On the mushroom trail in Boyne City

May 10, 2009

On the Mushroom Trail
in Boyne City

By Kristi Kates 5/11/09

It’s morel time in Boyne City once again. The humble little mushroom that has captured the attention of chefs, gourmet diners and home cooks alike is in its seasonal prime, and will be honored with its yearly official national festival May 14-17 in Boyne City. It’s the 49th year for the National Morel Mushroom Festival.
“We have people from all over the Midwest and from across the U.S. participating in the festival,” says Festival Vice President Robert Stewart, “there’s actually a ‘mushroom trail’ that starts on the West Coast - people follow it, with the change of seasons, from there to the Midwest, to us, up to the U.P., and then over to the East coast, foraging for mushrooms the whole way.”

MUSHROOM FUN
Mushrooms may anchor the festival, but there are a lot of other happenings, too. The Schmidt Amusements carnival is back, opening on Thursday, May 14 with festival games, rides, and other fun for all ages. Since the 14th is the fest’s kickoff day, there will also be free admission, and the Morel Challenge Car Race at 6 p.m. The carnival and a Craft Show in Veterans Park will run all four days of the festival - but that’s not where the merriment ends.
On Friday, the fest will host a Wild Edibles Foraging and Cooking event, followed by a Morel Seminar with a special appearance from local morel expert Anthony Williams. The festival’s Guided morel Hunt leaves at 4:30 p.m., during which participants will visit a nearby forest in order to seek out the elusive morel itself; registration in advance online is required for this event, as space is limited - but it’s perhaps one of the best ways to get a great introduction to the morel mushroom.
Later on Friday, the Morelfest Wine and Dine event will be held in the evening at the Beach House Restaurant, and the night will wind down with blues from Dan Aykroyd pal Larry McCray in concert at 8 p.m.
Saturday’s no slouch in the events department, either - start the day with the Morel Breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. - cooked by Stewart himself, who will be featuring a Morel Scramble Wrap - and enter your “trophy” morel at the 6th Annual Mushroom Pole.
The “premiere event” for Saturday is the Taste of Morel, which will feature over a dozen chefs from local restaurants cooking with the morel mushroom.
“To have so many fine chefs in one location, all cooking with an ingredient that is difficult to find on any menu, is truly rare,” Stewart enthuses.
Red Mesa Grill, The Weathervane, The Jordan Inn, Odawa Casino, and 220 Lake Street are just a few of the restaurants that will be represented by their chefs at the Taste of Morel event; Traveling Chef Nancy will also be making an appearance.
Late Saturday afternoon will feature music by singer-songwriter Nathan Bates in the late afternoon. And the whole thing wraps up on Sunday with the final days of the carnival and craft show, plus a Front Porch Pickers concert sponsored by the Cancer Crusaders.

WHY THE MOREL?
Obviously, given the schedule of events above, the morel mushroom is something to celebrate here in Northern Michigan. But why?
Morels, or Morchella, are honeycomb-like mushrooms related to the more simple-looking cap fungi (such as button or Portobello mushrooms), and are prized by gourmet cooks - especially in French/Provencal cuisine - for their delicate flavor; they are found in two varieties, white and black, much like truffles (but at a much lower price point.) While used in many sophisticated dishes, one of the best ways to cook morels is by sauteeing them in butter and seasoning simply with salt and cracked black pepper; another country-kitchen method is to soak them in an egg wash, after which they are breaded and lightly fried.
“I think part of the appeal of the morel mushroom is that their taste is very unique,” Stewart confirms, “they’re more like a steak than a regular mushroom. They’re not like any other mushroom, and they can’t really be cultivated in captivity or on a farm. Part of the fun is also that they’re not easy to find - they show up in different spots every year, and they blend in with the ground cover.”
Morels are prevalent here in Michigan, but they often grow in other parts of the country, too. As a result, they’ve picked up plenty of colorful nicknames, including dryland fish or hickory chickens (due to the shape they take on when sliced and fried), sponge mushroom, or merkels, a slang of the word ‘miracles,’ based on a story about a mountain family who fended off starvation by finding and eating morel mushrooms.

WHERE TO SEARCH
If you want to try finding morels on your own, there are a few tips you can try. First of all, make sure you’ve got the right identifying characteristics for an actual morel (see sidebar), and don’t bother looking around pine or fir trees, as morels are rarely found there. You’re better off looking near certain areas or trees; morels are often found by old apple trees or in old apple orchards, by dying elm trees, or around ash, oak, or sycamores.
Morels aren’t always easy to find; just like Stewart says, their dirt-like color blends into the spring ground of pale early vegetation and leftover brown leaves from the winter. So it’s best to tag along with an experienced morel hunter in order to watch and learn. Good luck finding one, though; most successful morel hunters will guard their locations with secrecy, so if you find a morel patch, keep it to yourself, and enjoy all of that springtime mushroom bounty.

Morel or Not Morel?

A REAL MOREL WILL:
- be hollow from bottom of the stem to the cap when cut lengthwise
- be attached to the stem at the bottom of the cap, making the cap part of the stalk
- be full of ridges and pits in the cap itself
- most often have a cap that is longer than the stem
- usually have a stem/stalk that is a lighter color than the cap

A FALSE MOREL WILL:
- have a stem that is filled with cotton-like fibers
- will usually have a full stem, unless the fibers have been eaten by slugs
- be attached to the stem at the top of the cap; the cap will hang over like a thimble
- have wavy ridges that are not pitted
- not be edible!

Consider this a general guide - if you have any doubt at all, do not eat the mushroom! When hunting morels, it is best to go with an experienced mushroom hunter on your first few treks in order to hone in on exactly what identifies a real morel mushroom. Good mushroom-guide books are also very helpful; do not use the trial-and-error method as many mushrooms - even those that may look like morels - can be poisonous.


ean.