Tis the season...mushroom hunting

thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
Y'all ever find Morels come spring time in NC?

I remember what a big deal that was in the Midwest. A Father might let his son take his brand new truck to tow his brand new Bass Boat on spring break, but wouldn't share the mushroom spots.


I've never found a single morel in NC, nope not ever, never seen em', don't believe anyone who says they exist, in fact if I were you I'd delete your post because it's not relevant to fall mushrooms, you could even say it's heresy to even evoke the word morel on any forum....ever. I think, I've said too much.
 

thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
I've found a few in NC, but I've found a LOT more out west.

It was probably a false morel, they don't exist in NC. Period. No one should even look for them in fact I heard that the ones that look like morels actually cause hyper-digestive-flatulence and extreme bowel insecurity in those that have tempted to eat them.
 

thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
Actually I'll take anyone who wants to look for morels in a place I've not looked anytime...just ask @lasttombstone but there's some spots that I've had to scrub from Google maps and now that I think of it I'll be leaving my cell phone at home when I travel to them this spring. Crap, they probably know too much already.

But I will go this spring if anyone is interested and I'll show you what and where to look, so long as your willing to split the booty 90/10. Which doesn't seem fair right....right up until you fry a batch with butter.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I'd love to find morels around our location and believe me, I've looked. I do find a lot of oysters, winter oysters, chickens, hens, a few corals and bears tooth and even a lions mane or two every year. I've never been into eating jelly's but there are several edible kind that seem to really fruit this time of year.
 

strut buster

Eight Pointer
I'd love to find morels around our location and believe me, I've looked. I do find a lot of oysters, winter oysters, chickens, hens, a few corals and bears tooth and even a lions mane or two every year. I've never been into eating jelly's but there are several edible kind that seem to really fruit this time of year.

Tips on hens? I've decided that I'm not going to randomly find one, even thought I walk by a oaks constantly this time of year. Red oaks is preferred tree correct?
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Tips on hens? I've decided that I'm not going to randomly find one, even thought I walk by a oaks constantly this time of year. Red oaks is preferred tree correct?
I don't find the huge clusters very often and when I do they are usually too old to eat. I've had ok luck around red oaks but I've also had them around tulip poplars as well. We have more of them so that may be why.
I don't typically do a lot of mushroom hunting until I start scouting for deer season, so that may be why I find more chickens than hens.
 

thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
I don't find the huge clusters very often and when I do they are usually too old to eat. I've had ok luck around red oaks but I've also had them around tulip poplars as well. We have more of them so that may be why.
I don't typically do a lot of mushroom hunting until I start scouting for deer season, so that may be why I find more chickens than hens.

I've typically found hens around the more mature trees, in mature forests. But as with all mushrooms, just when you think you know....you don't! Haha.
 

thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
I'd love to find morels around our location and believe me, I've looked. I do find a lot of oysters, winter oysters, chickens, hens, a few corals and bears tooth and even a lions mane or two every year. I've never been into eating jelly's but there are several edible kind that seem to really fruit this time of year.

For morels I look for transition areas, like old growth forest transitioning to a field or fence row, especially if you've got moss on the ground, and you get that spongy feeling underfoot. I've tried looking for those darn Hickory Chickens in the forest but it always seems to be near an edge. At least that's been my go-to down here.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I've typically found hens around the more mature trees, in mature forests. But as with all mushrooms, just when you think you know....you don't! Haha.
That's pretty much true with most of the shelf stuff isn't it?
I'm definitely not a mushroom pro and would love to spend time with someone who really knows their edible mushrooms.
I have to be careful, some of the thicker ones seem to trigger gout attacks.
 

thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
That's pretty much true with most of the shelf stuff isn't it?
I'm definitely not a mushroom pro and would love to spend time with someone who really knows their edible mushrooms.
I have to be careful, some of the thicker ones seem to trigger gout attacks.

Yah....no....sometimes, usually, yes but also maybe haha. Typically the chickens and hens are on more mature stuff but I've seen chickens growing out of root bases from trees long since cut down as well as on small 10" diameter oaks. What I try to do, especially with fall mushrooms is find the oldest hardwood or mixed forest I can find, near a water source and start my search there.
 

thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
Also, if anyone is in the Raleigh area just PM me or if you want to walk some woods near you just let me know and maybe I'll bring a fishing rod and turn it into a camping trip of my own. Cheers.
 

