A couple of weeks ago we hosted dinner guests from Canada and other regions of the U.S. Figuring it was a great opportunity to showcase a “typical Minnesota” menu, we decided on spinach salad with bacon dressing (courtesy of our piggy), oven-fried walleye, wild rice stuffing with wild mushrooms and grilled root vegetables, and topped it off with Pete’s famous pie made from homegrown pumpkins.
We weren’t successful in locating Minnesota walleye for sale (it’s rare my husband will pay for it, preferring to catch his own) and had to settle for Canadian – a bit of irony, there, eh? But we were very excited to find freshly picked wild morel mushrooms for sale at the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market – for less than $20 per pound. A pound of dried morels can go as high as $195 – click here if you don’t believe me (and yes, that’s an affiliate link, why not?).
As it turns out, with all the fun at dinner, we forgot to mention the morels in the stuffing! Doh! But, an additional prolific mushroom find a few days after the party was more astonishing than our first. More on that later.
Photo by Pete Wuebker
Morels – finding them and eating them – are a springtime rite in the Midwestern United States. One of my earliest memories of a family outing is “‘shrooming” in the woods. My dad fried them up in the same seasoned cast iron pan he reserved for sunfish, bluegills and perch, coating them with breadcrumbs, then letting them bubble in brown butter, onion and a little garlic.
The Great Morel website tells us the conditions that create the perfect storm for mushroom finding can be affected by “… variables such as air temperature, ground temperature and rain levels impact the growing cycle and how bountiful the crop. There have been many studies as to how, where and why the morels make their grand appearance in certain conditions and not others. Most mushroom hunters will present all kinds of “SWATS” (Scientific Wild Ass Theories) on how, where, and when to find them. Almost every mushroom hunter will have a few “SWATS” of their own, some with merit, while others are just that….theories.”
Growing up, I was made well aware by admonition against the dangers of not knowing your mushrooms. The lore associated with picking and consuming the wrong kind of mushroom is right up there with the legendary allure the gastronome gives to Japanese fugu and other deadly delicacies. Interestingly, a different dimension on the deadly mushroom made an impression on me when I overheard a German hotel clerk attempting in vain to dissuade someone from hunting truffles in the Black Forest. “Chernobyl has made it not safe,” she said, throwing up her hands in exasperation.
Photo by Betsy Wuebker
A few days after our dinner party, Pete set off across the main street to our south into the wetlands and woodsy area to see if the neighborhood wild turkey hen had finished her nest. The grainy photo above is one I snapped looking out our home office window. She’s quite timid and punctuates her foraging from our bird feeder with nervous clucks, but when she takes off it’s like a 747 in flight out back. 
Pete had followed her from our back yard a week or so prior and thought she might be ready to lay her eggs. “Much gobbling in the distance,” was his report after the initial foray.
Photo by Pete Wuebker
This second time he never encountered the turkey, but he did strike the mother lode of all morels. Ever. Publicizing the find at this point is pretty safe, because now the undergrowth is getting heavier, making them more difficult to find. This spring has been optimum in many respects – early warmth seems to have everything out about a month ahead of time this year. These conditions also seem to have sparked a bumper crop of morels. We learned they cluster around dead or dying elms (prevalent in this natural area in the midst of our city because its inaccessibility makes diseased elm removal impossible, as opposed to more structured, residential habitat). They also like a sunny period after a somewhat extended period of rain or moisture.
Photo by Pete Wuebker
Behold! I’d never seen such morels. Used to the 1, 2 and 3 inch specimens from childhood, I couldn’t believe the size of these monsters. Pete wasted no time in slicing one up, and frying it into a delicious midday snack. Yum!
The dinner menu that evening was a variation of this recipe from Epicurious – instead of prawns, filets mignon were complemented with mushroom-based gravy and sauteed ‘shrooms and onions. Fabulous. The morel butter Pete used as the gravy and pan-frying base is prepared as follows:
* 8 ounces fresh morel mushrooms or 2 ounces dried morel mushrooms
* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
* 3/4 cup chopped shallots, divided
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
*If using dried morels: Bring 3 cups water to boil in medium saucepan. Add dried morels. Remove from heat. Cover; let steep 1 hour. Using slotted spoon, transfer morels to bowl. Reserve soaking liquid. Finely chop enough fresh morels or reconstituted morels to measure 1/2 cup (packed); reserve remaining morels. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup shallots and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add chopped morels and thyme; sauté 2 minutes. If using dried morels, add reserved soaking liquid to skillet, leaving any sediment behind. Increase heat; boil until almost all liquid evaporates, about 8 minutes. Transfer morel mixture to small bowl; cool. Mix remaining 7 tablespoons butter into morel mixture. Season lightly with salt and pepper. (Morel butter can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
Preheat oven to 500°F. Melt 2 tablespoons morel butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1/2 cup shallots; sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Add remaining whole fresh morels or reconstituted morels and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Read More at Epicurious.com.
