Hen of the Woods (Grifola frondosa), also known as maitake, is very common in North America and easy to identify. One mushroom can be quite large, giving you enough to last a few days.

You can find Hen of the Woods at many Asian stores, Wegman’s, and many other grocery stores, especially fancier ones. The wild ones often will have a better flavor though. This is one of the easiest mushrooms to identify, though I have seen people confuse it with Chicken of the Woods, which luckily is also edible.

Here are some key identifying characteristics:

• Grows at the base of living, dead, and dying trees, often oaks.
• Has rosetts of layered caps that grow from a central system.
• Caps can be light to dark brown.
• Can drop from the roots of fallen trees or logs, occasionally seeming to grow out of the dirt (though it’s a dead tree).
• Have a fan-like shape.
• The cap is layered with frilled edges.
• Bruise easily.
• The spore print is white and visible from mature mushrooms.

A parasitic mushroom, you’ll find it at the base of trees and sometimes in yards, parks, and woods. If you find one, there’s a higher chance you’ll find more at the same location. It will normally come back at that same location every year around the same time.

There are no obvious poisonous look-alikes (meaning, as long as you have the identifying characteristics right, you should be fine).

Look-Alikes

Umbrella polypore (Polyporus umbellatus),  formerly Grifola umbellata.

A rare, edible wild mushroom that can be mistaken for hen of the woods.

Black staining polypore (Meripilus sumstinei)

This also grows at the base of oak trees so it is often confused with hen of the woods. It also stains easily. Luckily it’s also edible!

Berkley’s Polypore (Meriplius giganteus)

Doesn’t look quite as much like it and grows at the base of beech, pine, spruce, fir, and oak trees. Also edible.

Bonderzewia Genus

Parasitic fungus that grows at the base of oak trees as well. Less common though does look a lot like hen of the woods. Not known to be harmful but very tough.

Harvesting

Look for white spores on the ground

Clean them carefully with a mushroom brush to get all the bugs and dirt out.

Preparation

All mushrooms need to be cooked thoroughly. I often saute mushrooms in either butter or olive oil. Adding just a dash of canola oil will reduce the smoke point.

Preparation

You can use this in any recipe you would normally use mushrooms in, such as sauces, soups, toppings for pizza or other dishes. One of my favorites is mushroom risotto, below.

Print Recipe

Maitake Risotto

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 4 Cups Broth chicken or vegetable
• 4 Tbsp Butter may substitute with olive oil or canola oil
• 1 Cup Maitake Mushrooms more or less
• 1 Onion or Wild Onion, Garlic, Ramps, etc. diced
• 1 1/2 Cup Arborio Rice
• 1 Cup White Wine
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/3 Cup Asiago Cheese
• Pepper optional, to taste
• 1 Bunch Yellow Wood Sorrel

Instructions

• Start by warming the broth in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Heat the 2 Tbsp butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and place a heavy skillet on top to increase the pressure. Caste iron works great for this. This will save time and improve the flavor and consistency of the mushroom. Check occasionally. It will be slightly brown when done and soft. Remove from the pan when done and set aside.
• Heat a medium-sized pot on medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp butter and the onions and cook for about a minute. Add the rice and cook for several minutes until translucent.
• Pour in the wine and stir constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice. Stir until the wine is fully absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously until the rice is done and the liquid is absorbed.
• Turn off the heat and add the mushrooms, asiago cheese, salt, and pepper.
• Garnish with yellow wood sorrel.