Most of our Chicken of the woods strains are isolated from native stock on the East Coast of the U.S., meaning they prefer hardwoods, specifically varieties of oak. Chicken of the woods is a polypore, with no gills, and is best harvested young by slicing the outermost tender, silky tissue on the tips, which can regenerate more tips if you go back and harvest a week or so later!
Fruiting bodies range from light salmon to bright orange in color and display white or yellow tube color depending on the species. This mushroom must be chopped and boiled in water, then tossing the water, and cooked like you normally would chicken. It is delicious soaked in organic chicken broth, then cooked it into a curry dish or cubed and breaded to make chicken-of-the-woods nuggets.
Up to a few years ago, growing chicken of the woods on logs intentionally was almost impossible. When we inoculated fresh giant logs with chicken of the woods spawn, they never produced anything. In fact, in my own woods, I have large totems made of oak wood from 10+ years ago, they are still standing, but have never produced any edible mushrooms.
But that’s different now. Here at Mushroom Mountain we have sucessfuly grown chicken of the woods on logs repeatedly, and we are ready to share it with you. Read more about how to cultivate and cook this awesome mushroom in this article: How to grow chicken of the woods (Laetiporus spp.)
Chicken of the Woods “Phil” (White Pored) – Laetiporus gilbertsonii var. pallidus Isolated from a White Oak stump on our friend Phil’s property in Georgia, this one will adapt to many oak species. Inoculate fresh cut stumps or rounds or you can stack oak rounds “iced” with sawdust spawn in between for best fruiting.Preferring white oak, this species is a tender, silky tissued, juicy form of Chicken of the Woods that is salmon-orange with white white pores underneath that typically fruits in the fall.
Chicken of the Woods “Cherry”(Yellow-Pored) – Laetiporus sulphureus What grows on Cherry wood? This new strain was found by folks like you and cloned to make spawn that everyone could use to inoculate Cherry trees and related species. This unique find is bright orange with yellow tubes underneath, and was found COVERING a standing dead cherry tree in Pennsylvania.
Chicken of the Woods “Enoree” (White Pored) – Laetiporus cincinnatus – Found growing on an American Elm by our friend Scott in South Carolina, this is a beautiful species of chicken of the woods with white pores. A delicious as a substitute for chicken.
Chicken of the Woods “Chattooga” (White Pored) – Laetiporus cincinnatus – Found growing on rotting downed tree, this chicken of the woods has a gorgeous bright orange florette fruiting type body with white pore surface.
| Edibility and Taste | Like white chicken meat, great texture |
| Grows On | Mostly oak trees, but occasionally you will find it on other hardwoods as well, like cherry or American elm |
| Fruiting Temps | Varies, Spring to Fall |
| Availability | Year-Round |