# Chicken Mushroom Bonanza



## philjam (Dec 17, 2008)

Just found the biggest chicken mushroom of my life - will easily fill up a wheelbarrow.:2thumb: In the past, we ate them right away. Anyone have any tips on the best way to preserve? Please hurry and post before they get all hard and useless.


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## SageAdvicefarmgirl (Jun 23, 2011)

philjam said:


> Just found the biggest chicken mushroom of my life - will easily fill up a wheelbarrow.:2thumb: In the past, we ate them right away. Anyone have any tips on the best way to preserve? Please hurry and post before they get all hard and useless.


I'd like to see pictures! I want to learn what mushrooms can be foraged around here, but its hard to tell which are which using a book that has drawings instead of pictures!

I had mushrooms growing in my sptrawberry bed like crazy, dug them all out as I didn't know if they were edible or not:dunno:...they were killing my strawberry plants, tho. If they come back, I'll post a picture of them!:surrender:


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

I would love to see a pic of that.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

While I haven't ate it or preserved it a couple different web sites that I go to say that the best way to preserve it is to fry in butter and then pack tightly or vac pack and freeze and eat with in 3 months for best texture and flavor.
did you find chicken of the woods or hen of the woods?
We found huge hen of the woods on property that we can harvest from but unfortunately they were too old and bug riddled But we know where to find them now and will check earlier and perhaps again this fall.. they do often bloom again in the same area.


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## tortminder (Oct 15, 2008)

*preserving mushrooms*

Mushrooms are best when used within a couple of days. With a chikcken of the woods or a hen of the woods, there is usually too much to consume without getting tired of mushroom.

The two best ways to keep mushrooms are;
1) partial dehydrating and then freezing. What you do is dry the mushrooms for 2-4 hours until MOST of the moisture is removed and then place them in the freezer until frozen solid. At that point, remove them from the freezer and put in plastic bags and vacuum seal and return to the freezer. They should be good for 3-6 months that way. With the chicken of the woods or hen of the woods, slice them into portions before dehydrating.
2) fully dehydrating and then making mushroom powder to be added to soups, stews and gravies.:2thumb:


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## oldvet (Jun 29, 2010)

philjam said:


> Just found the biggest chicken mushroom of my life - will easily fill up a wheelbarrow.:2thumb: In the past, we ate them right away. Anyone have any tips on the best way to preserve? Please hurry and post before they get all hard and useless.


Okay, I have to ask a dumb question. Exactly what is a chicken mushroom? That is a new one on me. :dunno:


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

Oldvet, you beat me to it. I'm going to google this and I'll link to whatever I find.

*time passes*

Ok, I found this link. I bear no liability for the page's accuracy and I have no idea who this guy is. It's the first thing that popped up in google. Incidentally, today is apparently Freddy Mercury's 65th birthday.

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Mushrooms.Folder/ChickenMushroom.html


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## oldvet (Jun 29, 2010)

Thanks Jason. Great site and it answered my question. :melikey:


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

philjam said:


> Anyone have any tips on the best way to preserve? Please hurry and post before they get all hard and useless.


After I get sick of shrooms (perish the thought) what I do is use a food processor to grind them to a thick paste and then dehydrate them for later use in mushroom-stuffed ravioli or pizza/pasta sauce, mmm mmm good! :2thumb:


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

The_Blob said:


> After I get sick of shrooms (perish the thought) what I do is use a food processor to grind them to a thick paste and then dehydrate them for later use in mushroom-stuffed ravioli or pizza/pasta sauce, mmm mmm good! :2thumb:


That does sound good.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

has anybody had any luck cultivating these?


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## Immolatus (Feb 20, 2011)

I would love to be able to pick wild shrooms, and even though this one seems to be pretty distinct, I have been scared away from even attempting picking them. Everything I have read says if youre not an expert, then dont even touch em.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

I kind of agree, Immolatus. I don't care for mushrooms as a general rule but my wife loves them. Mushrooms are one thing I feel much better getting from someone who knows what they're doing rather than trying to produce/harvest myself.


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## tortminder (Oct 15, 2008)

Immolatus said:


> I would love to be able to pick wild shrooms, and even though this one seems to be pretty distinct, I have been scared away from even attempting picking them. Everything I have read says if youre not an expert, then dont even touch em.


Chicken of the woods; Hen of the woods; Bears head; lions mane and Morels are next to impossible to get in trouble with since they have no poisonous look-alike cousins. The trick is to find a mentor who will show you what to look for and stay with what you know.

Remember, all mushrooms are edible... ONCE!:gaah:


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## becky3086 (Aug 6, 2011)

This was very interesting. I had never heard of these before but I am sure I have seen them. :dunno:


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## Immolatus (Feb 20, 2011)

tortminder said:


> Chicken of the woods; Hen of the woods; Bears head; lions mane and Morels are next to impossible to get in trouble with since they have no poisonous look-alike cousins. The trick is to find a mentor who will show you what to look for and stay with what you know.
> 
> Remember, all mushrooms are edible... ONCE!:gaah:


:congrat:

I actually love shrooms, Im just afraid of picking them in the wild. Maybe I should pick up a book specifically on mushrooms.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

tortminder said:


> Chicken of the woods; Hen of the woods; Bears head; lions mane and Morels are next to impossible to get in trouble with since they have no poisonous look-alike cousins. The trick is to find a mentor who will show you what to look for and stay with what you know.
> 
> Remember, all mushrooms are edible... ONCE!:gaah:


My Aunt who taught me how to find certain wild mushrooms told me this

There are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters but there are no old and bold mushroom hunters! lol
I can find and trust my own skills on several mushrooms.
Morels
giant white puff balls
lions mane
Honey mushrooms
Hen of the woods..

