If you’re any kind of an outdoorsman, you better get up in the mountains and get hunting.

    Bear and turkey hunting is in full swing, but that’s not what I’m talking about. We’re talking about morel mushrooms. They’re the best outdoor delicacy available. In fact, they are one of the best fungi in the world, second only to the truffle in England.

    If you’ve never eaten one you may wonder why I am so excited. Try one and you’ll be sold. To begin, get an old timer to go with you. You don’t want to make a mistake. If you pick the angel of death, well, let’s just say that you and God had better be on good terms because you’re going to be seeing Him pretty fast.

    I took a mushroom class last year — excuse me, a Mycological class is the correct term — in hopes that I could identify more species. There are 10 species that are said to be easily identified in Idaho, but after class I didn’t feel properly prepared. So I still just pick the few that I normally do.

    Morels are my go-to mushrooms, but I also pick cauliflower and used to pick snow morels or false morels, but a lot of people are allergic to them so I no longer do that. A lot of buddies pick puffballs and many others, but I just stick with morels.

    Again, if you don’t know what you’re doing, go with an old-timer the first season. So, where do you find them? Ha, that’s the million dollar question. You hear all kinds of rumors. By logs. In the shade. By the river. By fir trees. I find them wherever. I can give you some generic rules, but then all of a sudden I’ll find them in a new and unique setting.

    But everyone will pretty much agree that after a spring shower and a few warm days, they will start popping out. As you find them at one elevation, move up a few days later to follow them as they ripen (I don’t guess it’s really called ripening).

    I have spots where, for whatever reason, they grow every year. So if you find a good spot, hit it again next year. Recently we found all of ours within a 200-yard area. Why were they only in that spot? Who knows.

    But, the world’s absolute best places to pick are old forest fires. If you know of a fire was last summer/winter, hit it. They will be almost magical. I’ve had some old burns where I’ve taken another couple and all four of us pick two five-gallon buckets in a short amount of time and walk off leaving loads of them.

    If the fire is from two years ago, it’s not the same. Only last year’s burn. You can call the forest service and ask them where they burned last year or where there were fires. In burns, look along fallen logs, in root holes and even on open hillsides. I remember once I found 162 in an area that you could of covered with an 8x10 tarp. That was a crazy year.

    If you find too many to eat all at once, you can dry them by stringing them with a needle and hang them, lay on grates in the sun or use a fruit dryer. I split, rinse and freeze them in baggies.

    To prepare them for eating I split them lengthwise and rinse them off. Most hardcore pickers will tell you to carry a knife and cut them off at ground level so the spores are left. I just pinch mine off above the ground. They also use a mesh bag to carry them in so the spores fall out.

    Then gently rinse them off. Be super careful or you can damage them. Put them in a bowl and fill it with water, then dump a few times. Mushrooms out of a burn will have a lot of ash on them and require more rinsing.

    Then fill a bowl with water and sprinkle with salt to kill the bugs. I let mine set overnight in the fridge, but many times I will fry up a batch that night. To cook, drain and then mix an egg in a bowl with a little milk.

    Dip in the egg batter and coat with flower. Throw in a black skillet with semi hot grease and sprinkle on your favorite seasoning salt (Tony Cachere’s). Fry to a golden brown and get ready to partake the best treat that you’ve ever had.

    Happy eating.