Tender fronds of hen of the woods (Grifola frondosa or maitake) cooked slowly until they just start to brown with butter, sage, garlic and wine make for a good seasonal side dish you can add to all kinds of things.
The basic idea is that you peel the mushroom apart to make long, elegant fronds to show off the natural shape of the mushroom, then cook them slowly in a pan with brown butter, and sage leaves, along with some water or stock to steam them. The technique also works with chicken of the woods mushrooms.
The finished mushrooms can make a nice veg entrée with a few other things. Pictured here with kabocha squash, black walnuts and wild beet greens.
Once the mushrooms are wilted, you continue cooking to evaporate the wine, cooking until the mushrooms have just started to color in the fat that's left over. Finally you add a little garlic, some wine, and spoon the juices over everything.
When I ran the daily-changing vegetarian tasting menu at Heartland, I relied on simple techniques like this. I would make a large batch of a couple pounds at a time, gently reheating a small amount "on the pickup" when an entrée came in.
Adjusting the shape
I love the look of a long mushroom frond with the slender stem attached, but it's fine, and easier for a lot of people to cut the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces before making this. If you want a side of mushrooms that you can spoon on top of something just cut them up a bit. Cut into bite-sized pieces this is the start of a nice sauce for gnocchi, along with a handful of spinach, shallots and parmesan.
Adjusting the color and texture
Depending on how you like your mushrooms, you can do a few things here. If you cook them just until they wilt, the mushrooms will have a more mild flavor. If you cook them longer after the stock has evaporated, they'll start to get color, and get crisp around the edges. I like them with a little color on them.
Making a pan sauce to finish (optional)
Most of the time if I cook a dish with brown butter, I'll make a pan sauce with the butter left in the pan to spoon over the finished dish. This is optional. Below is an example of how I make one in a small saute pan.
Here's how to make it: cook and brown the butter, add a splash (¼ cup) of dry white wine, cooking at a brisk simmer. Add a tablespoon of cold butter and a pinch of salt and whisk vigorously, reducing the heat if needed and simmering until the sauce is opaque and slightly thickened. Double check the seasoning, adjust as needed, then add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice right before serving.
If the sauce breaks or separates, you can re-emulsify it by adding another splash of cool water, then whisk again, and reheat to refresh it. Some chefs serve it as a broken sauce so don't get discouraged if yours breaks. Spoon the finished sauce over the mushrooms, or a finished dish like the mushrooms with squash pictured in this post, or some pasta or ravioli.
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Wild Mushroom Taco Mea (Vegetarian)
Hen of the Woods Mushroom Recipes
Brown Butter-Sage Hen of the Woods Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 4 oz unsalted butter
- 8-10 oz fresh hen of the woods
- 2 large garlic cloves finely chopped or grated
- 1.5 Tablespoons fresh sage leaves sliced, about 5-6 large leaves
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¼ cup chicken stock or water
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- A few cracks of the peppermill to taste
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice to taste
Instructions
Mushrooms
- Tear the mushrooms into pieces of a couple fronds each, leaving the long stem attached.
Brown butter
- In a saucepan with high sides a lid, heat the butter on medium-high heat until melted and sizzling. When you can see the color of the milk solids in the butter just barely begin to turn tan in color, turn the heat to medium and swirl the pan a bit.
- The goal here is to develop flavor by browning, but not burning the butter.
- When the butter is aromatic and starting to brown, take the pan off the heat and swirl it slowly a few times.
- Put the pan back on the heat and add the sage, swirl the pan and cook for a minute more, then add the stock or water, salt, a few cracks of fresh pepper and the mushrooms, cover the pot with a tight fitting lid, increase the heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally to coat the hens with the pan juices for about 10-15 minutes.
Finishing and serving
- Continue cooking the hens until the liquid is gone and there’s only butter. Stir the hens to coat with the juices, then taste a piece and adjust the salt as necessary until it tastes good to you.
- Cook until the mushrooms have just started to brown lightly on the edges. Turn the heat down a bit. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two more. When the hens look good to you, add the wine and the squeeze of lemon, simmer for a minute to cook off the alcohol.
- Divide the mushrooms between preheated dinner plates or a hot serving dish. Spoon the remaining juices over the mushrooms and serve.
- They’re good as a side dish or served with meat.
Katie
Can I use frozen maitake?
Alan Bergo
It won’t be quite the same but yes. Ideally I would use very clean maitake that were frozen raw and cooked directly from the freezer.
Mike Moranz
Been picking and cooking Hens for 50 years since my first foray with the local Polish family. The texture lends itself to different techniques of cooking.
