How to Clean Morel Mushrooms in 3 Steps

Morchella esculenta, or morel mushrooms, are the fruiting body of a fungus that lives in moist, loamy soil. Morels are some of the most desired edible wild mushrooms, springing from the floor of hardwood forests with a distinctive spongy and conical-shaped cap and a nutty, earthy flavor.

Morels are completely hollow, with a wrinkled, brain-like appearance on the outside of their caps, which come in an array of different shades—including pale brown, yellow, and even black morels. You typically will not find these types of mushrooms at your local grocery store. You're more likely to come across morel mushrooms at a farmers’ market or from your own mushroom hunting.

Morel mushrooms have a spongy honeycomb-like texture full of crannies that makes them a little more difficult to clean than other wild mushrooms. This means they will likely have more dirt caught in them and will require a more thorough rinsing than a garden-variety mushroom. Follow these simple steps for cleaning morels.

1. 1. Shake the mushrooms. The first step is to gently shake the loose dirt and debris from the mushrooms. Place your mushrooms in a paper bag or a lidded colander and gently shake. Do not shake too vigorously or you might damage the morels.
2. 2. Use a saltwater bath. Dissolve two tablespoons of salt in a large bowl of cool water. Submerge the mushrooms in the water. Gently swish them around to remove more dirt. Lift the mushrooms out of the water and place them on a paper towel. If the water is especially dirty after the bath, refresh the bowl with clean water and repeat this step.
3. 3. Dry the mushrooms. Pat your clean morel mushrooms dry with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. Shake the mushrooms as you do this to remove water from the mushrooms' crevices. If your paper towel becomes soaked, repeat with another dry piece of paper towel.

There are a few different methods that foragers can use to store morel mushrooms long-term. If you want to store fresh mushrooms for a couple of days, they will keep fine in the fridge. Wrap your morels in a paper towel and place them in a bowl in the fridge. Any of the following methods for storing fresh morel mushrooms will allow you to keep the mushrooms for a few months:

• Drying morel mushrooms: Use a dehydrator tray to dry your mushrooms so that you can store them in bulk at room temperature. If you don't have a dehydrator, you can dry morels in the oven. Set your oven to the lowest setting and place the clean morels on a tray in the oven. Leave the oven door open a crack, and allow the mushrooms to dry for four to six hours. Dried morels will keep for six months in an airtight container like a plastic bag, and up to a year if you freeze them.
• Freezing battered morel mushrooms: Clean fresh morels and toss them in a little flour to coat them. Cover a cookie sheet with the floured morels, spaced so that they're not touching each other, and place the tray in the freezer for two hours. Store the flash-frozen morels in a freezer bag or airtight container in the freezer. Flash freezing the mushrooms prevents them from freezing together in a clump so you can use individual mushrooms as you need. Place the container in the freezer. Frozen battered morels will keep for up to a year.
• Freezing sautéed morels: Another preservation method involves sautéing morel mushrooms in a little butter before freezing. This helps the morels retain their full flavor for when you eventually cook them. Gently sauté your mushrooms in butter for around three to five minutes. Place the cooked mushrooms in a freezer bag or airtight container and place it in the freezer. Frozen sauteed morels will last for up to a year.

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