Chicken of the woods are the best very young.
Even if you’re new to mushroom hunting, you’ve probably seen these, they’re chicken of the woods and they’re one of the safest, widely available mushrooms out there, and if you catch them at the right time they’re some of the best mushrooms I’ve eaten.
Habitat
In order to find these it’s helpful to know how they grow. Chicken of the woods are parasites, decomposing or infecting living trees, eating them from the inside out. They begin fruiting in the beginning of the summer, and will continue into the fall. From my experience, each tree hosting a chicken mushroom will tend to have it’s own “clock”, meaning that you could go somewhere and cut one, then come back two months later and find another on a different tree a mile away. Typically I find them growing on various species of oak in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but they also grow on conifers too, especially on the west coast and up into Canada.
This guy looks nice, but you’ll need to check him for bugs.
Harvesting
Chicken mushrooms get a bad rap from many mushroom hunters. They say they’re tough, or bland, or that they “don’t pick chickens” as some type of personal prejudice, which is a shame. Here’s my angle: finding chicken mushrooms is very easy as far as mushrooms go, but finding chicken mushrooms in prime eating condition is not. You wouldn’t eat an old dried up potato, so don’t eat an old, dry, or wormy chicken.
Age and texture is an issue, but personally, I inspect them more for bugs than anything else. More often than not, most of the chickens you find will be infested. It’s difficult too, since I’ve found chickens in prime eating condition, but, due to nature’s whim, are riddled with larvae. To compound the issue, even if the mushroom has only a hole or two that you can see, if it sits in your fridge for a day or two, or worse, at room temperature (think a coop market).
To inspect them for bugs, to cut into the mushroom where it connects to the tree and see if you can see any sort of tunneling like an ant hill, if you can, keep cutting into the mushroom, moving farther and farther up to the tip until you can’t see any tunnels. This should prevent any little worms from continuing their work and feeding themselves in your refrigerator, they will actually crawl out into your fridge if you’re not careful.
Different Species
I’ve eaten two species of chickens: yellow pored Laetiporus sulphureus, and white pored Laetiporus cincinnatus.
They’re both great to eat, but there is just something about the white pored variety that I like more, they seem even more tender, even as they age then the yellow variety. Often I can eat more of the mushroom too, including the tender stem in some mushrooms. Other than those two, in the United States, according to Tom Volk, there should also be:
West Coast
L. gilbertsonii, L. gilbertsonii: growing on eucalyptus or oak
L. conifericola: growing on conifers
East Coast and Great lakes
- L. huroniensis: yellow pores, growing on conifers
- L. sulphureus: yellow pores, growing on oak
- L. cincinnatus: white pores, growing on oak
Laeitporus cincinnatus (my favorite species)
A young white pored chicken of the woods.
Like I mentioned, white-pored chickens are my favorite, and they seem to prefer growing from the roots of trees as opposed to directly from the sides of trees, but I’ve found them growing in both situations, as you can see in pictures above and below.
They’re also more rare than yellow chickens, which seem to be just about everywhere in the summer. If you find a cincinnatus, consider yourself lucky.
Allergic reactions
While it isn’t exactly common, some people get a numbing sensation in their lips after eating chicken of the woods. If it happens to you, it’s nothing to be scared of, but the rest of your mushroom harvesting career is probably not going to include gigantic amounts of chicken of the woods.
I know at least two people that still eat the mushroom even though they get the reaction, and I’ve heard of people developing the reaction overtime. It may be strange feeling, but it’s not going to kill you.
Should I avoid chickens growing on conifers? Maybe.
With Laetiporus/chickens, there really aren’t any look a-likes worth mentioning in my opinion, but it’s widely recommended not to eat chicken of the woods that are growing on coniferous trees. Now, I’m not trying to go against science, but it just isn’t that simple.
While it’s fairly well documented that chickens from, say, the Northwest United States growing on conifers can give some people an upset stomach, it doesn’t happen to everyone.
My commercial harvesting friends in Oregon say they avoid harvesting Laetiporus gilbertsonii growing on Eucalyptus, but, I have a friend who recently traveled to Alaska to hunt, and spoke with multiple people that harvest and eat chickens up there growing on spruce with no problem.