Photo by Pete Wuebker
Mid-week, Pete’s friend Ron and he set out again with great success: both returned with a bag full of giant specimens. Buoyed by the knowledge of habitat shared at the office, Pete’s boss located a huge stash of ‘shrooms out back of his garage by a fallen elm a couple days ago. And just this morning, Pete made another quick trip across the street and came back with a couple big ones that he is drying in the dehydrator. We’re pretty excited about searching for them at the cabin over the Memorial Day weekend. According to this map, northern Minnesota is a few weeks behind us in the Twin Cities.
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Any other “‘shroomers” among us?
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Peter and Betsy Wuebker are location-independent professionals who share what they know about travel, simplicity and integrating work with life. 
Betsy, I love mushrooms. Mushroom soup, burgers drowning in fried mushroom, etc. Yum, is right. These morels you found are incredible! I would have thought the bigger ones might not be as tasty; more woody or tough. Half the fun is hunting for them. Who gets to clean up after cooking?
.-= Davina´s last blog ..Dial-1-2-1-Muse =-.
Betsy,
I grew up hunting these tasty morels each spring!! Now…I have them only occasionally, when my parents happen to bring some down. And it’s a real treat!!
.-= Lance´s last blog ..What Does It Start With? =-.
Hi Betsy,
I certainly enjoy mushrooms, but have never hunt for them. I heard about a few “special” ones while on a Mexico trip, but opted out on those. I was told you should always go with someone who knows what they are doing first and never trust a photo in a book until you can tell certain ones apart.
Happy Shroomin’!
.-= Lori Hoeck´s last blog ..Self defense and owning your survival =-.
Oh these were a treat when we visited family in Lakes part of Ontario – yum and with pickerel wow…My whole neighborhoods is crazy to go mushroom hunting, but it is so wet this year there is a lot of grumbling going on. I went to the mushroom farm and got a flat of the white button kind and put them in the freezer for pizza and other delights.
My daughter who is in Alaska for the summer’s birthday in mid summer, so I thought I would put a flat of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mushrooms and make potassium broth for soups for her ( I did leave out the veggies here the list is too long). She can just come home and go straight into teacher/librarian job hunting mode and not have to think about the missed goodies….
Great post….and pictures…Thank you a DELIGHT
.-= Patricia´s last blog ..Arm Chair Traveling =-.
Hi Betsy .. had to put the post away til now – as I knew I’d be hungry ..lunchtime’s coming – so that’s a blessing & I can satisfy the tummy thing for morels!!
Sounds delicious .. and so wonderful you can just pop out and find them .. by the fallen elms – we must have them here too, as we have elms ..
Lovely pictures … and the thought of your dinner .. oh – can I come to next time please!!
We’re so behind .. as it’s been so cold, but these last few days have been blissful warm spring/summer days .. though we have the cool wind from the channel. I love the colours and the spring growth .. the blue bells are out .. et al .. it’s gorgeous. Asparagus time here …
Wonderful .. loved the whole story and the delicious recipes .. not quite lunch .. time for water .. bye & have a great week – Hilary
.-= Hilary´s last blog ..The Silent Pianist Speaks … =-.
Great story and photos! I’ve never tasted a morel (or seen one in real life). They don’t look particularly appealing, but I’ll take your word for it that they’re a great delicacy. If I ever get the chance, I’ll try one.
Morels are spectacular. We have to pay a premium for them here in Colorado. Don’t have them often because of the price. I usually serve them with chicken, but the fish sounds great!
Hi Betsy,
This post makes me hungry. I love mushrooms, but like Dot, don’t ever remember seeing a morel.
I remember the stories of others saying, “be careful of what mushrooms you eat, as some are poisonous”. That spooked me into only eating those which I find in a store.
.-= Barbara Swafford´s last blog ..Are Blogs Dying? =-.
Wow, look at how those things grow up! I don’t believe I’ve ever seen them in the part of Canada where I grew up, Betsy. Ahh, well your map shows them not even into Maine — that’s why! I’m a right turn from Maine, province of New Brunswick where my folks live.
I do remember the little wild mushrooms Dad picked back in fields along the woods were the tastiest things I’ve ever tasted. Well,I mean they would’ve been if I’d liked mushrooms back then. Was too young to know what I was missing.
Wow, LOVE your home office view, must be so inspiring.
And you’ve made me hungry for morel butter now! And are those shallots I smell her in the library? Well, indeed I believe I do!
xoxo
.-= Jannie Funster´s last blog ..What Would You Title This Post? =-.
I remember as a child that we would go out into the local woods and hunt for morels.
It was fun and after a little soaking in salt water to make sure the bugs were gone my Mom would fry them with a little butter and oh were they delicious.
I haven’t eaten a morel in years and actually kind of forgot about them but maybe this spring I might go on a little hunt myself
Jan
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Hi Jan – We’re looking forward to mushroom hunting season this year if it will ever stop snowing in Minnesota. Pete fried up the first big one he found for me just as your mother did, and it was fabulous. Welcome to PassingThru and thanks for your comment!
Nice post, I’ve never tried those kind of mushrooms, they look nice, gonna give it a shot if I can.
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Hi Betsy,
Have you had much luck in finding morels this season? I think the lack of rain or something kind of put the damper on this season for us folks in N Il.
Hi Suzie – Welcome to PassingThru! This has not been a good year for morels in our area either. The place that Pete discovered last year yielded only a couple. Better luck next year! Thanks.