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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Classic Fried or Breaded Morels

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Fried or breaded morel mushrooms recipe 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.

Morel Mushrooms from Minnesota on a sheet tray

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. 

Fried or breaded morel mushrooms recipe

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”

harvesting and trimming morels

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.

blonde morel mushrooms or morchella americana

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. 

Mature morel mushrooms or morchella americana

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. 

Fried or breaded morels recipe

Fried or breaded morels recipe
Print Recipe
4 from 9 votes

Classic Fried Or Breaded Morels

Simple fried morels dipped in egg batter the way my grandmother used to make them.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Fried Morels, morel mushrooms
Servings: 4

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
  • 1/4 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

Dredging technique
If you prefer a lighter coating, soak the morels in the beaten egg for 10 minutes before frying, then toss them in the flour well to coat, and put them straight into the pan. The flour-egg-flour makes the crispest crust, but if you prefer a lighter version you can just do egg-flour as some people prefer. 
 

More 

Forager’s Guide to Morel Mushrooms

fried morels, breaded morels,

Related

Previous Post: « Crown-Tipped Coral Mushrooms
Next Post: Pickled Ramp Sour Cream »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Isabelle

    April 6, 2022 at 10:26 am

    5 stars
    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.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      April 8, 2022 at 9:06 am

      Glad it worked for you!

      Reply
  2. Kay

    May 11, 2022 at 9:32 pm

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      May 12, 2022 at 7:58 am

      Hey Thanks Kay. I like to think my Grandma watches over everyone that makes this 🙂 Glad it worked for you.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Black Morel Hootenanny: 2014 says:
    May 19, 2014 at 11:48 pm

    […] a darn thing, people could still get their morel fix. We found enough fresh morels to fry them up classic style, but planning to serve a morel based dinner for 30 people means you need a whole lot of morels. […]

    Reply
  2. 58 | zqcm says:
    May 23, 2014 at 4:30 pm

    […] coating, on top. The flour mixture is just all-purpose flour, salt, and pepper. The idea is from here, which I’ve found very useful for learning about foraged mushrooms. I fried in a blend of […]

    Reply
  3.  Happy BidDay says:
    September 7, 2014 at 11:25 pm

     Happy BidDay

    Simple Fried Morels or Breaded Morels

    Reply
  4. Recette simple pour morilles frites ou morilles panées – Cuisine-nature says:
    May 11, 2020 at 11:43 am

    […] <! – -> Source link […]

    Reply

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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Alan Bergo
HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mul HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mulberry trees and both got a bunch of fruit knocked down by the storms and wind. 

If anyone in West WI or around the Twin Cities knows of some trees, (ideally on private property but beggars can’t be choosers) that I could climb and shake with a tarp underneath, shoot me a DM and let’s pick some! 🤙😄

TIA

#throwadogabone #mansquirrel #beattlefruit #mulberries #shakintrees
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with @jesseroes TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with 
@jesseroesler and crew @campwandawega
📸 @misterberndt 

#staffmeal #brisket #meatsweats #naptime
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