These crispy chicken of the woods mushroom fritters fry up crunchy on the outside and juicy, meaty, and garlicky inside. The secret is dry bread soaked in milk, an old-school trick that keeps them moist and full of flavor. Ready in about an hour. Oh, and good luck stopping at one.

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The tree that keeps us churning out chicken of the woods recipes

Chicken of the woods mushroom fritters stacked on a small plate with salad, green dip, and a cherry tomato on top.

My chicken of the woods mushroom is quite incredible. It grows on the same tree every year, and when the temperature is just right, it pops up in crazy amounts. There’s no way to use it all in one cooking round, so we’re always cooking up a new chicken of the woods recipe.

Chicken of the woods grows all over Europe and North America, usually on oak, cherry, and willow trees, from late spring into autumn.

Unlike most wild mushrooms, where you’re thrilled to fill a small basket, one chicken of the woods can feed you for a week. A single find gives us a big pot of chicken of the woods soup, a sheet pan of chicken of the woods pie, and a large plate of fried chicken of the woods salad.

And there’s still more. Always enough for a few jars of pickled chicken of the woods and my very favorite, sweet chicken of the woods preserves. That’s mushroom turned into a dessert that tastes like orange and papaya. It sounds exotic, but it’s one of the best recipes to try.

Chicken of the woods mushroom (Laetiporus sulphureus).

These fritters are the newest way we deal with a huge chicken of the woods find, and they might be the tastiest yet.

The mushroom gets boiled first to break down the compounds that can upset your stomach. Then it goes into an old-fashioned fritter mix with hard-boiled eggs, breadcrumbs, and old bread soaked in milk. A final roll in breadcrumbs, and into the pan they go.

They’re really simple to make. All you need is a few minutes of prep and a large frying pan. It’s a super tasty, cozy autumn dinner, and most of the cooking time is spent with the mushrooms boiling away on their own.

A delicious serving of freshly fried chicken of the woods mushroom fritters with a green dip.

What goes into these chicken of the woods mushroom fritters

CHICKEN OF THE WOODS MUSHROOMS – Skip any that grow on yew, conifers, or eucalyptus trees, as they can upset your stomach. Use only the soft, tender parts. If your knife squeaks like it’s cutting through styrofoam, chop that part off.

EGGS – Six in total. Four are hard-boiled and chopped together with the mushroom for a meaty, chunky filling. The other two are whisked raw and hold the whole mixture together.

BREAD – Two pieces. Use older bread that has already dried. Fresh bread works too, just the texture of the fritters will change a little.

MILK – 1 cup (240 ml), warm, to soak the bread. It’s the reason these fritters taste so rich and stay moist inside.

BREADCRUMBS – Homemade or store-bought, both do the job. Ten tablespoons go into the mixture, and six more are for coating, which is where the crunch comes from. Going gluten-free? Use gluten-free breadcrumbs.

Mise en place for chicken of the woods fritters: chicken of the woods mushrooms, eggs, an onion, garlic, milk, old bread, breadcrumbs, salt, black pepper and parsley.

ONION – Fried in olive oil until soft and sweet, then stirred into the mixture. If yours is small, use two.

GARLIC – As much as your heart wants. I used four cloves, and it tasted like more, which is exactly how I like it. Vampires, keep out.

PARSLEY – Fresh is best, but dried will do. You can swap it for thyme, dill, or chives.

OLIVE OIL – Any oil works for frying. We use olive oil to avoid seed oils, or pork lard when I have some at home. Butter works too; just keep the heat a little lower so it doesn’t burn.

SALT & BLACK PEPPER – Two teaspoons of salt and one of pepper season the whole batch. Grind the pepper fresh if you can; it tastes noticeably better.

Fried chicken of the woods mushroom fritters by a homemade recipe from Slovenia.

How to make chicken of the woods fritters

STEP 1: Clean the mushroom. Brush off the dirt, any little bugs, and leftover bits of the tree it grew on. Chicken of the woods is sturdy enough to rinse under water, so go ahead and give it a proper wash with a brush. Trim off the tough part where it was attached to the tree, cut the rest into smaller chunks, and put a large pot of water on to boil.

Sliced mushroom in a glass bowl before cooking.

STEP 2: Cut the bread into small cubes and place them in a small bowl. Pour over 1 cup (240 ml) of warm milk and set aside to soak.

STEP 3: Once the water is boiling, add the mushroom chunks. Boil on medium-high heat for at least 20 minutes. Don’t cut this short. It’s what breaks down the compounds that can upset your stomach.

