Chicken with Chicken

What’s better than chicken?  chicken with chicken!  The wild mushrooms have started popping up and we couldn’t be happier.  Chicken of the Woods is one of our favorite wild mushrooms and easy to spot with its shades of bright orange.  You can often find them nestled at the base of an oak tree.  We noticed the first one last week while walking Dexter, spotting it in a neighbors yard… unfortunately it was behind a fence! Do they know what yumminess is growing in their backyard we thought?  Maybe we should write them a note and leave it in their mailbox… wait, then they’ll start hunting them too, which will mean less for us.  So, we sacrificed that one and painfully watch as it grows out of it’s tender stage each day as we walk by… but the search is officially ON!  It wasn’t long before we found another one in a local park.  Wild Chicken for dinner!

Photo Credit: Christine4nier’s on Flickr

Chicken of the Woods (AKA: Sulpher shelf or Nassa in our family) has a great meaty texture.  This mushroom is delicious but you need to know how to cook it.  I’ve read on many websites and blogs that Chicken of the Woods is just ok… which to me means 2 things.

1. They didn’t know how to cook it
2. They’re CrAzY!

You do need to harvest Chicken of the Woods when it’s tender, otherwise it can be really tough and awful but if you’re lucky enough to find it in its early stages it’s wonderful.

Here’s how we cooked ours the other night.  What you’ll need:

• Chicken of the Woods
• Chicken (cut into pieces or cubes)
• garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• chicken broth
• splash of heavy cream or half/half
• splash of white wine
• salt & pepper

Clean your mushroom thoroughly and tear the most tender parts into pieces.  Add your extra virgin olive oil to your pan with some minced garlic. Let the garlic and olive oil smell fill the room (che buono!)… then add your Chicken of the Woods and let it saute for a few minutes.  You’ll notice the brilliant color of the mushroom as it cooks… really beautiful.  Add your chicken and let it cook until almost completely cooked through.  Then add your chicken broth, splash of wine and heavy cream, salt and pepper.  Serve over rice.  Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

For another wild mushroom post, head over to Ciao Chow Linda where Linda’s brother Frank breaks it down nicely including Chicken of the Woods and other wild favorites.

Here’s another recipe for Chicken of the Woods with tomato sauce from last year with additional photos.