Recipes

Chicken-Fried Chicken of the Woods

Comfort · Dinner · Mushrooms · Southern · Vegetarian · Wild and Foraged Foods

Chicken-Fried Chicken of the Woods
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 10 minutes
Serves 2
Level Easy

Tender young chicken of the woods, the bright orange shelf fungus of oak trees, cut into cutlets, breaded, and pan-fried in oil and butter with garlic and thyme. Its dense, stringy texture really does resemble chicken, which is how it got its name, and breading plays to that.

⚠ Use only the tender outer edges of young specimens, and cook it thoroughly. Chicken of the woods causes a notable share of adverse reactions in NAMA’s poisoning records. Try a small portion the first time. Wild mushrooms are eaten at your own risk.

Untested: I have not cooked this one yet. It is here because the Mushrooms dive needed it, and it is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

  • 4 pieces young chicken of the woods, about 2 oz each, tough attachment trimmed
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed
  • A few sprigs thyme

Directions

  1. Trim. Use only the soft, pliable outer edge of young specimens. Cut away the tough woody part where the mushroom joined the tree.
  2. Bread. Dredge each piece in seasoned flour, then egg, then flour again.
  3. Fry. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy skillet with the garlic and thyme. Fry the cutlets 4 to 5 minutes a side, basting with the fat, until golden and cooked all the way through.
  4. Serve. Drain briefly and serve hot, with country gravy or a squeeze of lemon.

Notes

Where this recipe came from Adapted from Alan Bergo’s “Chicken-Fried Chicken of the Woods” at Forager Chef (foragerchef.com). The pieces, the double dredge, the pan-frying in oil and butter with garlic and thyme, and the 4 to 5 minutes a side are his.

Safety NAMA’s toxicology chair, Michael Beug, has personally stopped eating chicken of the woods because of the severity of some reported reactions. Most people eat it without trouble, but first-timers should start small. Reported reactions to specimens from certain host trees could not be verified from an authoritative source.