hen of the woods [maitake] sheeps head mushrooms

[shagerman]

i thought i would throw this out here and see who all eats them and do you have a favorite recipe? i went out to the woods today and found about 40 pounds, cleaned them dried them off. and in bags they went to the freezer, i love them with butter a little salt and pepper and fried... yummy.:baby04:

[tinknal]

Garlic butter, with chicken soup base. Been eating them every day since labor day. Have 6 one gallon bags and 6 one quart bags in the freezer.

[Callieslamb]

i'm gonna have to buy me some woods! LOL!! I envy all the mushrooms posted about lately.

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

i'm gonna have to buy me some woods! LOL!! I envy all the mushrooms posted about lately.

I'm betting you could find some public land to hunt on.

[Cheribelle]

Yep, I LOVE those! same way.

[shagerman]

i brought in another 10 pounds yesterday, and since it rained. i know there is more, but what actually gets me is. i have 4 different sets of woods i look threw and 1 of the 4 is a gold mine. the others are sparatic. so i do not understand, that.

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by shagerman

i brought in another 10 pounds yesterday, and since it rained. i know there is more, but what actually gets me is. i have 4 different sets of woods i look threw and 1 of the 4 is a gold mine. the others are sparatic. so i do not understand, that.

Well, I have about 10 acres of woods and I find 90 % of them around the same dozen or so trees.

[tinknal]

I just got back from the woods. I left after my last post. My wife and I filled 2 5 gallon pails plus a grocery sack. Left a lot of older ones out there. Found seven of them under one large oak tree. Also found a couple around an ash tree, a first for me.

[shagerman]

believe me i am not done yet.. i have 2 other woods to go threw yet, new woods. when i go in a new woods i take a can of spray paint. and just spray a dot on the tree where i find it. then next year, i find them alot easier till i get familiar. with those woods.. usually the paint is really faded the next year, so sometimes i have to double check everything.. lol. but i love the woods, i could probubly just stay there, i know where a couple of baby ones are so ill keep a good eye on them. till they get a little bigger,

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by shagerman

believe me i am not done yet.. i have 2 other woods to go threw yet, new woods. when i go in a new woods i take a can of spray paint. and just spray a dot on the tree where i find it. then next year, i find them alot easier till i get familiar. with those woods.. usually the paint is really faded the next year, so sometimes i have to double check everything.. lol. but i love the woods, i could probubly just stay there, i know where a couple of baby ones are so ill keep a good eye on them. till they get a little bigger,

I'm a baby killer The little immature ones are just so good.........

[tinknal]

OK, I tried a new recipe (mine).

Cream of Mushroom soup.

Ingrediants

5 lbs Hen of the woods
1/4 lb butter
1 gallon whole milk
1 quart half and half
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 head garlic
1 sweet onion
4 large carrots
chicken soup base
olive oil
pepper
basil
cumin
thyme


Cut up mushroom into desired size. Melt a stick of butter in skillet. Add mushroom. Peel and dice garlic. Add to skillet. The mushrooms will release water, add about a tablespoon of soup base. Cook until water is gone, set mushrooms aside. Dice carrots and onion. Caramelize carrots and onions in olive oil. Slowly add milk, stiring constantly. Transfer mushrooms, onions, carrots, and milk to a soup pot. bring to a simmer, add seasoning, stir in the rest of the milk, the cream, and half and half. add soup base to taste. Cook until thickened.

[MullersLaneFarm]

Met a young lady today at farmer's market who will trade me some of her hen of the woods mushrooms for picking the rest of my golden raspberries.

I'm tired of the raspberries and can really use the mushrooms!

[shagerman]

well went into a new field today. what a gold mine... i have 18 ----1 gallon bags full. and i am ready. for some good fried mushrooms. tried some of these in beef stew tonight also.. they were awesome. and that cream of mushroom... on the list for this week. mueller. i dont know who she was but grab at the chance. and if you find you really like them. you know who i am. the season is almost up.. i may get a few more,, ill be lucky if i do. but to everyone. enjoy. because i sure am.

[suitcase_sally]

a question about hen of the woods. Do you use the stalk portion also, or just the caps? I picked about 10 lbs. today and, of coarse, they will be less if I'm not supposed to use the stalk portion. Also, I'm going to dry them as I reserve my small freezer for venison. Does anyone dry theirs? How thick do you cut them?

[tinknal]

The base stays tender and tasty. Doesn't get woody like sulfur shelfs.

Never dried them but my guess is that they will dry well.

[cathleenc]

to dry them - I pull them apart into petals/lobe + base of about 1/2" - 1" wide, about the size I'd want to use them in. When dehyrdrating I think smaller equals better drying overall.

[terri46355]

Hen of the Woods are my favorite mushroom. Sauteed in butter or olive oil with salt and pepper is a great way to eat them. Try making cream of mushroom barley soup.

When I lived in an area where you could find them, and found lots of them, they were canned. We used the canned mushrooms a lot in may ways. They aren't good frozen, but when canned, they are delicious. Be sure to blanch them before you put them in the jars, because it shrinks them and you won't have so much water in the jars.

A word of warning: be sure to cook them well. I know a guy who fried some and got so sick from a bacteria growing on them he was hospitalized for several days. It is recommended that you boil/blanch them before you eat them to kill the bacteria.

Happy hunting!

[ronbre]

never found them yet