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Home » Foraging » Mushrooms » Fried Morel Mushrooms

Fried Morel Mushrooms

By Hank Shaw on May 25, 2015, Updated April 2, 2021 - 70 Comments

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4.49 from 37 votes
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Fried morels, where have you been all my life? Seriously. I have eaten morels for decades, but only recently have I experienced the glory of the fried morel. I am not looking back.

Frying morels in flour, breading or batter is the go-to method of eating these most coveted of springtime mushrooms for most of North America. But not where I live, in the Pacific West.

A platter of fried morels
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Here we tend to sauté them with other spring vegetables and toss them into pasta, make risotto or somesuch. I looked down on fried morels for a long time… until I finally had some. I was wrong. Simple? You bet. But so, so good.

The secret is the coating on the mushroom. A good breading or batter will not only give you a nice crunch, but it will protect the morel inside, which will cook not by contact with the hot oil, but by steaming from within. Few other methods really highlight the actual flavor and texture of morel mushrooms.

But know that there’s a trick to this: You need a substantial breading or batter. Just a quick dip in flour isn’t good enough to get this effect. The reason is because you need to fry your morels for longer than you’d think because morels must be fully cooked to be safe to eat. Raw morels will send most people to the hospital.

Undercooked morels will send many of you to the porcelain bowl. How long? Hard to say, but 6 minutes per morel seems to work fine. To get there, you actually don’t want to fry your morels at ragingly hot temperatures; 325°F to 350°F is the sweet spot.

My breading of choice is flour, then egg wash, then flour one more time. I like this because it’s thick enough to get you that awesome steaming effect, but it’s not so thick that it’s all batter, like a beer batter would be. Tempura is another good choice. You could also use finely milled cornmeal, normally sold as “fish fry.” After all, some people call morels “dry land fish.”

Serve your fried morels very simply. After all, this is the culmination of long hours hunting for your quarry and you want to let them shine. You want something for tartness, though. I like lemon wedges, but malt vinegar is another good choice. Oh, and beer. Lots of beer.

Closeup of fried morels
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4.49 from 37 votes

Fried Morel Mushrooms

Fried morels can be done in several ways, but I prefer this method. Be sure to cook them for at least 6 to 8 minutes, however, because undercooked morel mushrooms can give some people an upset stomach. You can also do this recipe with regular button mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, or "pinks," which are wild meadow mushrooms.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 311kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces to 1 pound fresh morels
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • Lard, butter or vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • Slice large morels in half lengthwise and keep small ones whole. Drop the mushrooms into a bowl of cool water and shake them around a bit to let any debris fall out of the little nooks and crannies in them. Remove from the water and pat dry with paper towels.
  • Put the flour and all the seasonings in a bowl. Whisk together the milk and eggs in another bowl.
  • Pour enough oil, or lard or butter, into a large sauté pan to come up about 1/2 inch. You are shallow-frying your morels, like when you fry chicken. Heat this to at least 325°F and I prefer 350°F.
  • As the oil is heating, dust the morels in the seasoned flour. When the oil is hot, dip enough morels to fit into your sauté pan -- in one layer without touching each other -- into the egg wash, then into the flour once more. Shake off the excess flour and fry. You want the morels to be fully cooked so fry them for at least 3 to 4 minutes per side, adjusting the heat so they don't burn. If your heat's at the right spot, it all should sound like frying bacon.
  • When they're done, move the morels to a paper towel to drain. If you have a lot of morels to fry, put the paper towel in a baking sheet and set that in the oven set to "warm." Serve your morels with lemon wedges and lots of beer.

