Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Hen of the Woods


All weaving came to a standstill.  My husband brought home many bags of clusters of Hen of the Woods, or, Maitakes, that he collected  in the woods.  The mushroom clusters grow at the base of oak trees in the fall. (Similar mushrooms growing on different tree species should be avoided).  They  are very flavorful, and taste like tender meat on chicken wings. They have a firm texture, a little chewy.

They pull apart easily before they are cooked.  I've been sauteeing them , or roasting with olive oil,  garlic and rosemary, salt and pepper.

Often the mushrooms are huge, and may weigh up to 40 pounds.  Enough to last the whole winter, until the morels come up in the spring.  They freeze well, so I've been putting them away, and sampling, sampling, sampling.

5 comments:

riverweave said...

This makes my mouth water, I have to go looking. There's bounty in the woods if you know what you are looking for. Thanks for this post. Wonder if there are any look alike poisonous ones . . . ?

Susan said...

find them at the base of oak trees. They are tan, gray, or dirty white--not orange. Avoid the orange style, or clusters growing by pine trees, hemlocks, or any tree that is not an oak

Velma Bolyard said...

oh, yummy. i need to take a mushroom expert walking so i can learn which ones to eat. (i know a bit about which ones dye well!)

Susan said...

my bumper sticker: I brake for mushrooms

Velma Bolyard said...

love that!