Here is one of my favorites. Since they have a slightly stringy raw character, I break them down into 2 or 3 inch large strings after a thorough wash under the faucet. Drain them for a little bit or place on paper towel just until they don't drip. Put them into a bowel big enough you can toss them with a little flour, salt, and pepper just to coat lightly. After a few minutes, toss with a little more flour and drop into med temp oil, fry slowly until they get nicely brown. Drain and salt and you've got the best crunchy mushroom strings ever! So crunchy.
Alan Bergo
That sounds great.
Zoie Zanoni
Just tried this recipe with a hen I foraged myself & would definitely recommend! The mushroom itself has a uniquely delicious flavor and it’s so good paired with this combination of ingredients. The cooking method also works great to achieve a nice texture.
Alan Bergo
Hey thanks Zoie. I was planning on making it again this week. Fun annual treat for when you feel the first chill in the air and the hens start to pop!
Julie A
Just made this tonight with my first ever find of hen. So delicious - adapted with whipped roasted buttercup squash, sautéed kale and roasted squash seeds. Just divine! I now understand what all the fuss is about with hen of the woods.
Alan Bergo
Thanks Julie. Glad it worked for you.
Charles D Duncan
Excellent and clear recipe. We made this tonight with wild-foraged hen of the woods and homegrown sage, and served it over polenta. Yum!!
Alan Bergo
Thanks Charles. Glad it worked for you!
Lisa
This was amazing!! I added a little extra broth to make a “gravy” and served the mushrooms over garlic mashed potatoes.
Alan Bergo
Sounds great
Anne
Do other mushroom species work as well?
Alan Bergo
Yes you can pick and choose your favorites, but ones that can be cooked in larger pieces will be the best here.
Alan
Long time follower and Flora book owner from the UP, here
I made this last night and it turned out great. I rarely get past pan frying with butter and garlic, but the way the mushrooms took on flavor and still remained their amazing mushroom selves makes me want to try some other methods. Really appreciate the recipe.
Alan Bergo
Thanks Alan. Glad it worked for you.
Leilani Madrid-McGough
Been following you for a while now, found some Maitake this week, so stoked for this recipe! Also, came across Chef Vs. Wild and thought this show was made for me! Then saw your episode last night and thought yep they got the right people! I was rootin for ya! Congrats on the win! Well deserved, especially knowing the dedication you put in towards your craft. Now I gotta try some thistle root...
Alan Bergo
Hey thanks. I've been trying to figure out what species of thistle it was because those were honestly one of the best roots I've ever tasted. Glad you liked it. It was kinda hard to watch as they cut soooo much stuff. One of the hardest things I've ever done, and that doesn't really come across in the 40 minutes of cherry-picked footage.
Cheri F Collins
I watched Chef vs Wild last night. I was excited to see you as a contestant on episode two, and thrilled that you won! Congratulations! 😊
Alan Bergo
Thanks Cheri.
Steph DeMoss
I made this with maitake mushrooms I got from Madison Mushrooms at the Silver Spring, MD farmers market last weekend. AMAZING!!! I mostly followed the recipe, except that I used dried sage that I had on-hand. I served it over mushroom ravioli with lots of freshly grated Parmesan & complemented it with a glass of Pinot Noir. What a treat for an otherwise status quo Monday night! Thanks so much for the recipe, Alan!!
Alan Bergo
Hey glad it worked for you Steph.
Lane Hall
We found some excellent clusters of Maitake, and your email came in the next morning. We just did your recipe, pretty much exactly as you wrote it, and I gotta, say, it is the best mushroom based dish I've ever had! We grow our own potatoes, and had this with some German Butterballs (steamed), a bit of broccoli, and a nice dray white wine. Seriously, this was superb!
Alan Bergo
I’m so glad it worked for you. That was fast!
Terry
When I read the title of your latest post in my email list, this chore is lightened, my brain always gets happy, and usually intrigued. I know the taste of many wild foods and this latest one as an example, brown butter sage, plus hen of the woods, made me wish I had thought of it, but certainly glad you did and many thanks! I hope you continue this for a loooong time. Best Regards, Terry
PS and Thanks also for the recomendation of the Kehoe carbon pans, an investment in quality and the best I have ever owned. Happy to support local and hand crafted.
Dan F
Your timing was perfect for this. I just brought home a nice clump yesterday.
Alan Bergo
Yeah I grabbed a few this week. It’s really good.
Bonnie C.
This looks terrific, but you left out the mushrooms. Approximately what amount/weight of mushrooms for the listed amounts of other ingredients? Thanks!
Alan Bergo
It is 8-10 oz. Thanks for the copy edit.
Bonnie C.
Thanks - can't wait to try this. While I won't be foraging the mushrooms, these are frequently available at some of our local markets.