• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Forager Chef

Foraging and Cooking Mushrooms, Wild and Obscure Food

  • Home
  • About
  • Mushrooms
    • Mushroom Species Archive
    • Posts by Species
      • Other
        • Lobster Mushrooms
        • Shrimp of the Woods
        • Truffles
        • Morels
        • Shaggy Mane
        • Hericium
        • Puffball
      • Polypores
        • Hen of the Woods
        • Dryad Saddle
        • Chicken of The Woods
        • Cauliflowers
        • Ischnoderma
        • Beefsteak
      • Chanterelles
        • Black Trumpet
        • Red Cinnabar
        • Yellowfeet
      • Gilled
        • Matsutake
        • Russula / Lactarius
          • Candy Caps
          • Saffron Milkcap
          • Indigo Milkcap
        • Fairy Rings
      • Boletes
        • Porcini
        • Leccinum
        • Slippery Jacks
    • Recipes
      • Fresh
      • Dried
      • Preserves
    • The Basics
  • Plants
    • Plant Archive
    • Leafy Green Recipes
      • Leafy Green Plant Varieties
    • Wild Fruit
      • Wild Plums
      • Highbush Cranberry
      • Wild Grapes
      • Rowanberries
      • Wild Cherries
      • Aronia
      • Elderberry
      • Nannyberry
      • Wild Blueberries
    • Wild Herbs and Spices
    • From The Garden
    • Nuts, Roots, Tubers and Grains
    • Stalks and Shoots
  • Meat
    • Four-Legged
    • Poultry
    • Fish/Seafood
    • Offal
    • Charcuterie
  • Recipes
    • Pickles, Preserves, Etc
    • Fermentation
    • Condiments
    • Appetizers
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Side Dishes
    • Entrees
    • Baking
    • Sweets
  • Video
    • The Wild Harvest
    • Foraging Videos
    • Lamb and Goat Series
    • YouTube Tutorials
  • Press
    • Podcasts
  • Work
    • Public Speaking
    • Charity and Private Dinners
    • Forays / Classes / Demos

Fried Chicken Mushrooms

Fried chicken mushrooms lyophyllum decastes Fried chicken mushrooms, or Lyophyllum decastes have eluded me for a number of years. I read about them first in David Arora’s Mushrooms Demystified, but hadn’t ever seen them hunting in Minnesota.

As far as mushrooms go, they’re pretty non-descript. They’re small, and typically grow in clusters around disturbed land, which, as most mushroom hunters will tell you, are characteristics that can be used to describe plenty of species.

With so many fun mushrooms to hunt and play with, I forgot about them, and didn’t put much effort into seeking them out. You won’t find online diatribes praising their aroma or flavor, like you will their cousins in the greater Tricholoma family: Matsutake and Honey Mushrooms.

Even so, I was surprised to get a message from my foraging buddy Dan this year that a local coop was selling them-I had to try some. The selection at the coop was pretty typical: old, past prime mushrooms that had obviously been picked many days before sitting on a shelf for customers to pick up, inspect, and then set back down after they notice the 40$/lb tag, the same price of Pacific Northwest chanterelles at the same market.

Regardless, I coughed up 20 bucks for enough shrooms to experiment with and brought them home. In the kitchen they came out similar to their cousins I’ve cooked. They were meaty, and had a nice texture, but they didn’t have quite the same “oomph” flavor-wise that any species of honey mushroom I’ve had does, let alone something as special as a matsutake. Comparing them to a cultivated shiitake (which they’re also related to) is reasonable.

So, in all honesty, the fried chicken mushroom was fun to play with, but I’ll probably describe them in the future as the honey mushroom’s ugly brother. It’s definitely not that they aren’t a mushroom fit for the table, since they definitely are. It’s just that it’s a very rare moment that I’ll buy a mushroom from a store, so when I do, it better be really, really good.

fried chicken mushroom lyophyllum decastes

With the retail price tag in mind, I’d almost rather have a shiitake, since I’m not independently wealthy. If I am going to spring for a spendy mushroom, and I have the choice of these or chanterelles (as was the case at the coop) I’m buying the chanterelles. If I had a patch I knew of where they grew though, I’d definitely cook with fried chicken mushrooms much more.

One last thing, of note about these you’ll want to know: they have a thickening quality when cooked in a stock or broth, just like honey mushrooms and some Amanita species, it works a bit like cornstarch.

Has anyone seen these wild in the Midwest? I’d love to hear about it.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Print
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Related

Previous Post: « Rabbit “Wings”
Next Post: Bison-Black Barley Stew, With Fried Chicken Mushrooms »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sam schaperow

    January 17, 2015 at 8:35 am

    How do the quality of these compare to subpar, overhandled, several days on a shelf honey mushrooms?

    BTW, and off-topic, right now there are many polypores out for the picking, all but one type that may not even be in your area. are thus far believed to be edible. They’re often hard, but can be boiled or pressure cooked to extract huge heaps of mushroom flavor for a broth/stock. Some are bitter, which some people like or tolerate, and of course there are ways of using bitter flavors in cooking that can be interesting. I hope you’ll have a chance to forage for, cook with, and write about tough polypores this winter.

    Sam Schaperow, M.S.
    PsychologyCT.com
    https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mushroomtalk
    https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/plantforagers

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      January 17, 2015 at 9:22 am

      Hi Sam, The quality is about the same I would suspect. I was more making a comment about the sad state of fresh mushrooms in grocery stores.

      Reply
  2. pete hautman

    March 1, 2015 at 4:08 pm

    I find these from time to time in the Twin Cities area, and I’d rate them *excellent* for the table when fresh–far superior to honey mushrooms in every respect. They’re tricky to ID though.

