A Detour, a Delay, and Six Pounds of Chicken of the Woods
Yesterday morning, I was on my way to work when the electric company, who were out running lines, stopped me and told me to turn around. The road I was on is pretty private these days, though it used to be the main highway in years past. So I started backing up to turn around, and that’s when I saw it.
Chicken of the woods. A big, beautiful, ruffled rosette of orange and peach,
I wanted to jump out and harvest it right then. But the detour already had me running 3 to 5 minutes late, so I made a deal with myself: I’ll get you at break.
Wonder first, then the harvest
If the power crew hadn’t turned me around, I never would have been backing down that road. I might have driven past that tree for years and never seen it. It’s a good reminder of something we talk about on every Herb Walk: nature is always speaking, and sometimes it takes a detour to slow us down enough to hear it.
At break, I grabbed my box cutter and a paper bag and walked back out. I have permission to harvest on that land, and as always, I left some behind so the mushroom can keep growing and the cycle can continue. I harvested with gratitude, and I’ll admit I was a little giddy.
The numbers
Weight in the bag: 6.8 lbs
After cleaning: about 6 lbs
Time to clean and portion into 1 lb bags: about 2 hours
Chicken of the woods is full of leaf bits, dirt, and the occasional hitchhiker, and the tough, woody base has to be trimmed away. A paper bag is the right way to carry mushrooms, by the way. It lets them breathe, where plastic traps moisture and makes them mushy fast.
The start of a two-hour cleaning session. Tender outer edges on the plate, with the tough, woody base trimmed away. Tender outer edges on the plate, with the tough, woody base trimmed away.
First taste of Chicken of the Wood
I took 1 lb to my mom, Deb (some of you know her as Nana), and she breaded and fried it up as chicken tenders. They were amazing. The texture really does hold up like chicken, and it was a perfect way to share the first of the harvest with family.
This is only the second time in my life I’ve eaten chicken of the woods, and there were more than 15 years between the first and the second. That’s a long time to wait for a gift like this, and it’s part of why I’m so grateful.
What’s next
Tomorrow, I start cooking and freezing the rest. I’ll post exactly how I decided to do it, including what worked and what didn’t.
Six pounds of food that I didn’t plant, water, or tend, just a gift from an old oak and its fungal partner.
Before you try this yourself
Since we teach before we share, here are some cautions:
Never eat a wild mushroom you haven’t positively identified, ideally with an experienced forager and more than one reliable source. Photos alone aren’t enough.
Note the host tree every time. Some people react badly to chicken of the woods from certain hosts, especially conifers and eucalyptus. This one was growing from oak.
Always cook it thoroughly. It’s not safe to eat raw.
Start with a small portion your first time. Even correctly identified chicken of the woods upsets some people’s stomachs.
Harvest young and tender. Older, dried, or woody specimens are tough and best left for the wildlife and decomposers.
Take only what you’ll use, and ask permission. Leave some behind to keep growing, and only harvest where you have the landowner’s okay.
An invitation
What’s the best thing nature has ever handed you when you weren’t looking for it? I’d love to hear in the comments. And if you want to learn to identify local plants and fungi with fellow students, come join me on the next Herb Walk.
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