D
Reagan
5 year old buck +
I think that is a hen the woods. I've never eaten them but they are supposed to be good.
http://www.mushroom-appreciation.com/chicken-of-the-woods.html
http://www.mushroom-appreciation.com/chicken-of-the-woods.html
wiscwhip
5 year old buck +
I found one the other day out at the county park where we walk our dogs growing near the base of a tree right by the parking lot. I would have taken it and tried it, but every dog that gets out of a vehicle there takes a leak on it! I don't suppose that particular one would have been very good.
That's a chicken of the woods. There are to kinds of chicken of the woods, both are edible. The orange/ with white thin fans taste a lot like chicken, you have to cook them long and slow keep them wet while cooking(chicken broth works well. The other kind sometimes taste like lemon pepper chicken. The one in the photo looks like it might be a little bit past prime. The hen of the woods is a totally different mushroom.
Yes. We pick a lot of hen of the woods in fall. They are one of our favorites. They are usually brown or sometimes grey and grow at the bases of oaks and rarely hickory. I think there is a pick with my son holding one that weighed over 3lbs in one of the older mushroom post.
That looks like a chicken to me too. Do a little youtubing and you can find lots of videos to help become familiar with them.
Chicken
Hen
Those pictures are helpful. Do those hens like to grow on dead oaks? I had an oak die in my yard 2 years ago and I have a bunch of mushrooms that look like that growing off the stump. I also have some growing on the split wood that's still piled up against the trunk. How do you cook those hen mushrooms? Is there anything poisonous that grows on oaks that looks just like that?
biglakeba$$
5 year old buck +
Its chicken.
Now is it good?
There is a fine line when its ripe and past ripe. If its stiff(woody) or starting to mush its gone.
You want nice flexible slightly firm "shelves".
GOD. thats tough to type those descriptions....
Now is it good?
There is a fine line when its ripe and past ripe. If its stiff(woody) or starting to mush its gone.
You want nice flexible slightly firm "shelves".
GOD. thats tough to type those descriptions....
SD51555
5 year old buck +
Take this for what's its worth, because I am not an expert on Hens.
I've researched it quite a bit and haven't found any mention of a poisonous look a alike. According to the book, you'll find hens around oak trees (no mention of live or dead) from early September to mid October. There are a couple look a alikes that are also edible.
Best bet is to take a picture and put it up here. Up close and back a little so we can see where it's growing. Hens are on my safe list to try as soon as I can get my hands on some. There are others that are harder to ID, but Hens aren't one of them.
Book says cook em like any other. Add to pasta, steak, soups, pan fry stand alone etc. I would check moisture content before you do. I had bought some once, and they were plenty woody and needed to be rehydrated. You may not need to do that because you're getting them fresh.
Wouldn't hurt to get a book either. I've bought a handful of them and found this one to be the most relevant to the midwestern novice hunter like myself.
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Mushroom-Hunter-Illustrated-Harvesting/dp/0785833153/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440990447&sr=1-1&keywords=gary lincoff
Hey Ben, the hens only grow at the base of oak trees, you will sometimes find them out a little way if they are growing off a root. They will grow around dead and alive trees. They do not grow on the tree thou. The orange chickens will grow on dead and live trees, these actually grow right on the wood, never on the ground. These are in the group of fungi called polypore's there are only a few that are edible I would say because most of them are so woody. These two mushrooms are one of the easiest and safest to identify, but you still really need to be careful. Example, There are orange mushrooms that grow on oaks called Jack o lantern's that are poisonous. The jacks have gills on the bottom.
D
dipper
Guest
This guy popped up over night?
This one too?
This one too?
The first one is in the Boletus family. There are like 300 different kinds. If you look under the cap it shouldn't have gills,instead it has supper small round pores that make it look kind of like a sponge. There has only been one reported death from a boletus. If you want to see something neat take your knife and cut thru the mushroom. A lot of them change color instantly red,blue,green. Most of the ones that turn blue or green right away are inedible.