Basically, chickens growing on conifers may be more likely to cause G.I. upset in some people, but it’s not a guarantee, so if you’re harvesting a new species growing on a tree you haven’t eaten before, try a small amount to make sure it agrees with you, just like with any new food.
Preservation
As far as preserving your chicken mushrooms, In my opinion you have two options: Pickling and freezing. I prefer pickling to freezing, since even if the mushrooms are cooked before freezing they seem to develop a kind of off texture.
Pickling preserves the texture of mushrooms better than any method I’ve found. The acid you add to a pickling liquid too makes them a natural addition to a vinaigrette, or as a way to cut the fat of a rich sauce.
Pickling is my favorite way to preserve these
A lot of hunters around Minnesota and Wisconsin where I hunt like to freeze these, and that works, with one caveats: never freeze chickens raw. Water expands when it freezes and destroys the texture, plus, it’s simply a horrible waste of your freezer space.
To freeze these, saute them in plenty of butter with some herbs like thyme, and salt to taste, but don’t brown the mushrooms, you just want to remove water, and browning them would narrow the possibilities you have when you thaw them.
When putting them in the freezer, make sure to add plenty of butter or fat to the plastic bag, tupper-ware, or whatever container you’re going to keep them in, since it will help ward off freezer burn. Lastly, choose a container that will expose them to as little air as possible.
Recipes
- Wild Mushroom Conserve
- Pickled Chicken of the Woods
- Wild Mushrooms With Garlic and Parsley
- Chicken Fried Chicken of the Woods
- Chicken Smothered with Chicken of the Woods
- Rainbow Trout With Pickled Chicken of the Woods
- Wild Mushroom Duxelles
- Chicken of the Woods With Spring Vegetables
More
35 Essential Wild Mushrooms Every Forager Should Know
Sounds yummy. I couldn’t find your recipe for pickled Chicken of the Woods.
Hi! The recipe is up there, I double checked the links. search for pickled chicken of the woods in the search bar at the top of the homepage, If you have trouble I can copy paste it as well for you, if you like.
Ignorant question here: how do you eat the pickled chicken? Just can’t “picture” the flavor…
thanks
Jacob V
Hi Jacob. Pickling is the best way to preserve chickens, hens, and chanterelles. The flavor is the same, but in a “pickle” form, meaning that it will be a bit sharp and vinegar-y. You can eat them cold out of the jar with a nice beer, or with a plate of cured meat and cheese. One of my favorite ways to enjoy them is to heat them up with a bit of chicken stock, cook it down a bit, whisk in some butter until the sauce is creamy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, then use it to garnish a piece of fish. Freezing mushrooms tends to destroy their texture a bit, pickling is, really the best way to go for the species I’ve mentioned if you want to preserve them. You can flavor the pickling liquid any way you want, but a little bit of herb, (not rosemary, it’s too strong) and maybe a clove of garlic in the mix is the best imho. Thanks for your interest. A
Can you somehow encourage growth or “plant” them in your own space or property?
I have friends that have done it. What they did, was find a downed log on someone’s property that makes chickens, drag it out of the woods and put it on a truck, then put the log in your backyard. Commercial cultivation hasn’t been successful on a large scale-maybe in the future.
My family is big on mushroom hunting. Pickling, drying, frying, you name it. My uncle has actually written books about it, but I’m lost on chicken of the woods and what to do with this big beauty sitting in front of me that my neighbor picked. Web sites say I can’t dry them, and that’s what I’m used to doing. I’m lost! Help?
Indeed, chicken of the woods are not good for drying. My favorite way to preserve them is to pickle them, I have a recipe in this website under the chicken of the woods tab, located under “polypores”. Freezing is not a great thing to do either, since they will become watery and stringy, not very appetizing at all. However, chickens could be made into duxelles and frozen, that would be great. From there the duxelles could be pulled out of the freezer and added to a sauce or gravy, that would be awesome. Plenty to do with them, Make sure to inspect thoroughly for bugs though, especially if it has been sitting for a while. I only use the soft, outer trim of the leaves. The inner portion is too tough to be good, especially in older specimens. Thanks for your interest. A
How long can you keep the chicken mushroom in the frig before eating it or pickeling it?
