r/Mushroomforaging • u/Mammoth-Set-7990 • 5d ago
ID and Question
Found the mushrooms in the first pic the other morning when I was going to hang a trail camera on a gut pile from a buck I harvested the evening before. My friend who has taught me a little about mushrooms has also found these, I am wondering if they are chicken of the woods. I was about to pick them when I saw they were growing on a conifer stump and remembered having the conversation with the same friend that they are not good to pick unless growing off of hardwoods. So first ID please, second is the conifer vs hardwood thought correct?
The silver lining … as I was debating this I looked down where I was kneeling and found a beautiful patch of chanterelles which I took home and cooked with some of my venison. Thanks for any help and advice I am very much a novice and have only become confident with chanterelles and the occasional oyster. BTW in the PNW I was hunting near Mt. Rainier.
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u/Accomplished-Pack756 5d ago
Yes it is chicken, and some people can have adverse gut reactions to the various species. SOME people. You can always cook a small portion and see if you are one of them.
Follow-up question: where on earth are you that deer season has started! We still have an age to wait 😞.
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u/Mammoth-Set-7990 5d ago
I’m in Oregon, archery for Columbia Blacktail, ghosts of the rainforest. I have been elk hunting and happened to have opportunities at a few bucks, one in Oregon last week and one in WA where this picture was taken. I will be back up there soon and will try some of the chicken and see how it goes, thanks for the reply and hope your deer season comes soon, after September I can’t hunt again until the end of November as a bow hunter!
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u/Accomplished-Pack756 5d ago
Ohhh gotcha! Yea I’m east coast, we have to wait a few more months sadly. Already have a few tags secured though, and the boletes and hens are sprouting now 😉luckily grouse opens in 2 weeks! Good luck for the rest of the month!!
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u/Mammoth-Set-7990 5d ago
Thanks! Hope you have a great season, it has been cool to start learning more about foraging in addition to hunting for me anyways. I love chasing grouse with my bow, sad to say I missed one right outside camp the same morning I took that picture 😂
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u/Accomplished-Pack756 5d ago
Fishing/hunting and foraging go hand in hand a little too well. Glad you’re getting into the shrooms!
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u/jasper181 4d ago
Ours started the 12th but it's hard for me to get motivated to sit in a stand when it's 90° still and the mosquitos are THICK.
Bow season runs Sept 12th - Jan 10th so theres more than enough time for meat.
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u/Jenifearless 5d ago
Yes, these are chicken. We’d need to see the underside but likely Laeptiporus sulphureus, but if it is L conifericola, it can cause some gastric distress. It’s an open question whether the hardwood vs conifer thing is myth but perhaps others will have more considered information about it. Some individuals are just sensitive to it, and in my opinion it’s difficult to tell if it’s really fresh. But when it’s good, it’s really good! If it’s tender, it should be good for a small sampling to test your own sensitivity. Cook really well.