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Simple Roasted Hen of the Woods

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Easy roasted hen of the woods mushroom recipe Mushrooms are one of the most perfect ingredients for minimalist, less is more cooking, and these simple roasted hen of the woods / maitake are a great example. Sure, you can make them into pasta sauce, jerky, and all kinds of things, but probably the simplest, and one of the most delicious things to make, is simply to roast them, and eat them fresh from the oven, with you’re hunting buddy, and a cold drink, far away from mosquitos and horseflies.

Roasted hen of the woods mushrooms or maitake.

There’s a couple things to mention, mainly that you should imprint the word “roasted” as opposed to “baked” in the recipe here. Roasting means we’re going to use relatively high heat. I say 375F in the recipe below, but simple recipes relying on only a few high quality ingredients can be fussy, so know that you may have to up the heat a bit at the end, or reduce it a little to get crisp edges depending on how well your oven is calibrated. Use your instincts, but absolutely do not overcrowd the pan since the maitake won’t roast properly, and will end up steaming.

Grifola frondosa, hen of the woods or maitake mushroom

My first hen of 2019 went straight from the stump to it’s new home: the oven.

When properly done, you should end up with roasted hen niblets, perfect for snacking on with a drink, with slightly herbed, crisp edges, but a slightly chewy, tender center. As the mushrooms cool on the baking sheet, they’ll continue to cook, and crisp a bit, so don’t worry if your’s aren’t how you envision them immediately after you take them from the oven.

Easy roasted hen of the woods mushroom recipe

Dark with mahogany edges is what you’re looking for here.

You’ll be surprised how fast a pound of hen of the woods mushrooms will disappear, and I can just about guarantee that if you have more than a pound in the fridge, you’ll be making more than one tray of maitake. You can make this in larger batches than a pound, too, just use multiple baking sheets, or bake in batches.

They’re best eaten fresh from the oven, still warm.

Easy roasted hen of the woods mushroom recipe

Roasted hen of the woods mushrooms or maitake.
Print Recipe
3.68 from 34 votes

Roasted Hen of the Woods or Maitake Mushrooms

Simple roasted hen of the woods mushrooms
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Hen of the woods mushroom, Maitake
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 12 Oz hen of the woods Preferably wild, peeled into leaves, cleaned (lightly swished in water and/or brushed as needed if wild/dirty)
  • 3 tablespoons flavorless cooking oil
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt plus an extra sprinkle
  • 1 teaspoon Chopped fresh thyme, rosemary, or sage dried thyme is an ok substitute, but not rosemary as it will burn
  • 6-7 cracks of the pepper mill or to taste
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with a knife

Instructions

  • Toss the pieces of hen of the woods (press them between paper towels to weep water if you had to rinse them first) with all ingredients.
    If you have cultivated hen of the woods, do this very gently as most are quite fragile.
  • Spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon mat, and bake in a preheated 425 oven for 25-35 minutes (rotating 180 degrees half way through if your oven heats unevenly) until the mushrooms are crisp around the edges, but still slightly tender in the center.
  • Cultivated mushrooms may take a bit longer as they typically contain more water. Wild hens, especially those picked in a dry spell, will cook quicker.
  • Remove the mushrooms and allow to cool on the baking sheet until you can handle them, then eat.

Video

Roasted hen of the woods mushrooms or maitake.

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Related

Previous Post: « Beefsteak Mushrooms with Sorrel
Next Post: Hen of the Woods Roast with Leeks and Black Walnuts »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brenda Bellinger

    April 2, 2020 at 8:12 pm

    5 stars
    Bought a gorgeous maitake at our local farmer’s market. The vendor said to “roast” it. Went online for a little more detail and found your site. Followed your recipe and the results were delicious! Will definitely make this again. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      April 3, 2020 at 10:53 am

      Glad it worked for you Brenda.

      Reply
  2. lisa

    September 30, 2020 at 11:18 am

    Thanks for your beautiful recipes using hen of the woods, it’s awful easy to suddenly have a WHOLE LOT of it! This is so simple and sounds delicious, a good way to get more hen down my gullet. I might try it with a squirt of lemon, too.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      October 1, 2020 at 12:07 pm

      Welcome, and lemon is great here.

      Reply
  3. Rose

    October 4, 2020 at 1:04 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent results for my first time cooking Hen of the Woods. I threw in a sprinkle of smoked paprika as well. Delicious and simple.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Oven-Fried Shrimp of the Woods says:
    October 2, 2020 at 9:40 am

    […] love baking mushrooms (see my simple treatment for maitake here). Baking needs only a minimal amount of fat, which keeps the mushrooms lighter, making sure they […]

    Reply
  2. Hunting and cooking hen of the woods mushrooms also known as maitake, or Grifola frondosa says:
    October 22, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    […] Simple Roasted Hen of the Woods  […]

    Reply

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