Thanks
Just make sure it hasn’t gone bad or is wilted/slimy. A week in the fridge should be fine.
After pickling can they still be fried in batter and butter? Just found a big mess of chicken of the woods morel hunting in MO. Thanks
Absolutely, thats what I do at the restaurant. Pickling a mushroom is the best way to preserve it’s texture.
I like chicken of the woods but I don’t Have any recipe on how to cook it .
Can you help!
I think I’ve found these in the woods near me but how do you know for certain? I don’t want to get sick!
Buy a guide book. Do research. It’s not rocket science.
I used to think the best way to eat a chicken of the woods mushroom was to pickle them. Pickling helps break down the chitin that gives them the tough, mealy texture. But I recently spotted a chicken of the woods as it was just forming. We’ve had very cold and wet weather and I allowed the mushroom to mature for 2 days. I sauteed on low heat with butter and the texture and flavor were excellent. It reminded me of a lion’s mane mushroom but with a bit of lemon and the sent of wild rose flowers. Really, really great.
Young chickens are some seriously good eating.
Thanks for writing this! I recently foraged and enjoyed some moderately young (and uninfested) chicken of the woods (sulphureus).
I set aside the tough “center” pieces in the freezer until I had a chance to make broth. I added leek greens and a tiny amount of salt, brought it to a boil, then simmered for 30-40m. The broth is a pale orange, smells lovely, and holds some nice aspects of the mushroom’s taste. Have you ever tried this?
Less is more with ingredients in mushroom broths. I have some chicken rinds from this year leftover, I’ll have to try.
So, I purchased chicken of the woods from the farmers market last year. The guy told me to soak them in very salty water before I cook them. I did. I had no idea that this was to draw out the insect larvae. I was so disgusted! Truth be told, though, I had spent so much money that I still ate it. ????♀️ I was very disturbed by the thought of the insects, but I fought through it telling myself that they all came out. The taste and texture was amazing! As a vegan, it is a wonderful chicken substitute. I have some property and I would like to learn to forage for mushrooms, myself. I’m very concerned about finding infested mushrooms, though. Will they only come up through the base of the cluster? Is this a sure fire way to determine if there are bugs? I will definitely soak them either way, to be sure.
Hi Jo. After seeing the larvae, you are now initiated into the mushroom lover’s club. The good thing is….there won’t always be larvae. Mushrooms, just like anything else in this world, are part of a food chain. The key to getting mushrooms with no bugs in them is just getting them while they’re young, but it can be hard to tell if they’re in there. To be extra cautious, you can cut only the young growing tip from the chickens, instead of cutting the whole clump, as that part is typically the last to be “inhabited”. Some of the greatest meals of my life have been with young, tender chickens.
I like to can my hen of the woods but never tyrd chicken the hens stay fresh and dont get rubbery when canned
awesome article, thank you! I’m new to mushroom game and just found chicken of the woods, im 100% positive they are. They aren’t as bright as when i first saw them but couldn’t pick until a week or so later bc I was working. If they are a slightly darker color are they still edible? They are not slimy or black at all just a bit darker then most pics im seeing.. thank you!
A week is a long time, in chicken of the woods time. Some mushrooms will be ok outside for a week, like chanterelles, but not chickens. If you want to try a little bit, the outer 1/2 inch or so of the shelves *might* be ok, or it might be tough. If it’s tough, or if it’s got larvae in it, go back next year, or go find another fresh one–try going 2-3 days after a good rainstorm.
Hello Alan,
Do you have any idea how quickly (hours, days, weeks) it takes a chicken to go from emerging, to reaching decent harvesting size?
Thanks,
../iliana
Go back and check in 2-3 days.
I just had my first experience here in Northern California, found on a big Oak log. I decided to go with chix nuggets! Simple breading with Panko and flour. Soo good! Excited to try other recipes.
I am new to mushroom foraging, and my daughter has requested to have chicken of the woods for her birthday in a few weeks. I am in Southern IL area and wondering if there are specific types to look for in this region or trees they typically grow on? Is summer a good time to hunt for these?
Summer is the best time to hunt for these. Go to woods with oak trees.