Foraging for Mountian Mushrooms

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All part of a good day foraging

All part of a good day foraging

As a child, I still remember trudging through a muddy forest, soaking wet, looking for mushrooms that my dad told me “looked like little brains.” As fun as that should have been for a kid, it wasn’t at the time. My Morel hunting record, until moving to the Tetons, was poor at best. I spent my time mostly scooping up a handful of slugs, the occasional inedible mushroom, or a various assortment of other bugs you might find around the forests of the Cascade Mountains.

These days my outlook on fungi foraging has changed dramatically. I would credit this to two things; what was once a slog through the woods has now become a trilling hunt, and the slimy mushrooms I once loathed, I have learned to prepare in ways that would make even squeamish people ask for seconds.

As with many things, the more work that goes into getting it, the better it tastes. Peanuts pre shucked in a bag aren’t quite the same as snapping that salty shell between your fingers, just as mushrooms that you find in the store don’t have the same flavorful nuances of their foraged counterparts.

This isn’t a mycology field guide so don’t take it as such, but Morels, with the wrinkled cerebral looking caps, hollow middle, and lightly colored stems are hard to miss. That being said, if you are unsure of what to look for go out with someone who does. While the saying “thrill of the hunt” isn’t usually applied to looking for things growing in the ground, Morel hunting is about as close as it gets.

The extreme seasonality and secretively of hunting for mushrooms lends to its allure. With weather in May as unpredictable as it can be here, mushrooms pop up suddenly and can vanish as quickly as they appear thanks to intense heat, freezing temperatures, or a skilled forager, all of which you can find plenty of in the Tetons. Etiquette also is important when searching. Don’t go around announcing to your friends your new secret spot or yanking up fistfuls of Morels by the roots unless you are OK with them not being there next year.

My favorite preparation for Morels is a simple one. Before throwing them in a pan it is important to make sure they are clean, as you have just picked them from the forest floor, chances are they aren’t. The trick with cleaning them is not to do it until right before you intend to use them. This prevents the mushrooms from becoming waterlogged and mushy. To properly clean you bounty, fill a large pot with cold water and a teaspoons of salt. Place the Morels in a colander and dunk in the pot of water while lightly agitating the mushrooms. Lift the colander containing the fungi out of the pot and spread out the Morels on dry paper towels. You are finally ready to reap the benefit of all your hard work, and yea, it’s worth it.

If say you find the “mother load,” are on your seventh day of eating mushrooms, and have no more friends that will take them, consider freezing them for later. Although the texture won’t be nearly the same, they keep their flavor nicely and are a perfect addition on hearty sauces in the cooler months. Looking for these tasty treats when your out on the town? Both the Snake River Grill and Rendezvous Bistro feature dishes with Morels but you better stop in soon, the season is coming to an end quick.

Chris Hogberg

Food and cooking has been a great travel buddy for Chris, finally taking root in Jackson. Originally from Seattle, Chris enjoys rainy walks to get coffee, cold dark beers, and cozying up in a warm restaurant kitchen. He has a background in marketing but has spent most of his days working in fine dining behind the line. Now you can find him selling hummus, perusing the farmers markets, or mountain biking behind his Aussie Shephard, Zephyr.

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