Breading Mushrooms and Freezing

So many people measure the passage of time by the calendar. Some by the coming and going of holidays. For us here in Hickery Holler living so far off the beaten path our time is marked by the passing of the season and the animals and plants that abound in each one. Spring for us is marked not only by the daffodils and warmer weather that so many associate with spring. For us spring is here when the crappie (fish) spawn and become easy to catch in the shallow waters of the local streams and farm ponds. Just about this time the turkeys are strutting and turkey hunting season opens in this area. The third thing is the asparagus again put up those delicious tender green shoots.  And at the same time if you are really lucky and the gods are smiling you stumble on some wild morel mushrooms. Or a patch or two.   There is one meal we look forward to every spring. The first fried crappie of the season. The first morel mushrooms battered in cracker crumbs and fried with them  and the first of the asparagus spears. These three things usually come about the same time every year.  

Well for us the morel mushrooms were plentiful this year with plenty left over for the freezer. First we rinsed them really well. Then we split them and soaked them briefly in a salt water solution to get rid of any bugs that may be hiding in them. Then rinse. 

Next the halves were rolled in beaten egg and then in crushed saltine crackers. 

These are dropped in hot grease and fried till golden brown. Served beside fried crappie and some roasted asparagus is a meal fit for a king in our opinion. 

If you are lucky enough to have extra at this stage we freeze them on baking sheets until completely frozen. Once frozen we take them out and wrap them in waxed paper, then place them in Ziploc freezer bags. Then the freezer bags are stacked in a plastic Rubbermaid container that then goes in the freezer allowing us to take out a single bag at the time but protecting the fragile mushrooms from getting broken up by other food being put in and taken out of the freezer.   

So on a snowy winters day we can take out some frozen fish and some of these mushrooms and fry them and close our eyes and pretend it is spring all over again. 

Tomorrow I will show you an alternate way to freeze them. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter