Chicken of the woods
Contributors to this thread:Massachusetts
From: Dthfrmabove
23-Sep-17
Scouting today and I came across a nice size batch of the mushrooms on an old oak tree. Always wanted to take some home and try them. Well today I did. Cooked them up with some butter and garlic and they are yummy. Going back for the rest of them now. Anyone down near me who would like some. Just PM me and we can meet up
From: spike78
23-Sep-17
Gonna have to try some. I'm not sure if I have seen those in awhile. Didn't even know you could eat them.
From: Belchertown Bowman
23-Sep-17
Are ya sure? that is always my worry,.. seen plenty but shy of trying.. growing out of an old oak stump is a positive sign,.. but they look flatter than i am used to seeing in pictures,. Mine that I think are Hens of the woods are located in my yard and are more narly like a brain,.. ??,.. also outta a stump. They grew last month and faded since then.
Please note I just got into trying to ID'ing mushrooms so I am an extreme novice,.. I need to take a class or something as it really interests me,.. but scares the shit outta me.
From what I read so far if ya ever do decide to try some,.. eat a half spoon full and wait 24 hours,.. if it is the bad kind you will know it,.. and I am not saying that that spoon full will not kill half you liver or is good for ya,. just a way to avoid death or the complete lose of you liver or kidneys I forget which organ it is,..
Bon appetite,.. keep us posted!
From: BruceP
23-Sep-17
BB, just be careful out there. Some of the good ones have look-a-likes that are pretty bad. It's interesting to see this thread pop up because I was just reading about this the other day, after my daughter brought some home and made soup out of them. She works/volunteers a few hours a week at a community farm in town and the woman who was giving her a ride home has been mushroom hunting for years so she knows her stuff. Evidently they spotted some on the way home and pulled over to grab them. I was definitely a bit skeptical but that was a few days ago and we're all still alive :-)
From: Dthfrmabove
23-Sep-17
Well went back and got about 7-8 lbs of them and left a couple pounds behind. I am still upright and kicking after a couple hours or so of eating them. Going to freeze a bunch and eat the rest in something. Here is a pic of less than half of them
From: BruceP
23-Sep-17
Hey dth, what kind are they?
BTW, love the sign on the windowsill. A lot of truth right there.
From: Dthfrmabove
23-Sep-17
Chicken of the woods.... yeah that's my wife's go to excuse!!!!
From: hunterma
23-Sep-17
The chicken are pretty good but can be a little tough/chewy when they get too big. Hen of the woods are better but my favorites are the oyster mushrooms. I'm confident on these three (no deadly look alikes) and stick to what I know. Yes you do have to be careful.
From: hunterma
23-Sep-17
The chicken are pretty good but can be a little tough/chewy when they get too big. Hen of the woods are better but my favorites are the oyster mushrooms. I'm confident on these three (no deadly look alikes) and stick to what I know. Yes you do have to be careful.
From: hunterma
23-Sep-17
BB watch for your hens to grow back, good eats!
From: Belchertown Bowman
23-Sep-17
Hens ,.. and chickens? ...did not even know there was a diff? dang,... well give me a year to learn up,.. like I say I just started studying this shroom stuff
From: Tekoa
23-Sep-17
Sulfer shelf mushrooms (Laetiporus sulphureus). Excellent eating and there are no poisonous look alikes. The only caveat is do not eat them if they are growing on a hemlock or other conifer. Tons of internet articles and recipes. This is one of the few mushrooms that I will collect. I usually put them in a stir fry.
Tekoa
From: Dthfrmabove
23-Sep-17
I have one venison roast left from last year. A foodie friend of mine is going to show me how to make a red wine reduction sauce with the mushrooms. Says it's real good and pairs well with the venison. Just another reason to hunt deer!!!
From: bowandspear
23-Sep-17
Coral mushrooms and king boletus
Coral mushrooms and king boletus
I have been in woods Shrooming last 2 days, this storm soaking is making the woods go boom
From: bowandspear
23-Sep-17
It's raining Hens
It's raining Hens
Hen of the woods yesterday
From: bowandspear
23-Sep-17
We need a Shroom thread!!! Dthfrmabove good score on the Chickens! Because the chickens (sulfer shelf) are kind of meat like chicken, I would suggest pairing the venison with another like hens or boletus IMO.
From: bowandspear
23-Sep-17
The chickens go nice sauteed in olive oil with garlic and a veggie Iver pasta, Alfredo, what have you. You guys in the woods thus week you are going to see things go boom after this rain. Here us a nice boletus from today, it's like a Porcini... Primo
From: brokenarrow
24-Sep-17
ive had it one time when someone else identified it for me. We sauteed them with onions and put in an omlette, it was amazing. I also just came across some scouting but didnt take them for fear that they were another kind that could be bad for you? any thoughts im like 90% its chicken of the woods
From: Dthfrmabove
24-Sep-17
Bowandspear... do you live near the cape??? Hope so because you are the man with the mushrooms!!! I feel I could learn a lot from you. Wife loves mushrooms I am only a fan of shitaake. Need something meaty chicken of the woods is pretty good too. I am going looking for the hens today I have heard they are the best. Most of the area around me is swamp with some hardwoods and pines on actual dry ground. Where should I be looking for the hens????
