Hen of the Woods for Dinner

2015 has been a fantastic year for our favorite edible fungi, hen of the woods, maitake, or Grifola frondosa. Last year we were not able to find more than two, both from a very reliable spot. This year we brought home more than 35, I stopped counting after awhile. We used our jerky recipe on most of the very large fronds and cores, doing a little tweaking to the ingredients and measurements, and vacuum packing lots of delicious jerky to snack on all winter long.

Wild Rice and Maitake Soup

With all of the little fronds, extra bits, and smaller, more compact hens, we made nearly a month's worth of dinner. "Hen"chiladas, creamy hen soup, brothy hen soup with wild rice, a loaf made with buckwheat, hen stroganoff, hen and potato gratin, miso and soy glazed and roasted hens with root vegetables, sausages, and hen and sweet potato hash all made appearances at our table for the month of October and through the beginning of November. We didn't make formal recipes for all of our photographed meals, we just wanted to eat dinner! Most of the cooking we do is on the fly, tasting as we go. Robert and I both have previous experience in commercial kitchens and can cook without written recipes.

Buckwheat and Hen Loaf with Hen Gravy

Lots of the small bits also made it into our freezer and into the dehydrator. We now have 3 gallons of dried hen fronds to re-hydrate and make into a umami-filled broth and as a base for gravy. Preserving our bountiful harvests has been very important for us to alleviate the mushroom hunting withdrawal symptoms we feel during the cold New England winters.

Hashbrown Casserole with Pickled Ramps and Hen Sausages

One trip, 9 hens