    Reply
    • Jeff

      December 30, 2015 at 10:02 pm

      I found a large amount of what I believe to be Fried Chicken Mushrooms. I am 95% sure that it’s what they are. What are your resources? I have it narrowed down to either Fried Chicken or Sweating Mushroom, which I really don’t want to eat if i am wrong

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        January 9, 2016 at 3:19 pm

        Look to David Arora.

        Reply
      • sam schaperow

        January 9, 2016 at 6:23 pm

        You can post it to the Yahoo group MushroomTalk, of which David’s a member.

        Reply
    • Jeff

      December 30, 2015 at 10:04 pm

      I found a large amount of what I believe to be Fried Chicken Mushrooms. I am 95% sure that it’s what they are. What are your resources? I have it narrowed down to either Fried Chicken or Sweating Mushroom, which I really don’t want to eat if i am wrong.

      They are in perfect condition and they have a smell that is almost sweet and nutty at the same time.

      Reply
  3. Amy B

    September 17, 2016 at 2:03 pm

    I think I may have found a cluster in the north metro!
    I’m a noob so even through I really want to cook these up, I won’t. Wish I could post you a pic!

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      September 18, 2016 at 10:44 am

      Feel free to send me a pic on facebook if you want, or post your picture in the forum “mushroom hunting and foraging in Minnesota” on facebook, I’m active on there.

      Reply
  4. Pete Hautman

    October 1, 2016 at 9:36 am

    Just picked a cauliflower-size bunch of lyophullum in the North Metro yesterday morning. When fresh and clean, they are one of my favorites. Not all that distinctive in the flavor department—they certainly don’t taste like chicken—but they have a lovely appearance and texture. I wish I came across them more often.

    Reply
  5. George

    October 9, 2019 at 4:10 pm

    I believe I found these in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in a back yard. Have decent images of anatomy, in vivo cluster and spore print – would you be willing to drop me an email so I might send them to you for an opinion? Used Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora to ID but I’m very new to this hobby.

    Best,

    George

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      October 13, 2019 at 9:43 am

      I have only picked a few of these, and until I’m more well versed in them I would recommend you post in a mushroom group on FB-that is your best bet. You can shoot me a line at alanbergo3 AT gmail.com

      Reply
  6. Al Hevezi

    November 1, 2020 at 9:20 am

    I have found a great cluster in Central Ohio, my Dad and I found a large group years ago in N/W Indiana. Glad I finally ID’d them

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Bison-Black Barley Stew, With Fried Chicken Mushrooms says:
    January 17, 2015 at 9:16 am

    […] I brought my first fried chicken mushrooms home from the coop, after the basic “fry in pan with butter until brown and add salt” […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Categories

Forager Chef

Forager Chef

Instagram

foragerchef

Got treated to a home cooked meal of big lamb meat Got treated to a home cooked meal of big lamb meatballs from the Icelandic lambs @shepherdsongfarm gave us. 

It’s been a while since I had fist-size meatballs. They reminded me of dinners I had with Grandpa at Yarussos in St. Paul, where you got one meatball to rule them all on top of your spaghetti and red gravy. 

Obv I had to make some with venison, wild rice, ramps, and bergamot. The wild rice is fun. Hefty. 

Also forgot to oil my hands, like a chump. 🙄

#ballingonabudget #meatballs #naptime #venison #rampleaves #comfortfoods #rusticfood #monardafistulosa
Tres Leches soaked in candy cap milk was a fun var Tres Leches soaked in candy cap milk was a fun variation I did on the house dessert of a little restaurant I was at for a time. 

Don’t be surprised if you smell like maple syrup a few hours after eating it. Using ground dried golden chanterelles is another variation that’s on my list to try. 

Link in bio to see how to make your own. 

#candycaps #treslechescake #myteethfellout #wildmushrooms #wildfoodlove
ARISE #fungimancer #frostbite #morels #tisthes ARISE 

 #fungimancer 
#frostbite #morels #tistheseason #mushroomhunting #winter #offseasontraining
Big thanks🙏 to all of you who showed your suppo Big thanks🙏 to all of you who showed your support with the first line of spirits @ida_graves_distillery and I collaborated on. 

Brock did a great job wrangling the wild things, and we have plenty of fun ideas in store (think aging nocino in barrels, new flavor combos, etc). If you’re in the Twin Cities and still need some, the amaro is #soldout but @ombibulousmn has nocino, and should have the spruce  liquor (goes down like pine gin) soon. Thank you!

#distillery #foragedcocktails #nocino #craftspirits #drinkatree #mnspirits #smallbatch #godscountry
Let’s talk roadkill. Honestly, roadkill is too s Let’s talk roadkill. Honestly, roadkill is too specific a term for me—I don’t limit myself to vehicular-harvested meat. 

However you feel about the topic, grab some popcorn and head over to the comment section on my blog (link in bio) for the 🔥personal stories from readers have shared from around the world. 

There’s the kid who brought home a nutria after school, a wife getting 4 deer with the same car, a train hitting a herd of elk, a bear named squish, living in a house with weasels, and more. 

#budgetgourmet #gleaning #scavenging #meatismeat #roadkill #freefoods #finderskeepers #wastenotwantnot
Sam Thayer dropped 25 lbs of his highbush cranberr Sam Thayer dropped 25 lbs of his highbush cranberry cultivars (3 types!) on me before the last snowfall and I honestly don’t even know where to start after processing them. I’d already made jams and hot sauce already and I have enough for a year. 😅

Great time to practice the cold-juice which ensures the juice isn’t bitter. 

Anyone else have any ideas? 

You can still find some on the shrubs if the birds didn’t get them up by the north shore. 

#highbushcranberry #winterforaging #birdberries #sweetnectar #foragerproblems #juiceme #embarassmentofriches #wildfoodlove
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Footer

Privacy

  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.