My wife and I love foraging for edible mushrooms. This summer has been one of the best that we have ever seen in Georgia. It seems that this season we have been blessed with the perfect amount of rain and sunshine to make fantastic flushes of mushrooms. We love to take our children out on mushroom hikes. Our boys have learned quite a bit about all of the different types of mushrooms we encounter on our hikes. This has been a wonderful year for chantrelle mushrooms. We have probably harvested over thirty pounds of them! But there has been one type of mushroom that has remained illusive to the both of us so far. Laetiporus sulphureus, known to most as, Chicken of the Woods.
We have been on the lookout for this tasty 'shroom for quite a while. More than once my wife has made me pull the car to the side of a road so she could go investigate a tree that she thought might be hosting some of these delights. But so far we have had no luck finding them together. The other day that changed, but only for me.
I am a farmhand. I spend my entire workday outside. It is very common for me to spot and harvest edible mushrooms. I've brought home puffballs, chantrelle, oyster, old man of the woods, and others. I was wrapping up my work for the day and thinking about clocking out. The time clock is located in an old house that has been converted to be an office. I decided that I was going to go check on the status of the muscadines that the previous residents had cultivated in the side yard. I was walking through the front yard and that's when I saw it, chicken of the woods! Growing on the base of an oak tree just a dozen feet away from the building!!
Funny how sometimes when I stop looking for something I end up finding it. I immediately sent my wife a picture and the words "Bock Bock!?". She replied with "Yes! Absolutely yes!". So I pulled out my pocket knife and cut the base of the mushroom flush with the tree. We have yet to eat it and I am looking forward to that. It is remarkable just how chicken-like this mushroom is!
Now my wife needs to find one. This mushroom has been her unicorn! I remain optimistic that she will find one soon. I only hope that I am with her when she does so that I may share her joy and excitement!
You can follow my wife and I's homesteading journey on her Steemit page @wholesomeroots
Chicken of the woods is my favorite mushroom.
As soon as I find one this year I'm planning on making "boneless buffalo wings-of-the-woods" from a recipe I found on instagram.
Just beer batter, fry, and tossed it in wing sauce. The pictures that I saw on ig made it look delicious. I can't wait to try it.
How do you prepare it?
Btw, it's nice to find other mushroom lovers on Steemit!! Following and hoping to read more content of yours.
Thanks for the support! I'm not sure how I'll prepare this one yet. Last year my wife made a delicious dish with noodles and a creamy sauce from raw cows milk. But right now your boneless Buffalo wings of the words are sounding mighty tasty!
This was my first post. I'll try to find time to do more writing so long as people enjoy reading!
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Wow! I am so envious! It is my unicorn too! I probably just haven't been in the right part of the woods at the right time.
Have you tried looking in the front yard?!
LOL you never know...they could be there. I found about 4 lbs of oyster mushrooms there this spring.
It would be great if you can post a picture of the meal you create with this beauty!!! So large .. almost looks like a piece of coral :) Great find!!! SUNSHINE247
Mmmmmm! What a Score! I only found my first Hen of the Woods last summer! Best part is, once you know where they 'roost' you can come back after the rains and have something to fry up almost every week or two, depending. A little olive oil and garlic is my favorite! Congrats @ryczar Enjoy! @ecoknowme
The last time we ate it Rose had put it in a dish with noodles and a creamy sauce. We really thought it had a chicken like taste and texture. Quite remarkable!
you can also tear it up like chicken strips and fry it Asian style if you are into Stir fry. Little oil, garlic, ginger (some spice if you like) and soysauce. Also marinades well. Drooling with jealousy.
I think I saw some of this the other day! My wife and I were camping and thought it looked cool, but we didn't have any idea what kind it was. I Have posted about it (https://steemit.com/food/@sustainablyyours/missed-opportunities-chicken-of-the-woods). Maybe you could identify it for positive?
Also, I linked to your post from mine and followed you. I hope to learn a little bit about mushroom identification. Thank you for the knowledge!
Cool! I just read your post!
Lucky you! I've yet to find one on my property, but I do have a nice Morel patch if I can beat the turkeys to it. I giggled reading the bock, bock. I bet your wife did too.
Yes that was the code we were using for it. We've also said that we were looking for COW as well!
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STOPFollowing and how amazing are they. We don't have many wild mushrooms here in Australia.
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