize morel's though. We are still out a few weeks for those.

A few months ago I found several Oregon White Truffles in the grove. Made a few nice dishes with those.
 
last time i went mushroom hunting, the only ones we found were growing out of cow ****... then the poo turned into flowers that just seemd to smell so good. so i rolled around in the flowers for a while. then i woke up in a ditch with cow **** all over me.
 
I will admit that I have cultivated my share of cubes in the past. If I enjoyed mushrooms (even remotely) I might try my hand at some medicinal/culinary strains. Its really not all THAT difficult (like beer x10 sterility practice)

Oh and your outdoor grows do MUCH better as nature has its own antifungal/antibacterial/antijustabouteverything to kill the nasties. (You dont see indoor mold strains outside do ya?) :)
-Me
 
Never had them but would love to try. I am a shroomer in general (just not the dried psilopsybin type). Never seen them for sale here doubt I ever will.
 
The taste of sauteed Black Morels is trickling in from my memory. Oh god its like a perfectly prepared Fillet mignon.

Sausage and cream cheese stuffed baked White morels = OMFG!! WOW!
 
All this talk about how they taste is just fueling the fire. We did cheeseburgers on the grill last year, with a good sharp cheddar cheeze and grilled onions and morels as a topping, along with a homebrewed beer and home fries and MAN was that a good meal!
 
Can I just be jealous?

Growing up as a kid in Northern MI, we used to go morel hunting every year. Total blast walking around in the woods looking for them. Nothing better than morels fried in butter or simple flour. Haven't had them in almost 20 years.


I'll be jealous with you. I grew up on morels in central Missouri. No such luck here in Florida though. I have ordered dried morels on ebay a time or two but it just isn't the same...better than nothing though.

My mom makes clay morels and sells them to someone else, who sells them off in an ebay store. She makes most of the clay morels sold here. I have my morning coffee out of a mug with a morel on the handle. :rockin:
eBay Store - Looney Shroom Productions: Morel Mushroom, morels, morel hunting
 
Ah, I remember once when dad and I went fishing for trout in the crick by our town. On the way back to the truck we found a spot of morels and dined on baked trout and morels that evening. Fantastic!

I've been out a bit the past couple of years, but have not found a reliable location. It's been either too late in the season, or too dry I guess.

I really need to find me a good spot! People around here would sooner let you screw their woman, than tell you their favorite mushroom grounds.
 
The wife and I went searching for Morels this evening. There is about 20 acres of woods accross the road. We combed the area pretty good and found nothing. We'll try again in a few days. We walk in the woods pretty often anyway. It's just something else to do while we're there.
 
After combing the woods for about a month now, I found my first Morel. I was up on the hill, unhooking the trailer from my Jeep and I happened to look down at the ground and did a double take. It was right there in some dead leaves, next to a locust log. It was kind of dried up since it's been 85° for a few days now so I considered it to be inedible.
The best thing about finding it is that now I know that they're around here and if the conditions are right, I should be able to find them.


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The weather has been pretty good for them here. I know it's early, but they might be popping out soon with the warm weather and the rain we've had. Better to go out and look and not find them, than to go out too late.
 
What about a beer with morels? I have some dehydrated ones from last year and I've been wanting to make something interesting.
 
Damn this thread makes me miss the days when i lived in Montana. Oh such delicious morsels....
 
I went this weekend to a few places up North at our cabin with my parents and my girlfriend. We found 46 very fresh/young Black Morels. For that area, near Pentwater, MI, it is still very early. The largest ones we found were maybe 3" tall, if that. One year we were finding monsters over 6" tall left and right during Black Morel season. Next weekend should be the time that its getting good.

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