Starfan

Eight Pointer
Does anyone have any idea what this nasty looking thing is? It is growing at the base of a red oak tree.
 

pinehunter

Eight Pointer
I know it's different on the east coast but when I lived in Illinois the morels I found were almost always around dead elms that still had some bark on them or coming off. Morels also seemed to be on steep slopes near dry creek beds. I am pretty sure there are none to be found here in ENC. I could be wrong though. I have been seeing a bunch of shrooms this fall with all of our wet weather. Unfortunately I am not comfy with identifying anything other than a morel.
 

thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
Forgot to show the payoff. This is a massive oyster on the grill and soon after I ran out of propane...haha. Oh well all we're roasted off and chopped into taco bits. Best tacos I've had in a long while.
 

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thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
It's hard to tell but those are big chilis, that mushroom is about 10" across. And yes those are cheap store bought shrooms too, but it all goes well in a steak taco.
 
Someone beat me to these but the little mosel I tasted was unlike anything I have ever had! It was salty and kind of sour at the same time, almost like nc bbq. It was awesome! It was bright orange/white kind of deal. Is this chicken of the woods?
 

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thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
Someone beat me to these but the little mosel I tasted was unlike anything I have ever had! It was salty and kind of sour at the same time, almost like nc bbq. It was awesome! It was bright orange/white kind of deal. Is this chicken of the woods?

Just an FYI you probably shouldn't eat anything you can't confirm of it's exacting nature, especially when it comes to mushrooms. By the looks of that log it appears as though it's pine and although there are oysters that will grow on soft wood like pine, I don't ever tell anyone to target mushrooms growing on dead softwood. Now, due to the rotten nature of that log, I don't typically harvest mushrooms off logs that old because certain poisonous mushrooms can be in the soil below and actually look as though they're "on" the log. Additionally, the statement "is this chicken of the woods" scares the heck out of me. If I don't know, I'm not touching it and neither should anyone. The smallest amount can cause liver failure, kidney failure, a number of neurological ailments, among other things, it's just not worth it. Go with people who know so you can learn the right way. It's the best way. As you stated to me, the meetup sounds like a great resource.

Last point, that is not chicken of the woods. Be safe out there.
 
I did spit it out but yes I know you are right
Just an FYI you probably shouldn't eat anything you can't confirm of it's exacting nature, especially when it comes to mushrooms. By the looks of that log it appears as though it's pine and although there are oysters that will grow on soft wood like pine, I don't ever tell anyone to target mushrooms growing on dead softwood. Now, due to the rotten nature of that log, I don't typically harvest mushrooms off logs that old because certain poisonous mushrooms can be in the soil below and actually look as though they're "on" the log. Additionally, the statement "is this chicken of the woods" scares the heck out of me. If I don't know, I'm not touching it and neither should anyone. The smallest amount can cause liver failure, kidney failure, a number of neurological ailments, among other things, it's just not worth it. Go with people who know so you can learn the right way. It's the best way. As you stated to me, the meetup sounds like a great resource.

Last point, that is not chicken of the woods. Be safe out there.
.
 

Jrbrandt25

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Found this one growing on side of stump,,never seen one this big,just curious what is was or edible
 

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DarrinG

Six Pointer
I had COTW's this evening in a homemade soup my wife made. Absolutely delicious! When we harvest some COTW's, we dehydrate some and keep for soups, salads, fry pan, etc, later. It dehydrates very well and easily re-hydrates when put into warn olive oil in a cast iorn skillet, soups, etc. Makes for a great cold winter meal.

These was from September while scouting for archery season. We harvested half of it and dehydrated most of it.

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TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
Found this app called mushroomID that ids the shroom, you just take a pic and load it into the app and poof it tells you about the mushroom your looking at... if it’s edible or toxic and a brief description of it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

DarrinG

Six Pointer
I seen that app too, Travis. I didn't download or use it, but tried one comparable that ID's plants that works much the same. Within an hour it had ID'd two different plants that I knew what they were, wrong. Not too sure I'd trust the app. First-hand knowledge is better. Learn from someone who knows, especially when consuming the wrong shroom can kill you!
 
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