Morel mushrooms may be delicious, but their unique shape sure makes the little buggers hard to clean. You can't just wipe them off like you might a button mushroom, since they have all those spongy wrinkles that trap dirt. The morel, which is (and was a , go figure), is also pretty pricey as far as mushrooms go.
If you're paying around $50 pound, you sure don't want to make any at the preparation stage. To find out the best way to clean morels, we turned to 'shroom sage Rob Rubba. He's a chef at a Michelin-starred Washington, D.
C. Restaurant called . But as the menu makes clear, the double name is meant to refer not only to mollusks, but mushrooms.
As Rubba explained, "Each mushroom has a best [cleaning] practice, be it a brush, peel, or a rinse." To clean morels, Rubba advised "soaking [them] in warm water" (you may want to add a pinch of salt). After about five minutes, drain the mushrooms, then cover them with more water and drain them again.
Repeat the process until the water runs clear to make sure that all the dirt, bugs, and dried leaves have floated out of the morel caps. When to wash your morels If you're grossed out by the thought of dirt and even tiny little bugs (ick!) inside your nice clean fridge, you might want to wash your morels as soon as you bring them home, but that would be a big no-no. Washing causes any kind of mushroom to absorb water, and this excess moisture will make them start rotting if they're not used right away.
Instead, you should store your m.
