Any mushroom hunter worth their salt should have a fried morel recipe. People will argue until the end of time as to what method is the best: some swear by saltines, some use just flour, some like egg batter.
For me, there's only one way, the way my Grandmother made them, and the way my friends ask me to make them every year after our first successful hunt: a basic egg batter.
Some of these are too large to fry. Medium-sized mushrooms are the best for this.
As I've mentioned, every mushroom, especially every wild mushroom, is different in how you approach it from a technique standpoint. chanterelles require longer cooking/sauteing than most wild mushrooms, since they're so firm.
Others like puffballs need to be caramelized and sauteed in a pan to taste like anything. Morels though, are delicate, and breading and frying them like this is a time-honored way of preparing these mushrooms across the United States.
Set out the cleaned morels on towels for a bit while you prepare the flour and eggs.
Steamed in their natural juices
The reason breaded and fried morels taste so good isn't just because they're covered in a golden-brown, crispy coating, although it doesn't hurt.
The thin outer layer of breading has a dual purpose: not only is the texture of the cap preserved from getting crunchy or overcooked when it exposed to high heat, the coating allows the mushrooms to steam-cook in their own juices, which seep out into the breading.
Mushrooms, are mostly water, coating them in a batter or dredge keeps their natural water in and cooks them in their own juice.
That's why everyone raves about battered morels, and so and so's grandma's recipe, even though they might not be able to really say why, except that "they are so good"
Cleaning. Small mushrooms can be left whole if they're clean inside.
Morels must be thoroughly cooked
A note of caution here. I've never had a problem cooking and eating morels like this, but I usually make large pans of them, and they take a while to cook, at least 10 minutes or so.
Remember that morels are toxic raw, and if they're undercooked, they could make you and your loved ones sick, so if you want to cook a small batch, remember to cook them thoroughly (5-10 minutes) to avoid any issues.
Like I said, I've never had any problems, and this is a classic way to have morels, but you do need to take that into account.
These mushrooms aren't too big, they'll work well for frying.
How to make it
First, the best mushrooms for this are young, medium-sized ones. I find large mushrooms too big and heavy to enjoy like this. Secondly, the mushrooms need to be inspected and cleaned. Morels are wild creatures, so it's important to clean them thoroughly to avoid eating sand and grit.
My process for cleaning is simple: cut the mushrooms in half, swish them in cool water, then drain on paper towels. I demonstrate this in the video at the end of this post.
Dredging technique
Pictured here is the egg-flour method that Grandma used. Some of my friends prefer an extra crispy crust, as pictured in the video.
To make the extra crispy version, toss the morels in flour, dust off the excess, put them in the egg, and then the flour again, tapping each one to remove excess flour before putting in the pan.
Older, large morels aren't the ones you want to bread and fry, if your mushrooms look like this, dry them or use for another recipe.
While some people claim that you should soak morels in water, or, even worse-salt water to remove bugs, this isn't true. Soaking morels basically ruins them, especially the salt water. If your morels are very large or buggy, dehydrate them, use them in a different recipe.
Once the morels are cleaned, all you need to do is dip them in seasoned flour, tap off the excess, dip in beaten egg, then the flour again, and put them into the pan, cooking them on medium-high heat until both sides are golden brown. Afterwards, sprinkle with salt and enjoy, preferably with a cold beer.
Classic Fried Or Breaded Morels
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons onion powder (optional) I make mine with dried ground ramp leaves instead
- 2 teaspoons fine salt or grind kosher salt in a spice grinder
- 4 large Eggs
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream, or half and half milk is ok in a pinch
- 4 oz Fresh Morel Mushrooms small to medium sized. Large morels should be dehydrated or cooked as-is
- ¼ cup cooking oil I use a 50/50 blend of oil like grapeseed or canola and salted butter since using only butter can burn.
Instructions
Clean the morels
- Wash the morels quickly or swish them in cold water to clean, then allow to drain on towels until needed. Very clean morels may not need to be washed.
- Beat the eggs and cream in a bowl big enough to accommodate the morels. Add the morels to the egg mixture and toss to coat. Allow them to sit in the egg mixture while you prepare the flour and get ready to cook.
- Mix the flour, onion powder, pepper, and salt in a large bowl big enough that you can toss the morels around.
Cooking
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan
- Put the morels in the flour and toss them around really well until coated. Remove them one by one, tapping gently to remove excess flour, then put them into the frying pan.
- Cook on medium high-heat until the morels are golden brown and crisp on both sides. If the coating soaks up to much oil and the pan gets dry, put some more oil in.
Cook thoroughly
- Make sure to thoroughly cook your morels. They should take a good 8-10 minutes for a batch this size. Take your time and don't burn them.
- When the morels are golden brown, remove them from the pan and drain off the fat on paper towels, seasoning with the nicest, flaked salt/kosher salt you can find.
- Cool for a moment, then eat. Some people like lemon wedges with them. Keep the cold beer handy.
Video
Notes
More
Forager's Guide to Morel Mushrooms
Isabelle
My fifth year as a morel forager and I finally tried this classic recipe. Wow! Crunchy on the outside, moist and delicious on the inside. The horseradish dipping sauce was perfect.
Alan Bergo
Glad it worked for you!
Kay
My grocery store was out of saltines, so I googled and found this recipe. Appreciate the detailed instructions. Turned out absolutely delicious — I won’t be buying saltines again! I used butter and avocado oil for frying, and popcorn salt in the batter. Thank you!
Alan Bergo
Hey Thanks Kay. I like to think my Grandma watches over everyone that makes this 🙂 Glad it worked for you.