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Frozen Morels

bpbowhunter

Member
Hopefully someone can help me out here. I was fortunate enough to find a large amount of morels this year. However, unfortunately I believe the largest portion of what I found is now ruined. I cleaned them up, let most of the water drain from them, then froze them separately on plates so they would not stick/freeze together in a clump before putting them into bags for a deep freeze. Everything seemed to work really well. Now as I pull them from the freezer and allow them to de-thaw, they basically rot as they are de-thawing. Once thawed out, they stink, and look like wilted lettuce. I still tried to batter and fry them up, tasting one, being the equivalent to eating a turd!

Last year I froze a batch the exact same way. Only difference was frying them halfway through before freezing, then thawed them out when I wanted to eat them and finished frying them the rest of the way. They tasted as if I picked them that morning and fried em up.

Has anyone ever froze them like I did this year? If so, how did you de-thaw them in a way that made it edible for human conception? I absolutely love eating fried morels and would HATE to waste/throw away all of these. Please somebody have a promising answer for me.
 
From my experience you have to cook them partial way through before freezing like you already stated! Mot sure about just freezing them raw.
 
Mushrooms, like a lot of veggies have to be blanched to degrade/stop the enzyme action that is now causing them to liquefy before you freeze them. Not sure you can save this years batch. In the future when you want to freeze some drop them in a big pot of boiling water for about 60 seconds then spread out on cookie sheets to freeze.This also puts a coat of ice on each & keeps them from freezer burning. Once frozen I vacuum pack them and keep in the freezer. Just found some I did that way 3 years ago & they are still great. Plus when you are done blanching a big batch you can save the water as "mushroom stock". Lots of uses for that. Add a little beef or chicken bouillon or soup base and use it anywhere you would use stock.
 
I've had good results separating into meal sized batches and freezing in zipper bag filled with water; remove as much air as possible prior to freezing. Afraid this years were probablly a painful learning opportunity. I will also try the other mentioned processes
 
I've been freezing mushrooms for years with great success. Just fry the mushrooms in a pan until the moisture cooks off. No need to turn them or add butter, etc. Put on cookie sheets and freeze for about 30 minutes. Keep them separated while freezing. Vacuum seal and put into freezer. I've had them last up to a year with great success.
 
dehydrate them till crisp then put them in freezer bag and when you want to eat some just soak them in water for 15 minutes. It works and they don't go bad for along time.
 
I freeze mine about the same way. Pat them dry and lay on a cookie sheet and freeze, then I put them in a freezer bag. When I fix them I take them out frozen, drop into egg wash, crackers and fry before they have a chance to thaw.
 
Shoot... I froze a couple dozen raw morels for the first time this year. Can you fry them up frozen or are they junk since they weren't blanched or pre-cooked?
 
Shoot... I froze a couple dozen raw morels for the first time this year. Can you fry them up frozen or are they junk since they weren't blanched or pre-cooked?
I don't pre-cook mine. Like I said take them out of the frozen baggy, dip in eggs, crackers and into the fryer before they thaw and you shouldn't have any issues. I had some late last fall I had forgot about with some fish and my friend said they we almost like having them fresh.
 
Awesome tips. I remember a long time ago we would just put some in a ziploc and freeze as a clump. Can't remember how they turned out, if they did. But we ate most of them fresh and continue to do so for fear of them not being so great after freezing/thawing. May have to use some of these tips next year!
 
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