I've been keeping my eyes out for a chicken mushroom ever since I realized they are edible. Yesterday, on a walk with some friends, one presented itself. To be fair, my friend saw it first. It was way off the path and I was willing to walk through the poison ivy to get to it. It's a huge one and I only took a little bit.
Since I was working overnight last night I felt that perhaps I should wait until after my shift to try a taste, since it has been known to make lips swell and people feel ill. I confirmed that I had laetiporus cincinnatus, it was growing at the base of an oak tree and, according to the books, there really isn't anything else that looks like it. I also brought home some boletes which turned out to be a large Frost's bolete and a couple of others which were equally non-edible, and some milk caps which may or may not have been edible but I wasn't about to try it.
I just got home a few minutes ago, broke off a bit and fried it in oil with a little shallot. It sure does taste like chicken breast. Now, what to do with the rest of it?
In a cruel twist of fate, my lips and tongue tingled for a while after eating it. The same thing happened with the mica caps. I guess I will have to admit defeat and not do this sort of thing anymore, if I'm sensitive to whatever is in them. How sad.
ReplyDelete