SHROOM SEASON IS A COMING

[TNT]

It is that time of year. How many gatherers are out there?
Here is a shot from last year to get you pumped.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h135/tntsorenson/PhotoAlbum071.jpg

[Mayfly]

Wow..Impressive pic. I think it would be fun to do this but where do I find the time.

What do you do with the mushrooms...eat them obviously but what is your favorite way to do it? 

[TNT]

8)
yo mayfly,
my favorite way to fix them is to first start off with frying some home made smoked bacon, them drop the shrooms in the bacon grease and saute them, them? drop in a nice cut of steak and enjoy,
 
second would be cream of shroom soup, the wife cooks up an awesome cream of shroom soup,? and also in spaghetti sauce or with any dish that you like reg mushrooms in, but the fresh are always better.

[Dr.Bob]

Where and when do you look for these things?  I would love to try them sometime.  I love shrooms!

[cookie]

I have not had much luck finding them up here but I know there up here. I have heard 4 days of 70 degree days and 40s at night is the best time to search? Or after a good long rain?

[Mayfly]

TNT you are making me hungry.

[Woody]

The way we've always cooked the shrooms is first of all when you get them washed-dry them.? There are 2 ways we'd do this: 1) cut them in half, and using a needle and thread run it through a bunch of them so they can hang somewhere dry and hot (like an attic).? 2) We'd cut them (larger ones) in 1/2, then lay them out on an old window screen(s) in the attic to dry.? Once they are dried, you can store them in an old pickle jar-even the 1 gallon jars.?

Ok now that they are dried completely (like a potato chip) whenever we'd make a beef roast, we'd add a handful of shrooms to the roast as well as onions & carrots.? When the roast is done-make the gravy from the juices....and dayyummm.....the gravy alone on top of the mushrooms is almost enough for me!?

We've also experimented with added them to home made spaghetti sauce as well as lasagna.?

As far as finding them, I've found them in numerous places in the state; from Rochester area to the Deer River area.? Something that I've noticed is somewhere damp (but not spongy/marshy), shaded, with old trees/moss has been a good place to start looking.?

*Just a sidenote-if searching south of Rochester in the limestone areas-watch out for Rattlers!? Some still don't believe we have them, but I can tell you we DO!? ?:o?

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[GRIZ]

I don't really know much about it my self but my brother does a little bit. He's had his best luck around dead standing elms but has found them in all kinds of places. Including his nieghbors lawn down in the cities.

[HUNTER2]

I would like to try some, but I wouldn't know a eatable one from a poisonus one.

[Mayfly]

What is the range on these shrooms....? Statewide?

And how about some hunting tips? Time of year?

[TNT]

8)
the range on mushrooms is all over the state, i think they can be found almost anywhere. being fairly new to this (about 8 years)most of what i know was learned by reading on the net and other book sources,
and the first unbreakable rule is
"IF YOU CAN'T IDENTIFY IT, DON'T EAT IT"
a good guide for newer shroomers is,
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN MUSHROOMS, by Lincoff, Knopf
this guide has actual photo's in it and field notes for all shrooms in the guide.
the best time to look is right now, spring time, with the warmer weather coming in, the shrooms start a poppin,and different varieties come through at different times, and once you catch on to this it is easier to check for your favorites. one point that i have seen in most guides is look early and look often, and looking after a light rain is a good idea, as the rain softens up the layer on the forest floor that the shrooms are trying to pop through, if nothing else do a net search on mushrooms, there are a lot of sites out there on picking.
bon apetite,
tnt

here is a mushroom site that has a lot of info,
www.morelheaven.com