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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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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.

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
  7. Jen

    October 19, 2021 at 9:15 pm

    You said you’d love to hear from us if found in the Midwest- just found a very large cluster when flipping my duck-poop shavings compost pile, north of Mpls in the far north metro! Can’t wait to get back out there and look for more, gives me a new excitement when it comes to the laborious job of turning my massive compost piles !

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      October 20, 2021 at 1:06 pm

      That’s great! thanks. It’s their season now, they like it cold.

      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

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Alan Bergo
I made vegan fish sauce from ramp juice. You tak I made vegan fish sauce from ramp juice. 

You take the pure juice of the leaves, mix it with salt, Koji rice, and more chopped fresh ramp leaves, then ferment it for a bit. 

After the fermentation you put it into a dehydrator and cook it at 145-150 F for 30 days. 

The slow heat causes a Maillard/browning reaction over time. 

After 30 days you strain the liquid and bottle it. It’s the closest thing to plant-based fish sauce I’ve had yet. 

The potency of ramps is a pretty darn good approximation of the glutamates in meat. But you could prob make something similar with combinations of other alliums. 

The taste is crazy. I get toasted ramp, followed by mellow notes from the fermentation. Potent and delicate at the same time. 

I’ve been using it to make simple Japanese-style dipping sauces for tempura etc. 

Pics: 
2: Ramp juice 
3: Juicy leaf pulp 
4: Squeezing excess juice from the pulp
5: After 5 days at 145F 
6: After 30 days 
7: Straining through Muslin to finish

#ramps #veganfishsauce #experimentalfood #kojibuildscommunity #fermentation #foraging
Oeufs de Gaulle is a classic morel recipe Jacques Oeufs de Gaulle is a classic morel recipe Jacques Pepin used to make for French president Charles de Gaulle. 

You bake eggs in a ramekin with shrimp topped with creamy morel sauce and eat with toast points. 

Makes for a really special brunch or breakfast. Recipe’s on my site, but it’s even better to watch Jacques make it on you tube. 

#jacquespepin #morels #shrimp #morilles #brunchtime
Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each instead of the pound. 

Good day today, although my Twin Cities spots seem a full two weeks behind from the late spring. 2 hours south they were almost all mature. 

76 for me and 152 for the group. Check your spots, and good luck! 

#morels #murkels #mollymoochers #drylandfish #spongemushroom #theprecious
The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natu The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natural secretion of water I typically see with plants. 

I understand it as an indicator that the mushrooms are growing rapidly, and a byproduct of their metabolism speeding up. If you have some clarifications, chime in. 

Most people know it from Hydnellum 
peckii-another polypore. I’ve never seen it on pheasant backs before.

Morels are coming soon too. Mine were 1 inch tall yesterday in the Twin Cities. 

#guttation #mushroomhunting #cerioporussquamosus #pheasantback #naturesbeauty
Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a grocery store. 

#groceryshopping #sochan #rudbeckialaciniata #foraging
Italian wild food traditions are some of my favori Italian wild food traditions are some of my favorite. 

Case in point: preboggion, a mixture of wild plants, that, depending on the reference, should be made with 5-23 individual plants. 

Here’s a few mixtures I’ve made this spring, along with a reference from the Oxford companion to Italian food. 

The mixture should include some bitter greens (typically assorted asters) but the most important plant is probably borage. 

Making your own version is a good excercise. Here they’re wilted with garlic and oil, but there’s a bunch of traditional recipes the mixture is used in. 

Can you believe this got cut from my book?!

#preboggion #preboggiun #foraging #traditionalfoods
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