Chicken Of The Woods...
Discussion
Big Al. said:
It's not, it's a fungi and tastes similar to an Oyster mushroom.
"Chicken of the woods" is a colloquial name given to it because it was abundant and easily foraged.
HTH.
"Chicken of the woods" is a colloquial name given to it because it was abundant and easily foraged.
HTH.
thanks Al.Trying loads of non-meat alternatives and it keeps coming up as a good one to use. I may end up poisoning myself tho
It's out of season at the moment. Try June to September (ish).
You need a young example, at the 'pillow' stage, before it has formed a 'bracket'.
Texture wise, it is exactly like chicken, however the flavour needs a little help.
I marinate mine in soy sauce and deep fry in a spiced gram flour batter. Done in this way, vegetarians / vegans have been doubtful that I hadn't slipped them real chicken.
You need a young example, at the 'pillow' stage, before it has formed a 'bracket'.
Texture wise, it is exactly like chicken, however the flavour needs a little help.
I marinate mine in soy sauce and deep fry in a spiced gram flour batter. Done in this way, vegetarians / vegans have been doubtful that I hadn't slipped them real chicken.
I collect and cook it quite often with other mushrooms sautéed in butter. It does have a similar look and texture to mushroom but tastes nothing like, its tastes like mushroom! also worth looking for beefsteak fungus, looks like slices of beef when cut, but again has a mushroom taste, with a slight citrus tang. Wild mushrooms are often more dense and stronger flavoured than cultivated mushrooms, and make for a good meat alternative rather than a substitute. Wild mushroom, chestnut and mixed grain risotto is a vary fulfilling meal. If you know what your looking for you might find some late oyster mushrooms about and some velvet shanks.
V1nce Fox said:
Thanks for the info, all. Really don’t want to return to eating meat but missing texture of stuff like chicken, beef etc.
Me and my partner have massively reduce the amount of meat we eat and pretty much cut out intensively reared meat altogether (no chicken at all). I find that the texture and variety of mushrooms (especially wild) is a fantastic alternative. Some of the meatier mushrooms can be used in some great meat like ways. If you add savory/unami flavors to chicken of the woods the results can be delicious.V1nce Fox said:
sgrimshaw said:
V1nce Fox said:
thanks Al.Trying loads of non-meat alternatives and it keeps coming up as a good one to use. I may end up poisoning myself tho
Don't pick it from yew trees though.
Hanglow said:
Yew is easy to identify and it's worthwhile learning how to as it is by and large rather poisonous. Although the berries are extremely tasty, just be sure to spit out the pips !
I only see CotW once a year or so and always on fallen oak.
I think people can sometimes mistake CotW with Oak polypore but that is a much rarer mushroom. Last season was the best season I've ever had for CotW and beefsteaks, saw it on most of my summer walks, mostly on Oak but also on Beech and sweet chestnut. One crop on a damaged beech free was far to high up to pick but was at least 5 feet long! Found it to be a very good year for porcini and a few other boletes, wasn't a great year here for autumn mushrooms though and I barely found a handful of amethyst deceivers.I only see CotW once a year or so and always on fallen oak.
Mobile Chicane said:
It's out of season at the moment. Try June to September (ish).
You need a young example, at the 'pillow' stage, before it has formed a 'bracket'.
Texture wise, it is exactly like chicken, however the flavour needs a little help.
I marinate mine in soy sauce and deep fry in a spiced gram flour batter. Done in this way, vegetarians / vegans have been doubtful that I hadn't slipped them real chicken.
If anyone's looking for another meaty mushroom fake out. king oyster mushrooms are good at getting the pulled texture of bbq pork/chicken. Just braise them in the sauce and shred them with a fork.You need a young example, at the 'pillow' stage, before it has formed a 'bracket'.
Texture wise, it is exactly like chicken, however the flavour needs a little help.
I marinate mine in soy sauce and deep fry in a spiced gram flour batter. Done in this way, vegetarians / vegans have been doubtful that I hadn't slipped them real chicken.
I found a massive one on a churchyard yew a few years back. I collected a generous amount but then when home I saw some of the cautions about eating it off yew.
After a lot of googling, I found a lot of speculation that it could be dangerous, several accounts of eating it without any problems, and nobody actually saying "I ate it and am now posting from beyond the grave"
So I ate a little and waited, then ate some more, then over a few days ate the lot. I was fine.
I would not suggest that anyone else does it on my account, and I would also suggest that if you are going to do it you make damn sure that there are no fragments of yew left in it, but anyway, there's a data point for you. I ate'nt dead yet.
(I think I read this link before trying it)
https://www.geoffdann.co.uk/chyewks-chickens-of-th...
After a lot of googling, I found a lot of speculation that it could be dangerous, several accounts of eating it without any problems, and nobody actually saying "I ate it and am now posting from beyond the grave"
So I ate a little and waited, then ate some more, then over a few days ate the lot. I was fine.
I would not suggest that anyone else does it on my account, and I would also suggest that if you are going to do it you make damn sure that there are no fragments of yew left in it, but anyway, there's a data point for you. I ate'nt dead yet.
(I think I read this link before trying it)
https://www.geoffdann.co.uk/chyewks-chickens-of-th...
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