From: Dthfrmabove
24-Sep-17
Actually any help is appreciated in trying to find any shrooms. I can kill two birds with one stone. Scouting and shroom hunting
From: Belchertown Bowman
24-Sep-17
Hens grow around the base of live oaks or rotting oaks They are usually found in groups like the above photo shows. In B&S photo you can even see the oak,.. that is typically how and where they grow.
From: bowandspear
24-Sep-17
Look for oaks broken, dying they will grow on base of tree. I'm in Swansea kind of close to cape, we can go sometime. I'll start a Shroom thread when I get a chance. My Shroom Bible is the Audobon Society North American Field Guide to Wild Mushrooms. A must for shroomers
From: Skippah
24-Sep-17
I'll have to pick up that book
From: bowandspear
24-Sep-17
From: Dthfrmabove
24-Sep-17
Biwandspear.... thanks for the info
From: Skippah
24-Sep-17
Thank you
From: Belchertown Bowman
25-Sep-17
So a question for you Hen of the Woods folks,.. how big do ya wait till ya harvest? I had one on my property but did not notice it till it was pretty dang big and tough. Is there a size you take it at or color or how do you know when is the best time to harvest it?
I figure it will be back next year from what I have read so trying to figure out when is best to harvest it.
From: Will
25-Sep-17
Wow - that's amazing. I've never tried them, but they look great. We went to a festival in New Salem (I think), may have been Orange, called "The Garlic Festival". There was a booth selling all sorts of normally wild shrooms like Hen of the Woods etc. My wife almost bought some, but opted for the lacto fermented beets instead (we normally make those, but she saw em, and figured they were worth a shot). We are going to have to try some of these wild mushrooms - they look awesome.
From: hunterma
25-Sep-17
BB I generally go by the feel, they should be firm, kind of like medium foam rubber. The biggest reason not to let them get too big is not toughness, but you are in competition with slugs and bugs. Nothing worse than coming across one that is all bug infested. If you are adventurous enough, next time I see you I'll bring you a jar that my wife cans with olive oil and Italian seasoning. I've been eating them for five or six years now and no ill effects.
From: Dthfrmabove
26-Sep-17
Guys I took a walk this morning and found another 7 pounds of these things. I am taking them home. Please someone take some of these things off my hands. I will Blanche and freeze what I am left with, but I will take home what I can find
From: Belchertown Bowman
26-Sep-17
Go to a fancy restaurant with them and trade them for a nice meal for you and your lady?
Most chefs might jump at that.
From: Dthfrmabove
26-Sep-17
Problem is I can cook better than most of the restaurants I go to. Lol. I have a friend who is a chef that is taking some off my hands, but only so many. I am done with these things for now. Never knew there was so much of them in the woods. Rain has a lot to do with it this year
From: hunterma
26-Sep-17
I feel your pain, my haul today, and yesterday my wife found some on her neighborhood walk.
From: Belchertown Bowman
26-Sep-17
Sweet jeezes!
Nice!
From: brokenarrow
26-Sep-17
From: brokenarrow
26-Sep-17
whats this one anybody? and im gonna have to get that national audubon book as well, i have a few others and they've been good so far.
From: Dthfrmabove
26-Sep-17
Wish I could find those hen of the woods. Plenty of chickens in my area. I have found these all within a half mile radius. Time to check another area where I have cameras
From: Belchertown Bowman
26-Sep-17
There are many odd looking varieties of hen of the woods but the one above is def different? Not sure as a novice I hope others could offer some advice,.. that is a beauty though.
A science teacher told me the ones with gills are the ones that can kill ya,.. no gills on the one above. She said a false morel can make ya sick but not kill ya.
Still unless I know for sure aint eating it,. and am not sure of the above one,.. sure is a stunner though,.
Curious what others say?
From: Belchertown Bowman
26-Sep-17
looking at hunterma's and yours the diff seems to be color,.. I think it is a hen? you also have an overhead view he from the side,.. lets see a side view?
From: bowandspear
26-Sep-17
Broken Arrow I believe what you have there is Sporassis, AKA Cauliflower Mushroom. *Highly Prized as an edible, IF THAT IS, WHAT IT IS. I do not rely on internet pics to ID, even if they are not many look a likes. *Never eat any without an experienced person first hand standing there with you that can give yu a 110% positive ID. But, I think found a honey hole ;) .
I know a Mycologist who Runs the Southern New England Mushroom Hunting group. He does field trips to ID shrooms in the woods + a great first hand presentation and slideshow to educate everyone before hand. Cost is minimal. He is doing a presentation at my house in October that is already full. Maybe we should get one together for those on here that are interested. ( https://www.facebook.com/Southern-New-England-Mushroom-Hunting-657591177628706/ )
From: bowandspear
26-Sep-17
BTW guys,. Remeber these spots you are finding them. Cut them off at base with knife and they will grow back the next time conditions are perfect to promote another growth. GPS those spots, I actually put them right in my Scout Look where i track my stands so that when i pull them up they are also a reminder this time of year to stop by a check them out.
From: Belchertown Bowman
27-Sep-17
B&S nice ideal,.. I like that!!!!!
