Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ramps

Found a patch of ramps yesterday while hunting mushrooms. I've heard guys talk of eating them but I never have. Any of you guy's with experience how do you fix them?

Use them just like green onions. They are good to let soak in a jar with vinegar and sliced cucumbers too.

wash them, chop them up in some beaten eggs, fry em up, enjoy !

I have never tried them but they sound interesting.
If you haven't picked them yet, read up on how to pick them properly so you don't kill the plant and they will come back next year.
https://www.wildedible.com/blog/foraging-ramps

Unfortunately they are being thinned down hard due to people selling them, that said my favorite way to eat them is sauté them with spinach. About half ramps half spinach, use the bulb and green. And please leave some plants behind.

I've been digging and enjoying them for years. I usually pickle them or make potato-ramp soup. Either way is delicious.
Here's my recipe for pickling them. I don't remember where I got it.

Pickled Ramps

Need another way to preserve your ramps aside from encasing them in logs of butter? Follow this recipe for pickled ramps and you'll end up with sweet-and-sour ramps that will extend ramps season a few extra weeks, or even months. The ramps are quickly blanched before pickling to preserve the bright pink and green colors. Chopped up or whole, these are best with roasted meats, fish, or pasta.
Ingredients
•1 cup white wine vinegar
•1 cup sugar
•1 cup water
•1 teaspoon mustard seed
•1 teaspoon coriander seed
•1 teaspoon fennel seed
•1 teaspoon red peppercorns
•1 teaspoon white peppercorns
•1 bay leaf
•2 pounds ramps, cleaned and trimmed
•Kosher salt for blanching
•1 tablespoon salt for the pickling liquid
Procedures
1. Trim the ends off of the ramps and cut down the leaves leaving about 1/4 inch of green, saving the green ends for another purpose. Wash the ramps under cool, running water.
2. Blanch the ramps quickly (30 seconds) by dropping them in a large pot of salted, boiling water, and then shock them in ice water. Drain the ramps well and place them in a mason jar.
3. Combine the vinegar, salt, sugar, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf, mustard seeds, coriander, pink and white peppercorns, and fennel seeds.
4. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the ramps in the Mason jar and let cool, sealing tight and transferring to the refrigerator.
5. Notes: In the refrigerator these pickled ramps will last a few weeks to a couple of months. If you follow traditional, safe canning techniques, these will last for a few months, or until you eat them all, whichever comes first.

yep, use them like onions.

If you like onions beware.............don't eat too many...............


they're used as a spring "clean out" by some folks.

Enjoy the heck out of them. And keep your patch secret.

Yup, they don't do much for your love life.
I found a second patch at our camp this week. The big patch is on a steep side hill and I have to dig most of them out from under rocks and roots, but it about 1 1/2 acres. The new patch is on soft flat ground about 10 yards off the road but it's only about 20' in diameter. Hopefully it can stay a secret and expand.

Used to get them in the Allegheny NF when I lived in NW PA. For all I know they're protected there now.

It was always good to find a new patch, while out turkey hunting or something. And keep it secret.

Got a place near where I normally go trout fishing but it’s 2 hours from here and with the lockdown...

Slavyanka and I have checked a couple places locally but no luck.

Are you "locked down" from fishing up there?

That would suck.

Honestly, don’t think so. But usually go with the guys and since we’re all older, no one is taking the risk.

Normally we would have gone for 3 days this week and stayed over. 1st time in 32 years we’re missing it.

Never heard of 'em.... Had to google "ramps" to find out that they're wild Leeks...... Only had leeks a couple times many years ago. Don't recall how they were prepared but they were great. I'd love to have 'em again.

Get out and look for them. Not sure where in W NY you are, but I was a bit south of Jamestown and they were all over PA in that area.

I know they're common all over the southern tier in NY state. I'm NW of Rochester and turkey season runs until May 31st. Gonna start checking the plant life a little closer next time I'm out in the woods. I haven't even thought about 'em in years other than someplace, (VFW ? American Legion? ) down in Allegheny county had a big leek dinner fund raiser every spring and had radio commercials up here for it. Haven't heard it advertised this year, and I bet we all know why.

The wife and I went and got some a couple of weeks ago. We wash them, leave them whole, then pack 6 to 12 or so into a sandwich bag. Put as many of these sandwich bags full as will fit into a gallon freezer bag and freeze. When you need some take them out of the freezer, cut off and discard roots and chop them up. They are great in scrambled eggs, soups, added to fried chicken or hamburgers, what ever you can think of.

Like was said above, just use them like onions, although if eaten raw and in quantity they will definitely leave you a bit odorous. Also they seem to cook up a bit faster than onions and loose flavor if cooked too long. Love them.

I like 'em fried in butter. The fried greens are sweet.

I posted a few days ago about ramps--- I learned about these from friends down in the Smokey Mts. of Tenn. Estimating low I'd guess easy one hundred thousands ramp plants . Firewood cutting party at camp today--- 9" fresh snow but we had fresh green ramp leaves on our cheeseburgers for lunch. Mixed in with the purple ones I've found ones that are white only. I know they are not Lilly of the Valley but we don't eat the white stalked ones--- any info ? Fried taters great with them. --Web

Fried in bacon grease with bacon rinds.

I've never eaten ramps. We always just called them wild onions growing up.

I don't think there's any shortage of them around here, however. The air still smells like onions when you mow the yard in the spring.