 As they're picked, you can't stop yourself from daydreaming about
how delicious that next meal will be when served with a side of
butter-fried morels. Their flavor and wonderful texture is unmatched
by any other thing, mushroom or otherwise.As I write this, we are
just about to enter the morel season where I live. It has been a
long, cold winter and conditions are now becoming favorable. What
are favorable conditions? It's when daytime high temperatures reach
the 60s and stay relatively consistent; and evening low temperatures
remain above 40 degrees.
After your region hits those temperatures, it's time to go out
searching for morels, which are so coveted they can fetch more than
$20 per pound in markets. An ideal location to investigate is along
the edges of wooded, south-facing hillsides. The reason is that
prevailing winds typically deposit mushroom spores along those
south-facing inclines.
IF you find such a hill... AND it has trees with a relatively
open understory... AND many of those trees are elms, ash, aspens and
oaks... AND several of those trees are dead and decaying... THEN you
could be in morel heaven! That is the ideal location to fill your
bag with goodness.
If you've never harvested morels before, I strongly encourage you
to go online and get a quick education in fungus so you know what to
look for. There are mushrooms like half-free morels and false morels
that look a lot like the real thing -- but aren't. They can cause
some intestinal discomfort if ingested. Once you know and see the
difference, then morel identification is pretty simple.
When you get out there in nature's supermarket, you'll find that
morels are more camouflaged than an October bowhunter. Their colors,
which range from yellow to dark golden brown, blend into the leaves
and debris very well, so it's easy to walk right past a morel
without noticing it. Those new to the pursuit must train themselves
in the art of spotting the telltale shape and color.
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 A great tip is to not look down around your feet when searching
for morels, but instead look out ahead 25-50 feet and keep your eyes
scanning. Those delicacies are a lot like crappies. Where you find
one, you can often find many. So when you locate the first morel,
really scour the spot and adjoining areas for more. Return to that
same spot later, too, because some little fledgling mushrooms might
be hiding, and you can go back and find them when they grow up.
Some other pieces of morel hunting advice: Bring along a walking
stick. In addition to helping you walk around and over some terrain,
the stick is nice for moving foliage out of the way to look for
hidden treasures. Spray down with OFF Deep Woods insect repellent
before you head out. It'll keep the mosquitoes from ruining your
outing and help protect you from ticks. Lyme disease is a real
problem in so many areas of North America, and whatever you can do
to prevent getting bit is well worth the effort! Also, make sure you
have permission from landowners if you're treading on private land.
Finally, get yourself a mesh bag to carry all the morels you'll
find. The mesh will allow the spores to deposit as you walk around,
promoting more morel populations in years to come.
After arriving home with your loot, reward yourself. Soak the
morels for a while in cool water to clean them and flush out any
bugs that might be hiding in the contours of the mushrooms. Then
slice them down the middle, fry the morels in butter with a little
salt and pepper, and brace yourself for one of the finest treats
Mother Nature has to offer!
Good hunting.
[By BABE WINKELMAN]
Babe Winkelman hosts "Good Fishing" and
"Outdoor Secrets," the most-watched fishing and hunting programs on
television. Tune in on NBC Sports Network, Destination America,
Velocity, Time Warner Sports Texas & New York, and many local
broadcast channels. Visit
Winkelman.com for air times and more information.
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