The Monthly Forage · November
Chicken of the Woods: The Brightest Mushroom in the Oak Woods
By Kyle Dall · Redding Forager's Association
Once the first real rains roll through Redding, usually around late October, we start keeping an eye on the oaks. That's when chicken of the woods shows up, and it's hard to miss. I once spotted one from the road at 50 mph and had to turn the truck around to go back for it.
It's one of the best mushrooms for new foragers: bright, distinctive and delicious. Here's how to find it, how to tell it apart from its one lookalike, and how to harvest it so it keeps coming back.
When and where to find it
Chicken of the woods arrives with the first fall rains, usually late October around Redding. Look for it on dead wood on living live oaks: an old wound, a dead limb or the base of the trunk.
You'll sometimes find it on eucalyptus, too. Some people eat that one just fine, but others say it gives them a belly ache. We stick to the oaks.
How to identify it
Chicken of the woods is about as distinctive as mushrooms get. Look for:
- Shelves. It grows in a bunch of overlapping, fan-shaped shelves stacked on the wood.
- Color. Bright orange on top, yellow underneath.
- Pores, not gills. Flip a shelf over. The underside is smooth, covered in tiny pores. No gills.
- Wood. It grows on the tree itself, not up out of the soil.
The one lookalike: jack-o'-lantern
Jack-o'-lanterns are orange or yellow too, and they will make you sick. Two things give them away. They grow differently, as clusters of individual mushrooms with caps and stems instead of shelves. And they have gills on the underside.
So flip it over. Pores, you're in business. Gills, leave it be. And our golden rule for every mushroom: when in doubt, leave it out.
How to harvest it
I used to take the whole thing. Now I only cut off the tender outer edges with a knife and leave the tough base on the tree. That base keeps spreading spores, and it can resprout for a second harvest.
Take only what you'll eat in the next two or three days. It doesn't keep much longer than that, and it's best fresh.
How to eat it
Always cook it thoroughly; never eat it raw. If it's your first time, try a small amount, since some people react to it.
My favorite way is simple: pan-fried in butter with a little garlic. It really does taste like chicken, with a squeeze of lemon. And Miranda turned this year's harvest into something special.
Get Miranda's recipe card
Chicken of the woods with roasted buttercup squash, butter, garlic and a touch of sage. Enter your email below and we'll send you the full recipe card, free. You'll also get The Wild Harvest, our monthly newsletter, with what's in season and the latest recipe card each month.
