Chicken Fried Chicken of the Woods

Chicken Fried Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms

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4.44 from 144 votes

Possibly the greatest chicken of the woods dish you will ever taste.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chicken fried, Chicken of the woods, Sulphur Shelf

Servings:

Calories: 49kcal

Author: Alan Bergo

Equipment

Heavy saute of frying pan, like cast iron

Ingredients

4 2 oz pieces of young chicken of the woods, the size of a small fist.
1 cup All purpose flour, as needed for breading, roughly 1 cup
½ teaspoon very fine salt or kosher salt ground in a spice grinder to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
½ tsp sweet paprika
1 tiny pinch cayenne pepper
3 eggs for breading
1 tbsp milk or water in a pinch
6 Tbsp Clarified butter or ghee, for cooking or substitute a combination of cooking oil and unsalted butter
A few sprigs of fresh thyme optional
Small clove of garlic crushed lightly with the back of a knife optional
Lemon wedges for serving

Instructions

Take your pieces of chicken mushrooms and trim off the tough part where the stem starts to attach to the tree. Wash and dry the mushrooms well, which will help seasonings adhere.
In a bowl large enough to accommodate the mushrooms, beat the eggs with a fork and a splash of milk or water.
Season the flour with a good pinch of salt (at least ½ teaspoon) pepper, paprika and cayenne to taste (go easy on the cayenne).
Toss the mushrooms first in flour, then in egg, then in flour again.*
Heat a pan with ¼ cup cooking oil, as well as 2 tablespoon unsalted butter. Add your breaded chicken mushrooms, the crushed clove of garlic, and the thyme.
Cook the chicken of the woods until they are golden brown on each side, about 4-5 minutes, adding extra oil if the pan gets dry, then blot the mushrooms on a paper towel quickly to weep excess oil, sprinkle with a little salt to finish and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

*If your chickens have been in the fridge for a day or two they might be a bit dry, and could have trouble allowing the coating to adhere if they are, or if they're old, consider steaming them and patting dry to ensure the coating adheres.

Like your typical chicken fried steak, these would be fine with some red-eye gravy, or just a few lemon slices and a green salad for a lighter touch.

Nutrition