Muh muh muh, myy Maitake! Wooo!

Look close and you can see the white spores on the leaf litter.
No doubt on this ID.

Here in sw PA, we've had little luck with our Grifola Frondosa (aka Hen of the Woods, aka Sheepshead, aka Maitake) crop so far. Hopefully they're just being shy, there may be a bit more time in the season. They like the cooler fall temps so I decided to travel about an hour north to give me a slightly better edge. During my hike at the Hell's hollow section of McConnells Mills State Park, I found a nice flush of Blewits (Clitocybe nuda). They get harder to spot as fall progresses and covers the forest floor.

I'm always happy to I bring a bag of blewits home but I was focused like a laser beam on the oaks. Every oak tree spotted, I scanned the foot looking for that telltale greyish ball of feathers. Grifola frondosa love oaks, especially old ones with dead spots or fallen wood nearby. They also like more open areas that get more sunlight. Sometimes you can find them in yards or well maintained parks but always under a dead/dying tree, usually oaks but sometimes maple.

I usually wander well off trail when mushrooming because the best mushrooms are sneaky ninjas. This time I had just returned to the trail after deep wandering, turned my head and there it was growing from the dead side of an old oak. I wish I had taken a picture from where I spotted it because they are masters of camouflage. This big gal was about the size of a basketball and weighed in at around 10lbs. It wouldn't even fit in my big basket so I had to take my tshirt off and rig up a bag for it with a carabiner. Luckily I was wearing a hoodie as well, otherwise I would have looked like a crazy shirtless hillbilly with a head in a bag wandering out of the woods. It still kind of looked strange so I made a point to show off my prize to curious hikers.

What a beauty! Plump, perfect, and prime.

My wife, who has gracefully, if unenthusiastically, humored my increasingly obsessive mushroom hobby, was like, "What are you going to do with that huge thing?" I said, "Lots of things! You just wait." After cleaning (read: evicting the salamander and beetles) and chopping, I immediately tossed some in olive oil, thyme, and rosemary, threw it in the oven until it was golden and crispy, and served her (and my) first Hen of the Woods. It was so delicious, she finally (sort of) understands the mushroom love. I also made the 3Foragers Hen of the Woods Jerky and she said it was "the best jerky I have ever had, hands down." I ended up making most of the thing it into jerky because the family demanded more. Fingers crossed that I find more this week closer to home, I'll need a steady supply to get us through winter until morel season.


I was at a local supermarket today and happened by the "fresh" mushroom section. They actually have Maitake (aka Hen of the Woods, aka Sheepshead, aka Grifola frondosa) right now or at least something resembling and labeled as "Maitake". As you can see in the photo below, at $15/lb, it's pretty steep for a crusty skinny little thing. Even at a softball sized clump, it's so thin and whispy, calling it a 1/2 pound is generous. So,basically, I'm saying learn your mushrooms and GET TO THE WOODS!

Speaking of morel season, unless something exciting happens (like stumbling upon the unheard of southern Pennsylvania Matsutake patch) you'll likely not hear from me until you see a post with a giant basket bursting with morels in the springtime. Until then, I bid you, happy hunting!