Our morel mushroom hunting tips can turn a quiet spring walk into one of the best meals you’ll eat all year, especially when you finally spot that first honeycombed cap hiding in plain sight.
“There’s one,” my wife, Becca, said. “There’s another one. There are more over there. Wow! Look at all of them!” If you’ve ever tasted morel mushrooms pan-fried in salted butter, you can imagine the music my wife’s words were to my ears that day in the timber.
Nothing gives foragers a dopamine hit like stumbling upon a flush of fresh morel mushrooms. But they aren’t exactly easy to find. They’re naturally camouflaged, plus not every property grows them.
If you’re interested in trying your hand at morel hunting and want to up your odds of finding some, we’ll get to some tips in a moment.
Important safety note: Never eat any wild mushroom unless you’re 100% certain of its identification. True morels have pitted, honeycomb-like caps and are hollow inside, but no single feature should be used by itself to confirm a mushroom is safe.
False morels can grow in the same season and habitat as true morels, and some can cause serious illness or worse. When in doubt, leave it in the woods and confirm your find with a trusted field guide, local mushroom club or qualified expert.
Important safety note: Never eat any wild mushroom unless you’re 100% certain of its identification. True morels have pitted, honeycomb-like caps and are hollow inside, but no single feature should be used by itself to confirm a mushroom is safe.
Morel Mushroom Hunting Tips Start with Safe Identification
There are different types of morels, varying in color and size. But all have fairly smooth, white or yellowish stems with yellow, gray, or nearly black caps featuring a spongelike or honeycomb-like appearance (see pictures).
That pattern or texture can vary to some extent across the different types, but morels almost always blend in with their surroundings because of their texture and natural coloration.
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Unlike most mushrooms, the morel’s interior is hollow, and the cap is normally longer than the stem. Interestingly, there are lookalikes — often called false morels — that resemble the real thing.
A closer look unveils wavy ridges rather than a pitted texture, and if you hold one next to a real morel, the difference is fairly easy to recognize.
When to Look for Morel Mushrooms
Morels begin popping up annually in the springtime. Air and soil temperatures determine the fruiting process.
Most sources suggest that a consistent air temperature of at least 60°F and 45-53°F soil temperatures create ideal conditions for morels to grow.
In the Deep South, this might happen in mid-February. In central Wisconsin, mid-May is typically when we begin finding them.
Where Morel Mushroom Hunting Tips Pay Off
I’ve strictly hunted morels in Wisconsin, but online sources say that they can be found all over North America. Most states and many Canadian provinces have them. Even the more arid western states like Wyoming and Montana have morels. Yep, even Alaska and Hawaii have them.
Given my regional experience, I’ll focus on some where-to-look tips that have served my wife and me well here in the Midwest.
First, study south-facing slopes; this is where the soil reaches the aforementioned temperature range first. Disrupted habitats—think excavating, logging activity, and recently burned areas—can be solid bets.
We focus our searches near dead or dying ash, elm and apple trees. Some folks are very successful amidst pine and poplar trees, while we haven’t been.
READ MORE: The Story of the Hunter Chef (with a great wild turkey and morel mushroom recipe)
How to Spot Morel Mushrooms in Plain Sight
A morel’s coloration and design naturally hide it in plain sight, and sometimes morels aren’t visible at all. Near likely dead or dying trees, I gently part the green vegetation and even the leaves on the ground. I’ve found a bunch of them this way.
Other hiding places are up against logs, under brush piles, or amidst tall grasses. If you think you can see all of them while standing up, think again.
Determining the scale of what you’re looking for is helpful. In other words, it usually gets easier once you spot the first one. For that reason, a guy I know carries an artificial morel mushroom in his pocket, referencing it periodically to train his eyes on what he’s looking for.
The gray and black types really blend in, but the more yellow ones sometimes stand out. I’ve spotted them from as far as 20 yards away, but that is the exception, not the norm. Often, you have to get down on their level, parting the vegetation to find them.
How to Harvest Morel Mushrooms
Carry a pocket knife to harvest your finds. We cut the stems at ground level rather than picking the mushrooms by hand. Seasoned morel hunters carry their bounty in mesh bags, which apparently spreads the spores while hiking and is supposed to be good for the future of mushroom hunting.
When you find young morels, consider leaving them to grow. Of course, check back on them in one to three days. They’ll usually grow larger, and you might find an entire host of them when you return. Leave deteriorating or buggy morels, as they’re usually spoiled.
READ MORE: Wild Turkey Soup with Morel Mushrooms & Chive Dumplings
How to Clean and Cook Morel Mushrooms Safely
Harvested morels usually last refrigerated for at least a couple of days, but if you find enough for a meal, don’t delay. Still, keep in mind that a lot looks like a little once they’re cooked, so if you believe you’ll find more and your initial finds are in good shape, you might want to add to your cache before frying them.
Cleaning morels before cooking can be difficult, given all of the little pockets. We fill a large, gallon-sized bowl with room-temperature water and dissolve some salt (maybe 1/4 cup).
Next, we slice the mushrooms in half lengthwise and add them to the saltwater. This evicts most bugs and slugs, if present.
After soaking for 20-25 minutes, we drain off the water and rinse each mushroom with a kitchen faucet sprayer.
Next, they must dry. We either lay them out and pat with a paper towel or place them into a colander to dry. We study them one last time for beetles and slugs. If all is clear, it’s frying time.
My favorite way to eat morels is pan-fried in a generous amount of salted butter. I fry until caramelized.
Never eat morels raw or undercooked. Even true morels can cause illness if they aren’t cooked thoroughly, and first-timers should start with a small serving to make sure they tolerate them.
Caramelized morels taste like a cross between cheese and steak. They’re excellent as a side to chicken, steaks or burgers, or for a quick afternoon snack. Hopefully, you’ll find a mess of them this spring using the tips outlined here and get your own taste of this forest gem.