Cookbook:Cornmeal Fried Morels

Ingredients

 * Morel mushrooms
 * 1 egg
 * ¼ cup milk
 * 2 cups cornmeal
 * 1 tsp black pepper
 * Bacon grease

Procedure

 * 1) Halve, clean and soak the morels then leave overnight in salt water with a heavy plate weighing them down in the water.
 * 2) Rinse the morels well and drain before cooking.
 * 3) In a wide shallow bowl, mix the egg and milk.
 * 4) In a thick paper bag, mix the cornmeal and pepper.
 * 5) In a deep well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, melt the bacon grease 1 inch deep. Get it good and hot but not smoking.
 * 6) Dip your mushrooms in the milk and let them soak a little while your grease is heating.
 * 7) Pick a handful out of the bowl and shake them a little to get off some of the liquid excess.
 * 8) Drop the mushrooms into the bag of cornmeal. Hold your hand on the bottom of the bag so it doesn't break, and gently shake.
 * 9) Add more mushrooms, shaking gently after each addition. When they are all coated very well, start laying them in a single layer in the hot skillet.
 * 10) Fry, trying to only turn them once so the coating stays on better.
 * 11) When golden, drain on paper towels.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Don't salt; bacon grease is already salty.
 * You can gently dump the coated morels in a colander set in a larger bowl. This lets the loose stuff fall off and if you need to touch up any bare spots your coating is right there.