Now I have found but not in time to harvest many others.. you timing must be good for many of them
Black trumpet
Chicken of the wood
King bolete..
The black trumpet I am always too late and they are shriveled up
the chicken of the wood tends to be really buggy
and the king bolete was also too late and buggy. but I know where they are and I keep my eyes open for them
There are a few others but they are super rare around here.

Now I do have my own crop of pearl oysters in the back yard. but this is the first year I've gotten them to fruit.







right after I took this picture and we got a few to eat(there were two other clusters) the pet bantam hen I have found them and chowed them down!:gaah: Gonna have to put a cage over them when they flush again!


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

would the small white button type mushrooms that i find in my grass be good to eat. they start out looking like button mushrooms then as they grow begin to look like portabellos? :dunno:


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## HoppeEL4 (Dec 29, 2010)

I don't think we have these in the Pacific NW, although we do have white truffles and one called "Lobster mushroom", and am thinking this might be our version of it. We also have chantarelles....

I have wanted to go out on a hike with someone who specializes in this to gather some to preserve, as we also have a lot of toxic ones here that are look alikes, so need those expert eyes, I don't have that kind of knowledge. Though, I could lead you to many other edibles and medicinals here.


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## tortminder (Oct 15, 2008)

*Mushroom safety*



stayingthegame said:


> would the small white button type mushrooms that i find in my grass be good to eat. they start out looking like button mushrooms then as they grow begin to look like portabellos?  :dunno:


They "could" be edible, but then again they could be a type of mushroom known as the "Death Angel", (agaric family), that has the nasty propensity to destroy your liver and seriously kill you.* IF YOU DON'T ABSOLUTELY KNOW, WITHOUT THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT, THAT A MUSHROOM IS SAFE, DON'T EAT IT!*:soapbox1:


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

stayingthegame said:


> would the small white button type mushrooms that i find in my grass be good to eat. they start out looking like button mushrooms then as they grow begin to look like portabellos? :dunno:


WHAT TORTMINDER SAID! White and brown mushrooms that look like button mushrooms can be deadly from one bite.. 
I'm in my late 40's and have been hunting and picking mushrooms for many, many years and there are still some I don't pick unless I have someone who know what they are doing (aka mushroom expert).
I try to pick only the fool proof ones. Even then I tend to be really choosy. Morels are the easiest to pick and then the hen of the wood and chicken of the wood and then the lions mane and black trumpet..
Honey mushrooms are the ones that are most people have problems with.. they do have very deadly look alikes. there are several tests that have to be done to know for sure.. I know them and can identify them rather easily now.. but still double check each cluster and put each "bunch" in separate bags to double check when I come home. See what I mean about clusters


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

Emerald, as I stated I don't particularly like mushrooms and I'm CERTAINLY not going to go out based on your pics and find mushrooms to eat or feed anyone else

AND NEITHER SHOULD ANYONE READING THIS

but purely for my own information, what are they types of mushrooms in your pics? Are they edible?


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Jason said:


> Emerald, as I stated I don't particularly like mushrooms and I'm CERTAINLY not going to go out based on your pics and find mushrooms to eat or feed anyone else
> 
> AND NEITHER SHOULD ANYONE READING THIS
> 
> but purely for my own information, what are they types of mushrooms in your pics? Are they edible?


As I put up those are big clusters of Honey mushrooms and there are several distinctive ways to check them.. but I live near an area that really booms with these. I can eat them but some folks do get tummy upsets from them.. usually the same folks who can't eat other mushrooms like morels.
Usually I dry them or pareboil them before sauteing in butter. Many folks also drink with wild mushrooms and that is a bigggg no-no.. many of them will react with the alcohol funny and make ya pretty sick. Even mushrooms that will not normally make you ill.
You would be surprised at how many doofus's will go out and eat anything cuz it looked and smelled like a good mushroom..


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## HoppeEL4 (Dec 29, 2010)

Something to consider. Around here, the forest service has a person who you pay to participate in their group/class, but they are 100% knowledgable about local mushrooms. I am sure we are not the only state with forest service employees, or state park employees who might do this. Check with your local forest service of state park system to find out where someone might be, or a local extension service even, for a class that does outings as part of the training.

Anyone wanting to forage, and know how to safely, this is a wise investment. I have been thinking about it off and on and this discussion has renewed it.

BTW, the mushrooms that look like button mushrooms:

AmericanMushrooms.com - The Death Cap Mushroom (Amanita phalloides)

These are the little buggers that look so innocent. There have been many deaths from these, in fact we had this thing in elementary school called "outdoor school". We would camp out for one week in Cascade Mountains with our class plus several others, all the teachers (I had lots of post hippy teachers), and many knowedgable forest service employees, and it was sort of a kids survivalist/naturalist training. Of course it was a blast because we were 6th graders with two teenage "counselors" in charge of each cabin (girls seperated from boys of course).

We were always told that death caps has enough toxin in them to penetrate the skin just by touch and simply not to touch them. Find a cluster, get some disposable gloves on, pull them out, bag them and toss them into the garbage securely.


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