cut them in half, then place them on a cookie sheet in the freezer just long to make them solid. Then vacuum pack them. They will not freezer burn or dry out. When you are ready, thaw and cook them how ever you want
After soaking, washing and pat drying the morels, get out the needle and thread. Remove one or both racks from your oven, depending on how many shrooms you plan to dry. Tie the end of the thread onto one of the racks. Thread a few of the shrooms through the stem, then loop the thread around one of the wires on the rack. Thread a few more shrooms. loop the thread around the wire. Continue from one side of the oven rack to the next, and back and forth until you run out of shrooms or you decide that the rack is full. Then tie the end of the thread to the rack. If you run out of thread, start over with a new piece.
Carefully place the rack back into the oven on the highest level so that the shrooms are suspended below the rack. You should be able to do the other rack at the same time. Set the oven to warm - approximately 160 degrees. Check after about 8 hours. You want them to be completely dry. They will be hard and very light.
Carefully place the rack back into the oven on the highest level so that the shrooms are suspended below the rack. You should be able to do the other rack at the same time. Set the oven to warm - approximately 160 degrees. Check after about 8 hours. You want them to be completely dry. They will be hard and very light.
Mushroom powder is a high-priced snob-store delicacy that you can make at home for absolutely nothing. It is a fantastic addition to your spice cabinet, and can be used as: a soup stock, to flavor grains & stuffings (add to water before cooking), as a dredge (add to the flour or coating mix of fried food like chicken, fish or veggies), or a flavor enhancer (what the Japanese call "umami") for gravies & pan sauces. Use it almost as you would dried mushrooms, but in applications where you want the flavor without the substance. It lends a rich mushroom "essence" to any recipe it is applied. (Use this method to make powder out of any mushroom).
- Clean the mushrooms as to your standard procedure (w/ or w/o water or salt or pre-cooking or not - it doesn't matter)
- Slice morels in half or quarters, and thoroughly dehydrate (any drying method will work, but must be completely dry before proceeding)-Toast the dried morels in a 200° oven for 10-15 minutes, or until they start to smell aromatic (they scent of toasted earthiness should hit you as soon as you open the oven door)
- Spread out in thin layers to cool - don't pile them up in a bowl to cool, because they can produce condensation inside the bowl, and will need to be re-dehydrated. Baking sheets, serving platters and window screens would all work well.-Working in small batches (about 1 cup at a time) grind the morels to powder in the blender. Start by pulsing a few times to break them up, and then 10-15 seconds on high. Sift this, or knock it through a wire strainer, to separate any bigger pieces that need to go back in the blender.
- Once everything is ground & sifted, add 1/4 teaspoon each of salt & pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch for each 1 cup of morel powder. (The cornstarch prevents caking, and is completely optional. The small amount of salt & pepper round-out the earthiness of the morels - I use powdered salt & powdered white pepper so it assimilates nicely into the mushroom powder for a consistent texture. For powdered salt, just zap some sea salt in the blender until it's a fine texture.)
- Mix thoroughly & store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. This is better than any commercial soup stock, with much less salt, and no preservatives. About 4 pounds of morels will yield about 1 pint of powder.
- Clean the mushrooms as to your standard procedure (w/ or w/o water or salt or pre-cooking or not - it doesn't matter)
- Slice morels in half or quarters, and thoroughly dehydrate (any drying method will work, but must be completely dry before proceeding)-Toast the dried morels in a 200° oven for 10-15 minutes, or until they start to smell aromatic (they scent of toasted earthiness should hit you as soon as you open the oven door)
- Spread out in thin layers to cool - don't pile them up in a bowl to cool, because they can produce condensation inside the bowl, and will need to be re-dehydrated. Baking sheets, serving platters and window screens would all work well.-Working in small batches (about 1 cup at a time) grind the morels to powder in the blender. Start by pulsing a few times to break them up, and then 10-15 seconds on high. Sift this, or knock it through a wire strainer, to separate any bigger pieces that need to go back in the blender.
- Once everything is ground & sifted, add 1/4 teaspoon each of salt & pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch for each 1 cup of morel powder. (The cornstarch prevents caking, and is completely optional. The small amount of salt & pepper round-out the earthiness of the morels - I use powdered salt & powdered white pepper so it assimilates nicely into the mushroom powder for a consistent texture. For powdered salt, just zap some sea salt in the blender until it's a fine texture.)
- Mix thoroughly & store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. This is better than any commercial soup stock, with much less salt, and no preservatives. About 4 pounds of morels will yield about 1 pint of powder.
Morel Mushroom Tart
1 short crust recipe
4 oz. sliced bacon
1 oz. dried morels (10 oz. fresh)
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp lemon juice
6 oz. diced Swiss cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 cups heavy cream
3 whole eggs and 2 yolks
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 Tbsp dry bread crumbs
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
If using dried morels, rehydrate in warm water for half an hour or so until plump. Drain and set aside on paper towel. Roll pastry to a 1/8 inch thickness and line a 10 -11 inch tart pan. Prick the bottom with a fork. Line pastry with parchment paper, fill with pie weights. Bake in preheated 425 oven for about 15 minutes. Remove weights and paper and bake an additional 4 minutes. Take out of oven and reduce temperature to 300. Cut bacon into ¼-inch slices and saute until crisp. Drain and set aside. Slice morels and saute in butter. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add bacon and Swiss cheese. Scald cream and cool. Mix the eggs and yolks together and add the cream. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on the baked tart shell. Spread the mushroom mixture on top of them. Spoon in the egg and cream mixture. Bake until tart is barely firm to the touch. Turn off oven and leave until the tart is quite well set. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve hot.
1 short crust recipe
4 oz. sliced bacon
1 oz. dried morels (10 oz. fresh)
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp lemon juice
6 oz. diced Swiss cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 cups heavy cream
3 whole eggs and 2 yolks
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 Tbsp dry bread crumbs
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
If using dried morels, rehydrate in warm water for half an hour or so until plump. Drain and set aside on paper towel. Roll pastry to a 1/8 inch thickness and line a 10 -11 inch tart pan. Prick the bottom with a fork. Line pastry with parchment paper, fill with pie weights. Bake in preheated 425 oven for about 15 minutes. Remove weights and paper and bake an additional 4 minutes. Take out of oven and reduce temperature to 300. Cut bacon into ¼-inch slices and saute until crisp. Drain and set aside. Slice morels and saute in butter. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add bacon and Swiss cheese. Scald cream and cool. Mix the eggs and yolks together and add the cream. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on the baked tart shell. Spread the mushroom mixture on top of them. Spoon in the egg and cream mixture. Bake until tart is barely firm to the touch. Turn off oven and leave until the tart is quite well set. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve hot.