Morels - where did I go wrong?
I was talked into picking up fresh morels at Central Market a couple of days ago. I was excited, having read so much about them. I checked a couple of recipes, then ever so briefly rinsed them, dried them, and sauteed with sweet onion and asparagus before tossing with hand-made pasta (ie., by my hands) and a touch of cream.
Looked beautiful, but one bite and yuck! sooo gritty. I can endure a lot when I'm already a bit tired and feel done with the cooking, but this was unbearable. I separated the veggies from the pasta before (yikes) rinsing the pasta off and starting over with a little butter, etc. Sauce and texture of the pasta are okay now, and most of the sand seems gone. But the morels, I don't get. Not so much flavor, and some of them still feel like biting into a smudge of mud. Terrible.
Where did I go wrong? I tried to pick small morels that had a deep color and a dry but not dried texture. Should I have cleaned them some other way? Are the stems to be trimmed and discarded? And the taste (not so much)? Were these bad morels ($29/lb.)? Was it my fault, or do I just not get it?
Thanks everyone
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8 Comments:
I have heard of people using a short stiff brush to clean out the many holes in a morel. You were right not to wash them more than briefly, as they would absorb water. Why don't you go back to the vendor from whom you purchased them and ask his/her advice?
annien at 11:40PM on 03/18/09
Actually, morels are one of the few mushrooms I recommend actually soaking for about 30 minutes in cool tapwater before cooking. You might want to agitate them once or twice, too. Morels are always foraged, so they're a lot dirtier than farmed mushrooms, and those pockets really hold onto the dirt. Plus sometimes they can have bugs or worms, which the soaking will also rid them of.
thepictsie at 3:32AM on 03/19/09
definitely soak them for at least 1 hour in salted water (sometimes i also add a dash or sherry vinegar) after slicing them in half lengthwise. dont brush them, they will break. after soaking get them totally dry using paper towels or a clean rag. you need to cook them long and slow to get all their internal moisture out and to concentrate their flavor, in butter or oil in which youve sweated some shallots. one or two deglazings and reglazings with brandy first, chicken stock second is highly recommended. before serving. toss in a little cream and/or butter before serving. the key is cooking out all their moisture. they are my favorite mushroom, followed closely by shiitakes and black trumpets.
simon at 9:08AM on 03/19/09
I soak mine in salted water, pat dry, dredge them in flour and pan fry in butter. Yum!!!
jcrisco at 9:26AM on 03/19/09
I recall seeing an episode of Good Eats where alton brown tested whether mushrooms are actually as absorbent as people claim they are. If I remember correctly, they didn't actually retain very much water at all after soaking. With wild mushrooms, it's probably worth it to soak them.
Shelby at 11:02AM on 03/19/09
It amazes me that people are so afraid to wash mushrooms. The dirt on them (even cultivated cremini) can harbor all manner of bacteria including e.coli etc. Why should risk your health for fear of a mushroom taking on little extra moisture? I say WASH!
Pointy at 1:44PM on 03/19/09
I agree with soaking them. My MIL soaks them (not sure how long) and I've never had a bad one- no dirt or noticeable sogginess.
And ditto @ jcrisco about flouring and butter frying *drool*. I'm so grateful these lovely things grow on the inlaw's farm and that they (the inlaws) can find them! My husband and I have "morel blindness". They have to be 6 feet tall (can you imagine!?) before I can spot them.
AuntJone at 3:15PM on 03/19/09
@AuntJone-- I don't think I've had them any other way! When I was little and lived in Indiana, we would go morel hunting in their woods and come back with pounds of them. They never realized until we moved away how expensive they are! Sadly...they are hard to come by in Orlando.
jcrisco at 3:29PM on 03/19/09