Mushroom hunting

[blackradio]

No morels today but found a ton of wild scallions.

[crappyice]

Iwas out grabbing a mess of wild leeks this morning and gave a look around some ash trees...nothing yet but seeing how I have never found them before, I am not sure if they just aren't up yet or if they are never there anyway???

[blackradio]

They like to grow around elm and ash trees especially dead elm and ash trees. My honey hole is next to a big dead ash tree in a low spot that's kinda swampy. The other spot I found them was 15 yards from a swamp too.

[Paula]

we get puff balls all the time

[blackradio]

ever eat puffballs? Just really starting to get into mushroom hunting now. I hear puffballs are decent to eat. My buddy was shed hunting and he said he saw one the size of a basketball today. I'd be interested to try.

[Paula]

they go quick, here today rotten tomorrow

[PREDATE]

Be careful with(smaller) puffballs too! Cut them in half and make sure they don't have gills. If they have gills they are one of the most poisonous mushrooms called the "destroying angel". Do a quick search and learn the differences.

  Gem-studded puffballs are my favorite puffball. They are small and easily found & identified.

 As for morels, it might still be a tad early, so keep looking (and report your findings with us! lol).

[Woodsman20]

I was out this mornign scouting for birds and looking for morels.  No morels - I agree it is probably a bit early still.  I'll take the mesh bag advise for transporting them.

 

Never had wild leeks, but maybe I'll give them a try.

 

Found a massive snapping turtle and a large garden snake - always cool in spring to find the animals out and about.

[PREDATE]

I heard another report of some gray morels being found in NY! It's time guys!!!

 Lets see how much turkey hunting we can do without our eyes scanning the ground!!

[WNY Bowhunter]

I actually got my first taste of morel hunting while out in Indiana chasing gobblers last week.  People out there are crazy for the things.  I found a few and we cooked them up...they were pretty good but I don't plan on looking for any here in NY.

[crappyice]

For those of you with some successful experience, if there are ash trees, should I expect to find morels? Very frustrating searching for hours and not even know if i am looking in the right areas. At least with shed hunting you can follow well worn trails, food plots, etc.

[PREDATE]

It surely does require laying down a good amount of boot rubber! Not every stand of trees is going to contain morels. Ya just gotta check all you can.

[blackradio]

My honey hole is right next to a big dead elm and an ash tree. All the other trees around are cedar.

[blackradio]

Founds 2 morels today while I was raking leaves and pine needles next to 5 big pine trees. The first morel was about 2 inches tall and the other was about the size of a grape. Cmon grow grow grow. I'll have to get out asap and look for more now that I know they're growing but it'll be hard when they're not above the leaves yet. Next 2 weeks should be great.

[crappyice]

Thanks for the report blackradio

[burmjohn]

How do you cook them? To be honest I had no idea what they where till I googled it. Seems the consensus on the interwebs is to do a quick saute to remove any bacteria and add a little flavor.

[blackradio]

you must cook morels before eating. I slice them in half, run them under water quick to remove any debris and saute them in a pan with a little olive oil and a little pad of butter. Flip them after a few minutes when the side is golden brown and hit it with some black pepper and a pinch of salt before serving. Goes awesome as a side to venison.

[PREDATE]

you must cook morels before eating. I slice them in half, run them under water quick to remove any debris and saute them in a pan with a little olive oil and a little pad of butter. Flip them after a few minutes when the side is golden brown and hit it with some black pepper and a pinch of salt before serving. Goes awesome as a side to venison.

+1

[Cabin Fever]

Or you can bread them in flour or bread crumbs before frying if you want.

[crappyice]

I'm going tomorrow for a long search...any success today for anyone that will give me some positive mojo?

[PREDATE]

Morels reported in Oneida Co.

 I'm gonna try my spots tomorrow as well.

A little rain would be great. Look closely, they might not be popping through leaf litter yet.

 Good luck

[crappyice]

Guess what I found! NOTHING! Nice day though!

[blackradio]

Checked my patch today and they are up! Saw about a dozen of them poking through the leaves but they were tricky to see because although they were above the leaves, some of the leaves clung to them. They were all about 2 or 3 inches too. Also found a sea of leeks in another spot I was looking for morels in. Plan on making some potato leek soup tomorrow. I'll probably pick some of the bigger morels tomorrow and let the little ones grow. I really don't think they all spouted yet because last year there were many more.

[Woodsman20]

Thanks for the update - I haven't seen any yet and was wondering.

[crappyice]

What's a bunch of rain do to morels? Hinder or help growth?