As I was checking out the elderberry bushes to see if the berries were ripe, I look up and and noticed two brilliant orange shelf mushrooms on a neighbor's oak tree. Conveniently, Ed was just putting his dog out and I excitedly yelled, "You have Chicken of the Woods mushrooms" pointing at the tree.
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His dog was barking at Rosie and he misunderstood me and said, "Yes, we have chickens and you do too." I said, "no, you have a mushroom growing on your tree!". Ed went inside, put on shoes and came out to the street to talk with me.
As we admired the fruiting mushroom, we discussed identification and agreed that he would check the internet and I would check my mushroom books and together we would see if this actually was a Chick of the Woods mushroom.
On Sunday, I came home from picking up a friend, saw boots in the foyer and heard a voice coming from the kitchen. I walked up stairs and to my delight saw that Ed had delivered two big pieces of the mushroom. Ed described how he had climbed a ladder and sawed the mushrooms off the tree. I was so happy that he was generous enough to share the wild mushroom bounty with me.
Click Read More (below) to see the complete post.
His dog was barking at Rosie and he misunderstood me and said, "Yes, we have chickens and you do too." I said, "no, you have a mushroom growing on your tree!". Ed went inside, put on shoes and came out to the street to talk with me.
As we admired the fruiting mushroom, we discussed identification and agreed that he would check the internet and I would check my mushroom books and together we would see if this actually was a Chick of the Woods mushroom.
On Sunday, I came home from picking up a friend, saw boots in the foyer and heard a voice coming from the kitchen. I walked up stairs and to my delight saw that Ed had delivered two big pieces of the mushroom. Ed described how he had climbed a ladder and sawed the mushrooms off the tree. I was so happy that he was generous enough to share the wild mushroom bounty with me.
You may wonder why I was so excited to be in possession of a fungus. Chicken of the Woods, or sulfur shelf is considered one of the best tasting mushrooms you can find.
It is also easy to identify, making it one of the safest mushrooms for those new to mushroom foraging.
Most everyone knows that eating the wrong mushroom can lead to sickness and even death, so careful identification is paramount. I only eat mushrooms, like morels, that are easy to identify and do not have deadly look-a-likes.
A word of caution. Do not use this blog as your sole means of mushroom identification. Be sure to do thorough research and get the advice of someone experienced in mushroom identification before consuming wild mushrooms.
To prepare the mushroom, begin by breaking off the tender edge pieces. On this mushroom there was 4 to 5 inches of tender edge.
The base of the mushroom was home to black bugs and worms, so I cut off that portion and put it in the chicken pasture. The chicken always enjoy a treat of worms.
The edge pieces broke off easily and after inspecting them for worms and gently wiping them with a damp cloth, I sauteed them in one tablespoon butter adding a sprinkle of smoked sea salt and lemon pepper.
The flavor was reminiscent of chicken, although a bit dry. I had followed the online advice to limit the amount of oil. But the next time I cooked them I put in a generous 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter and they were moist and delicious.
The key to good flavor is making sure your seasoning are right on. The smoked sea salt and lemon pepper were definitely the ticket!
The flavor was good, but it was the texture that really amazed me. As I was breaking apart the area closer to the base, the pieces looked just like cooked chicken.
Besides feasting on gourmet quality mushrooms, I was excited to experiment with their medicinal properties.
Several years ago I purchased a burn ointment from the Darcy from the Forest online store. This cream was the most amazing burn remedy I had ever used, stopping the pain of minor burns on contact.
The ingredients? Dried Chicken of the Woods mushroom infused in olive oil and thickened with bees wax.
So when the base portions of the mushroom were cleaned and broken into pieces, they went directly into the dehydrator.
After a thorough drying, I broke them into small pieces using a mortar and pestle, placed them in a jar, added organic olive oil and set them on a sunny window sill. After six weeks, I will strain the mushrooms out, melt in bees wax and have plenty of burn ointment to share.
Infusing medicinal herbs (and fungus) in oil to make your own salves is easy. For step by step instructions click on these links;
I have a few quarts of dehydrated pieces left which I plan to powder and add to soups. My favorite soup ingredient is a stock powder that is made with shitake mushrooms. I think the Chicken of the Woods will work in a similar way.
Cautions and Tips
- The safety of the Chicken of the Wood mushrooms relies not only on accurate identification of the fungus, but also tree identification. Mushrooms growing on conifers are not safe and should not be consumed.
- The Mushroom Appreciation blog provides lots of information on Chicken of the Woods.
- It is suggested that you eat just a few pieces the first time you try the mushroom, just in case you have an allergic reaction.
- These mushrooms are BIG and may take some time to clean. They will keep for about 2 days in the refrigerator stored in a paper bag.
- Chicken of the Woods can be sauteed, placed in a freezer bag, and frozen for future use.
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