Super Easy Chicken of the Woods Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the tips for Chicken of the Woods? ›

Use chicken of the woods mushrooms in recipes for pasta dishes, risotto, rice dishes, soups, stews, and as a topping for meats with plenty of fresh herbs. For a simple preparation that delivers a lot of flavor, try sauteeing these mushrooms in a pan with shallots, garlic, white wine, and sprigs of fresh thyme.

Cook the mushrooms until they are golden brown on each side, about 4-5 minutes, adding extra oil if the pan gets dry. Place them on a plate with paper towels and pat away excess oil. Sprinkle with a little salt to finish and serve immediately.

Another mushroom that might be confused with Chicken of the Woods is the Cinnabar Polypore (Pycnoporus cinnabarinus). It can be mistaken for Chicken of the Woods because of its bright orange-red color. Although it is not toxic, it is not considered edible.

Should I Eat Chicken of the Woods if it is Growing on Yew? Many books advise not to eat CotW if it is growing on yew (which is highly toxic).

To do this, simply clean the mushrooms as usual and slice them into desired sizes. Then, blanch the slices for 1-2 minutes in boiling water, drain and cool them, and pack them into an airtight container or freezer bag. Frozen chicken of the woods mushrooms can last for up to 6 months in the freezer.

Dried Chicken of the Woods work well in a soup, stew or any dish with a long cooking time. You can re-hydrate by soaking in water for 15-30 minutes and then sautee and spice them before adding them to what's on the stove or simply put them in dry and let them absorb moisture from the dish.

Once you have found and picked your mushrooms, you'll want to clean them. Most other mushrooms can be tossed into a bowl of salt water to get rid of the bugs and dirt, however that's not the case here. Chicken Mushrooms will soak up water and become soggy and flavorless.

After I remove the mushroom from the tree the next thing I do is remove any pieces that have a ton of dirt on them and rinse them separately before plunging into the whole lot into a sink full of water. This mostly encourages the bugs to come out of the mushroom and does a good general rinse.

One species that's a chicken of the woods' poisonous look-alikes is the jack-o'-lantern (Omphalotus illudens). Like the former, this bright-orange to yellowish-orange mushroom can grow on stumps or buried wood and can fruit in clusters.

Can you eat old chicken of the woods? ›

Laetiporus is safe to eat, even when old. But edibility is determined by hunger. In my experience it isn't edible to me after 5 days of growing. Found some chicken of the woods growing at the base of an oak tree.

Another potential look alike includes the jack o'lantern mushroom. Their orange colours and seasonal fruiting patterns resemble those of many chanterelle species, but unlike the latter fungi, jack o'lanterns are toxic. Do not eat them.

A single cluster can grow up to 20 lbs and some say even up to 50 lbs. Sometimes you have to climb to get to the good ones. Whitetail deer like them too…. and so do insects, and of course your fellow mushroom hunters.

Chicken of the Woods mushrooms are slightly parasitic to their host tree in nature and therefore require a different planting strategy than most other log-grown species. To grow these beauties, the log must first be treated by pressure cooking, steaming, or boiling.

Place the clean, dry chicken of the woods into ziplock bags or vacuum pack them and then freeze them. They'll last for up to a year in the freezer.

Brush off any dirt or debris. Peel back sections and watch the beetles scatter. Slice it up. Mushroom is sliced and ready to cook.