Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) produces large, bright orange, multi-layered fruiting bodies with a texture reminiscent of chicken. When cooked, these mushrooms are juicy, succulent, and meaty with a mild, lemony aroma.
Chicken of the woods can be difficult to cultivate, and is therefore recommended for enthusiast growers who have had some success with other more advanced species or are looking to experiment and try new methods.
Because chicken of the woods is not a strong competitor, it requires a different cultivation strategy. Inoculation works best when logs are steam sterilized, incubated and colonized in filter patch bags, then removed from bags and partially buried in a shaded spot.
Note: Aside from being kiln dried, our wooden dowels are not treated in any other way.
Ideal project size: Plug spawn is ideal for smaller projects of 1-10 logs, though some log cultivators will use them for larger projects.
Inoculation: Chicken of the Woods does best in oak logs. After colonization period in above ground, Chicken of the Woods logs should be partially buried under 2 inches of top soil. The mushrooms will fruit from logs and emerge out of the soil.
*It should be noted that Chicken of the Woods is prone to being out competed by other fungi and is not a reliable producer without first treating your logs. To limit variables we strongly suggest you sterilize 8" by 8" segments of oak log in a pressure cooker or steam sterilizer before inoculation and incubate your log segments for a few months in sealed filter patch bags until they are completely colonized. Remove them from the bag and partially burying them in a shady location
You can sterilize your log segments in a 22 qt or larger pressure cooker such as an All-American*
Difficulty: Expert
Chicken of the Woods is a very difficult mushroom species to cultivate. Great for experimenting and having fun trying new methods, not great for commercial cultivation.
Cooking: Be sure to harvest Chicken of the Woods mushrooms when young to avoid a brittle texture. They have a lemony, meaty taste with a texture similar to chicken and go great in soups and stir-fries.
Properties: When taken regularly, Chicken of the Woods is helpful in improving general health and strengthening the immune system. In one study, the mushroom promoted activity against human leukemia cells and the parasite that causes Malaria (Rogers, 2011). Additionally, a chemical constituent of Chicken of the Woods, dehydrotrametenolic acid, has been shown to reduce high blood sugar (Sato, M. et al. 2002). As the mushroom ages, it can be burned to repel mosquitoes and black flies (Rogers, 2011).
