Foraging and Cooking Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms

Chicken of the Woods growing on a hardwood log

There is a edible mushroom in the forest that has a meaty texture similar to chicken. The mushroom is known as Chicken of the Woods ( Laetiporus sulphureus ) and is prized among mushroom hunters. Chicken of the Woods are similiar to Lobster Mushrooms and Beefsteak Fungus because they mimic animal products.

Chicken of the Woods Lifecycle

The common chicken of the woods starts growing as yellow and orange nodes on hardwood trees and logs. This species of chicken mushroom is most common on oak trees, but it also fruits on a variety of dead hardwood trees as well.

At the next stage, chicken of the woods the nodes start to form little chicken fingers the mushrooms can be harvested at the stage but it's best to be patient and wait till these mushrooms flesh out and get a lot bigger.

Mature chicken of the woods will form these large often multi-layered shelves they will be easily identified by the bright orange exterior and the yellow underside. These mushrooms are polypores and they'll have small barely visible pores instead of gills. It's best to harvest early at this stage. As the mushroom gets older, it'll start to lose its color and get tougher and chewier.

How to harvest Chicken of the Woods mushrooms

Cutting Chicken of the Woods with a Knife

When harvesting these mushrooms, it's easiest to use a big knife because that'll allow for more precision and ease when cutting through the mushroom. You can also harvest with your hands and a smaller knife as well, if that's all you have to carry all the mushrooms out of the forest. I use my big pack for backpacking as well as two foraging sacks from barebones living. Each sack fit roughly eight pounds of chicken in the woods and one of them has like a mesh bottom as well. While i harvested a ton of mushrooms, I also left a lot behind for them to spore out and complete their life cycle.

White Pored Chicken of the Woods

Another variety of chicken of the woods you may find is white poured sulfur shelf Laetiporus cincinnatus. This variety is a little bit less common than yellow poured chicken of the woods. this variation obviously has a white poured underside rather than a yellow poured underside the white poured sulfur shelf is a little bit more of a peach color than a bright orange it also forms the base of hardwood trees rather than on the tree itself like a shelf mushroom. This mushroom often forms in a circular pattern.

Poisonous Look a likes to Chicken of the Woods

Chicken of the Woods are one of the foolproof four, meaning they have no true look-a-likes. However, there are a few mushrooms that can be mistaken for Chicken of the Woods from a distance.

Toxic Fungi: Jack o'Lantern

James Mahan Holding a Jack o'lantern Mushroom — James Mahan holding a Jack o’lantern Mushroom

These poisonous mushrooms are known as jack-o-lanterns for their bioluminescent properties. These toxic fungi grow at the base of stumps roots and trees these mushrooms have true gills and this mushroom also glows in the dark which is really cool these mushrooms are poisonous to eat, but you can touch them if you want to.

Mystery Mushroom: Hapalopilus croceus

When I first came across this orange mushroom, I had no idea what it was! Not much is known or writen about it; it doesn't even have a common name. It is referred to only by it's Latin name Hapalopilus croceus. This bright orange blob forms on hardwood trees and resembles the nickelodeon logo. As it matures, it becomes dark orange to brownish color. The edibility of this mushroom is unknown; potentially deadly poisonous.

Berkeley's Polypore - a (barely) edible look-a-like

Berkeley's Polypore Mushroom Bondarzewia berkeleyi — Berkeley’s Polypore mushroom *Bondarzewia berkeleyi*

Berkeley's polypore Bondarzewia berkeleyi is another mushroom that looks similar to chicken of the woods. I often confuse Berkeley’s Polypore with Chicken of the Woods from a distance, but once you get up close you can easily tell them apart. This mushroom is off-white to tan in color and forms these big rosettes at the base of hardwood trees. These mushrooms are edible when young but get very chewy as they get older.

Chicken of the Woods Recipes!

Chicken of the woods are of the best wild edible mushrooms and have a texture similar to chicken meat. I enjoy these mushrooms best when they're cooked in a sauce they're very porous and they tend to soak up any flavor they're cooked in. Barbecue chicken of the woods pizza is one of my favorite ways to prepare it.