Fall Training... and... Mushrooms.

Chicken of the Woods stretched out on a downed oak

Every fall finds the upland hunting enthusiast in a state of anticipation, counting down the days until the seasons begin.  It has been my experience that the majority of upland hunters are appreciative of every opportunity to spend afield, and they never turn down the chance to put great table fare on a plate! Sadly, many excited upland hunters walk by opportunity on every preseason dog tune-up and early season foray. We're talking fall mushrooms. Though the ruffed grouse is the undisputed king of game birds, hens and chickens of the fungi variety give it a run for the money in the fry pan. We'll go over just a few of the easy varieties that you should always be on the lookout for, and with a little bit of knowledge, the early season training and scouting can give a full game bag a whole new meaning!

The "chicken of the woods" mushrooms are one of the most recognizable mushrooms that appear across the woods from August through November. You can stack these gems up like firewood, because when you find one, they usually grow in large quantity; one chicken clump from last year we were lucky to find stretched from ground level to 20'-30' up in the old dead oak tree and totaled 40+ lbs. The key with chickens is to catch them when they are very young and bright orange; younger chickens will be much more tender and less wormy (chickens are usually pretty buggy which ups the protein levels!). As the name would suggest, chickens taste like chicken and also have a very similar texture when pan fried like a chicken breast. Chickens prefer to grow on dead oaks, and you can up your odds by taking the dogs for an early season tune-up through some oak stands.  Watch for the bright orange growing on dead trees, and they will be hard to miss! In regards to cooking, treat them like chicken instead of mushrooms and you'll be very happy with the results, and they make a great vegetarian substitute for chicken!

Good sized, fresh lobster mushroom

Lobster pushing up through the pine needles.

Another easily distinguishable mushroom is the lobster. The bright orange mushroom you see from a distance while bird hunting and walk a wide circle around for fear of its toxicity would likely be the lobster. I passed by these mushrooms for years in the woods making sure my dogs wouldn't touch them, only to find out that not only are they not toxic, but they are extremely delicious! Lobster mushrooms have a firm, meaty texture, and hold up to cooking well.  When picking, just trim all the dirty spots off with a knife, fry up in some butter, and drop in a stir fry or wild rice pilaf. You'll find these aplenty in the same aspen choked woods you will stomp through hunting feathers, and they will usually grow in small to large patches.

Lucky find with this beautiful fresh "hen of the woods" aka "Maitake"