# Hen of the Woods mushrooms



## glorybegrl (Oct 1, 2008)

My neighbor gave me 2 Hen of the Woods mushrooms. They are huge and I can't possibly eat them in one or 2 sittings. Can I freeze them? How should I do it? Do I need to blanche them if I can freeze them?
Does anyone have any good recipes for them?
How thick should I cut them?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i'm not very experienced with preserving mushrooms, but i would think that if you froze them, they would turn to mush. that has been my experience with morels.

i did learn a trick though. a kind lady instructed me to fry the mushrooms as i normally would and lay them on a paper towel. the grease/butter soaks into the paper towel and you can wrap and freeze them. since the moisture is mostly gone, the mushrooms won;t turn to mush. 

i don't know how you cook your mushrooms, but if you fry or sautee' them, maybe that would work for you.


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## Bear (Jan 25, 2005)

Hen of the Woods is a great mushroom to use in just and dish, espically chicken dishes. After soaking them in alittle salt water to bring out all the dirt and bugs, I sautee them in some butter like MELOC said and drain on paper towels and freeze. Or you could par-boil, blanche them in some chicken stock and freeze. I use them also in chili and even sliced on top of pizza, sliced up and fried and then crack an egg or two on top for a great breakfast treat.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I took a hands-on mushroom class this summer and the instructors said that you can freeze mushrooms by tossing them in the freezer with no preparation.

Here's the instructor's mushroom website. http://www.mycomagnet.com


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## glorybegrl (Oct 1, 2008)

Thanks Fishhead. I love that website! :happy:
Bear, I can't wait to make pizza and put some on. Great idea! :clap: I did some in scrambled eggs but your way sounds great!
MELOC, I do saute mine. Thanks so much! :goodjob:


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i wanted to add that the lady who told me how to freeze the mushrooms told me to wrap them, paper towel and all, and then bag them and do what you normally do to freeze them. that way the grease in the paper towel helps to protect them. i didn't make that very clear in my other post.


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## glorybegrl (Oct 1, 2008)

I gotcha MELOC.  Thank you so much!


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I am fortunate enough to have a very large oak tree in my yard that gives several pound f these mushrooms each year. What I do, after cleaning the dirt and bugs out, is to dice them small, saute them in butter for about 10-15 min. or so and can them. Pack in hot jars to within 1/2" of top and add the cooking liquid (or boiling water) process them at 10 lbs. for 45 min. I use the 8 oz. jelly jars. They will be ready to use when you open the jar. Pizza, sauces and homemade cream of mushroom soup comes to mind. Oyster mushroom work well like this also.


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## glorybegrl (Oct 1, 2008)

Thank you Sally! These are great ideas too.


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