Nutrition

Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 1809mg | Potassium: 509mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 168IU | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 14mg
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Filed Under: American Recipes, Appetizers and Snacks, Featured, Foraging, Mushrooms, Recipe

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for Bev LaneBev Lane says

    June 26, 2022 at 4:09 am

    Here in South Australia there used to be lots of morels in the Mount Crawford Forest thirty-odd years ago. We used to get them then in May or June (late Autumn/early Winter here), now it is usually a bit later, up to the middle of Spring (there were a couple of lengthy droughts in that time, don’t know if that affected the morels). We used to get the Australian varieties M. rufobrunnea, which is more commonly found in Western Australia as well as M. australis and the European M. elata among the imported pine plantations. I had thought morels around here had been killed out by the drought years, but a couple of years ago one of the locals turned up to ask me about this weird thing he had found after a rainstorm, growing on a patch of bark mulch in his garden which had been burned in the 2017 bushfires. He thought they might be a fungus of some kind…… and yes, they were morels! And they were delicious!
    Your fried morel recipe is yummy, and very like one my aunt used to make. She also would put both morels and saffron milk caps into a duck liver pâté recipe, with tarragon and nutmeg….superb.

    Reply
  2. Avatar for Elise FlynnElise Flynn says

    June 14, 2022 at 1:06 am

    We left Orangevale, CA a few years ago to retire to France. I was fascinated by the idea of fried morels (very easy to get here in the Vercors, although almost as expensive as in California) and was surprised to read that eating morels that are not properly cooked can make one ill. Thank you for posting that information – very helpful.
    Tried repeatedly to grow morels in Orangevale, but had no luck (too hot, too dry). People here know where the morel patches are in the mountains and do not reveal their secrets! But morels are absolutely delicious and this recipe is a perfect appetizer/munchie wherever you are.

    Reply
  3. Avatar for Steven KetolaSteven Ketola says

    June 10, 2022 at 3:49 am

    I will definitely try this if I see any in the farmers’ markets. Bowl of morels, a beer, and a hockey game. Heaven.

    Hank, you might want to consider an edit.
    “Undercooked morels will send many of you to the porcelain bowl. How long? Hard to say, but 6 minutes per morel seems to work fine” reads not as cooking time, but how long one is at the porcelain bowl. As well, this is a little out of joint with the recipe itself, which says “at least 6 to 8 minutes”.

    Reply
  4. Avatar for Jack messickJack messick says

    May 31, 2022 at 9:32 pm

    I am 72 and learned to pick Morels with my mom as a child. She always flowered and fried, I prefer the egg dip. Our favorite way is just to sauté in olive oil and butter . I always cut in half, toss in salt water ( when you see what is left behind you understand why) than clean cold water. I use a salad spinner or lay out on a towel with a fan blowing over for 30 minutes. When I have a good pick , we always make a soup( possibly the best soup ever) .

    Reply
    • Avatar for Suzanne BredySuzanne Bredy says

      June 18, 2022 at 11:43 pm

      I would love your Morel soup recipe! I bought a fair amount now, not sure I want to try to fry them! Not healthy for sure, but you have me worried about the porcelain bow….

      Reply
  5. Avatar for Keith KingKeith King says

    May 29, 2022 at 7:19 am

    This was a tasty recipe. I’ve never fried morels either and wow very delicious I had four of my family members try them which they have never eaten mushrooms or did not like mushrooms and they love these, great recipe. I had to cut it in half because I didn’t have enough morels for the full recipe and it’s still worth perfect.

    Reply
  6. Avatar for Jody IrwinJody Irwin says

    May 27, 2022 at 6:12 am

    Found Morels at Farmer’s Mkt this past weekend. Should be available here in Eugene for a bit. First time w/them; combined w/pasta & lemon – quite good even cold!

    Question: Could I use your breading recipe and air fry? If you’ve not done, what do you think? Thanks for feedback, Jody

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      May 27, 2022 at 8:02 am

      Jody: I think it would work. How long would you normally air fry something for? You do need to fully cook morels for them to be safe.

      Reply
    • Avatar for RoseRose says

      May 29, 2022 at 3:46 pm

      Live up in British Columbia where we had so many fires last year and went out yesterday for a few hours and picked to our hearts content for these beauties?? Deep fried some today in lard and wow were those every tasty. The fresh lemon drizzled on top was perfect!

