Crab-Stuffed Morels

A little bit about Andy Wade

I’ve been accused of never following a recipe, and well, that’s almost true! Taking an idea and experimenting with it is a thrilling culinary adventure – especially for my victims. You see, I have no formal training in cooking and, while in my mind I can almost taste the flavors I’m about to blend, my imagination is not always up to the task.

But the adventure lives on! My garden is often the palette from which the flavors spring. I like to plant the usual suspects, but I also add new plants every year – new flavors to explore and new colors and textures to the garden. Even the “weeds” are not safe from being plucked and added to a dish (and they’re often more nutritious and delicious as well!)

I returned to a favorite patch of morels for a third picking the other day. Holy Smokes! They weren’t just plentiful, they were giant! These were some of the biggest morels I’ve ever found, several of them were 7″ tall with caps hovering between 4″ and 4.5″, one of the caps had an 8″ circumference!

Obviously, there was no question a stuffing was in order, the only question was, with what? A week earlier I tried a recipe for crab-stuffed morels, but I wasn’t impressed. This time I decided to glean ideas from a few different recipes and then create my own. The results were simply delectable!

Ingredients

5-6 large morels
6 oz soft cream cheese
6-8 oz fresh crab meat
4 strips bacon
Chives
2-3 cloves garlic
Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 375*

Stuffing:

Soften 6-8 oz cream cheese in microwave for about 20 seconds
Fry bacon until crispy brown so that it easily crumbles (reserve grease for sauteing morels)
Add to softened cream cheese

crumbled bacon
6-8 0z crab meat
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
3 chives – diced
Salt, to taste

Prepping the Mushrooms:

Select 5-6 large morels, rinse and let air-dry
Cut off stems, leaving a large opening where the stem and cap meet
- If caps are 4″ or larger, consider cutting them in half so they are easier to stuff
Lightly saute mushroom caps in bacon grease. If needed, add a bit of olive oil or butter
Place mushroom caps into a bread pan, large opening facing up
Lightly saute cut stems
Place stems in bottom of each mushroom that has an opening at the bottom
Stuff each cap with crab mixture, being careful to press stuffing all the way in so each cap is fully filled.
Place stuffed caps into 375* oven for 9-12 minutes