Chicken of the Woods Mushroom

Scientific Name(s): Laetiporus sulphureus
Abundance: uncommon
What: mushroom
How: cooked
Where: dead trees in the woods
When: summer
Nutritional Value: minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates
Dangers: Laetiporus mushrooms growing on pines or eucalyptus trees develop compounds which will cause extreme stomach distress, though probably aren't fatal.


COLLECTING MUSHROOM REQUIRES 100% CERTAINTY. WWW.FORAGINGTEXAS.COM ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR IDENTIFICATION ERRORS BY ANY READERS.

Clusters of chicken of the woods growing along a downed tree.
Mushroom Chicken of the Woods

Chicken of the woods growing on dead tree roots.
Mushroom Chicken of the Woods

Close-up of top of mushroom.
Mushroom Chicken of the Woods

Side view of chicken of the woods.
Mushroom Chicken of the Woods

Closer side view of mushroom.
Mushroom Chicken of the Woods

Even closer side view after part was harvested.
Mushroom Chicken of the Woods

Underside of can be white or yellow.
Mushroom Chicken of the Woods

Chicken of the woods diced up and cooked in a little butter with garlic and Italian parsley.
Mushroom Chicken of the Woods

Chicken of the Woods mushrooms are considered a great beginner's mushroom because there's nothing else out there that looks like this. The bright orange color is lacking in other similar-shaped shelf mushrooms. It's this color that makes it so easy to spot Chicken of the Woods in the gloomy, damp, hardwood forests it prefers. Look for them on dead or dying oak, pecans, and sweetgum trees during the warmer months. Note that even if they're going on a live tree they are killing it from the inside. You don't want to find this mushroom on a favorite tree as that tree won't be alive much longer. On the plus side, a tree producing Chicken of the Woods will continue to produce these mushrooms for years, until the tree has rotted away.

The top will have bands of "Cheeto" orange stripes while the bottom will be white or yellow in color. Chicken of the Woods don't have gills or false gills, releasing their spores via tiny tubes. The texture should be soft and flexible and moist like a raw chicken breast. As they mature they get firm and tough though the tough areas can be trimmed away. I like to dice up the mushroom into small cubes and sauté them with garlic in a touch of butter. These mushrooms can absorb a lot of butter or oil, leading to a heavy, oily flavor if too much oil is used. If you don't want to use the mushroom right away the best way to keep them is to pickle them using in a cup of vinegar + 1.5 tsp salt + 3 cups water then hot-can them like pickled okra. Additional spices can be added. Freezing these mushrooms can lead to an off flavor whereas pickling seems to hold the flavor the best.


Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.

Privacy & Amazon Paid Promotion Statement

I use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit this website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.


I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. The prices you pay for the item isn't affected, my sales commission comes out of Amazon's pocket.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.