      Reply
  7. Avatar for Robert SkinnerRobert Skinner says

    May 7, 2021 at 4:35 pm

    Crispy, tasty

    Reply
    • Avatar for TeresaTeresa says

      May 23, 2022 at 3:46 pm

      Hank I harvested a lot of morels in NE WA state this year. I had to dehydrate them to keep them. Can you reconstitute morels and then fry? BTW my grandmother taught me how to gather morels under cottonwoods in western WA some fifty five years ago. She breaded them and fried them just like your recipe. Wild shrooms made my grandpa sick so we didn’t have to share them.

      Reply
      • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

        May 23, 2022 at 4:26 pm

        Teresa: I think you can, but I have not tried it.

  8. Avatar for Stan WatsonStan Watson says

    May 3, 2021 at 1:58 pm

    First time with morels (gift) need simple frying recipe.. no flour just butter and fresh morels
    Thanks

    Reply
  9. Avatar for MichaelMichael says

    June 2, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    What is your ideal beer pairing this recipe?

    Reply
  10. Avatar for StevenSteven says

    May 20, 2020 at 8:49 am

    Love fried morels. All my big ones get set aside for this dish! This year has been a late season, I went out and only found a handful of true morels but picked a couple pails of Verpa Bohemica. They are in a paper bag in my fridge as I figure out what to do with them. Mixed information on these early false morels…I did find some information that they have market value in Italy and are loved but here in North America it seems we leave them alone? What is your experience with Verpa Bohemica?

    Reply
  11. Avatar for Steve HaslerSteve Hasler says

    April 29, 2020 at 1:59 pm

    Nice. Before I batter and bread them, I fill them with a simple salmon mousse before frying.

    Reply
  12. Avatar for Valerie YoungenValerie Youngen says

    April 25, 2020 at 10:06 am

    My mom would soak them in salt water to get out the bugs. I haven’t seen anyone doing this. Is this necessary?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      April 25, 2020 at 12:36 pm

      Valerie: No need to soak, but yes, floating them in salty water, or any water, will help float out any bugs. This is mostly an Eastern thing. I find that most morels in the West are bug free.

      Reply
  13. Avatar for Paul HicksPaul Hicks says

    April 17, 2020 at 2:17 pm

    I will be attempting this tonight. Been in the woods every day for the last 4 next to the house and been lucky – quarantine and all – *sheesh. Anyways, I have always drenched once in flour with S&P in a pan with butter. But tonight I have two dry-aged NY strip steaks with mine and my wife’s names on them. She works in an Emergency Room and needless to say, she deserves this.

    Great recipe, I even have some fish fry flour. Perfect.

    Reply
    • Avatar for DorothyDorothy says

      April 24, 2020 at 5:35 pm

      I cooked mine tonight 2 different ways and my favorite is with flour! Yummy!!!! I wanted to add my photo but didn’t see where to do it. I did egg wash on both fries, one I battered in a flour, Salt/pepper mix and the other in a saltine crushed/pepper mix.

      Reply
  14. Avatar for JarrodJarrod says

    April 15, 2020 at 10:51 am

    I’ve always fried them in a skillet but I’ve been wondering about deep frying them. Have you ever tried that before? I didn’t want to go and try it and ruin the taste of the only few I found this year

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      April 15, 2020 at 10:53 am

      Jarrod: I have not deep fried them, but it should work. Make sure your fat or oil is about 325F to 350F.

      Reply
      • Avatar for JamesJames says

        April 15, 2022 at 4:52 pm

        They do very well in a deep fryer. I use Duck Fat to fry them in. Its expensive but well worth it for such a rare mushroom. heat your fryer to 350. They are done when they float but I like to cook them to more of a golden color. They are hard to overcook. Be sure you stand them on their end like a little Christmas tree in the fryer basket and let them drain the duck fat out of the center.

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Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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