Chicken of the woods slices boiling in a pot of water on a gas burner.

STEP 4: While the mushroom bubbles away, hard-boil four eggs in a smaller pot for 10 to 12 minutes, until the yolks are firm all the way through.

STEP 5: Still waiting on the mushroom? Perfect. Chop the onion finely and fry it in hot olive oil until golden brown and fragrant. Turn off the heat, then stir in the crushed or sliced garlic. The heat from the onion cooks the garlic just enough to get a nice garlicky aroma.

Fried onions with fresh garlic in a frying pan.

STEP 6: Drain the boiled mushroom and rinse it quickly with cold water. Add it to a blender with the peeled hard-boiled eggs and pulse a few times. Don’t blend it smooth. You want visible bits of mushroom and egg for a chunky, meaty texture. A potato masher works just as well, if not better.

Cooked mushroom slices and egg halves in a blender.

STEP 7: In a large bowl, whisk the remaining two eggs. Take the bread out of the milk, squeeze it hard with your hands until no milk drips out, and add it to the eggs. Mash it with a fork until the bread breaks up and blends in.

Mashing the bread with eggs in a large glass bowl.

STEP 8: Add everything else to the same bowl: the mushroom and egg mixture, the onion and garlic, chopped parsley, salt, and black pepper. Stir with a spoon or spatula, no mixer needed.

Finally, stir in the breadcrumbs. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes so the bread and breadcrumbs can soak up the juices. Go wash the blender.

Adding the mushroom and egg mixture and breadcrumbs to the fritter mixture.

STEP 9: Now the mixture shapes easily. Form the fritters, keeping them all about the same size so they cook evenly. Coat each one in breadcrumbs, top and bottom. This makes them easier to handle and gives them their crispy crust.

Formed mushroom fritters on a rustic table with chicken of the woods mushroom in the background.

STEP 10: Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. The fritters don’t need to swim, but the oil should generously cover the bottom of the pan. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until deep golden brown and crunchy.

Frying the fritters in hot olive oil in a large pan.

STEP 11: Move the finished fritters to a paper towel-lined plate to soak up the extra oil while you fry the rest. Serve warm with your favorite dip. We made ours with fresh cabbage greens, parsley, and cream cheese. Try not to eat them all before they reach the table.

Chicken of the woods mushroom fritters served with a fresh parsley dip.

What to serve these mushroom fritters with

A homemade dip is a must. If your fridge is looking empty, stir together a little yogurt, mayo, garlic, and parsley, and you’re done in two minutes. They’re also lovely with a spoonful of homemade kajmak.

For a full dinner, add a bowl of fresh taboule salad and a glass of cold white wine. Plums are usually ripe right when chicken of the woods shows up, so finish with a seasonal dessert like this plum parfait. Now you’ve got a whole autumn menu.

And if all you want is bread, a slice of homemade buckwheat soda bread or polenta bread pairs well with these. Mix it, pop it in the oven, and it bakes while you make the fritters.

A close view of hot, freshly fried chicken of the woods mushroom fritters on a plate, with green and red pepper in the background.

A few things to remember before frying

Don’t skip the boiling. Chicken of the woods should never be eaten raw or undercooked. A full 20 minutes of boiling breaks down the compounds that can upset your stomach, so set a timer and let it bubble. If you’re trying this mushroom for the first time, eat a small portion first, because a few people react to it even when it’s cooked properly.

Trim off the tough parts. The part where the mushroom grew onto the tree is hard and squeaky, like styrofoam. Cut it off and keep only the soft flesh. Don’t lose a tooth to a mushroom fritter.

Soak the bread. Mushrooms and milk sound like an odd couple, I know. But bread soaked in milk, then squeezed out, makes the fritters soft, rich, and moist inside. It’s an old trick that works every time.

Give the mixture its 10 minutes. The breadcrumbs need time to soak up the juices. Shape the fritters too soon, and they’ll be sticky and fall apart in the pan. Wait, and they’ll hold together perfectly.

A stack of crispy fried chicken of the woods fritters topped with a small tomato, served with fresh salad and a spoonful of green dip.

How long do these mushroom fritters keep

They’re at their best fresh and hot, straight out of the frying pan. Leftovers keep in the fridge for one day. Not longer. And don’t reheat them. The good old rule is that wild mushroom dishes are eaten fresh, not warmed up again, and we stick to it.

The good news is you can prep these ahead. Once chicken of the woods is boiled and rinsed with cold water, it can be frozen for up to 6 months. Whenever a fritter craving hits, thaw the mushrooms in the fridge overnight and pick up the recipe from Step 6.