kyoto
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This morning's haul!our very first pick of chicken of the woods (about 1kg), some beefsteak fungus and about 1 kg of oyster mushrooms!
tried a bit of the COTW sliced & stir fried in olive oil and the taste was amazing, very chicken-like and not bitter at all as some people say. The colour was reminiscent of roast chicken almost and the texture was quite tender too.
Had the oyster shrooms for lunch with some spaghetti  and now thinking of how to cook the beefsteak ones as we never tried these before... ideas anyone?
Also, does anyone know if beefsteak fungus can be dried or frozen?
Will post some pixs later!
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Lozzie
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Congrats on fab haul!
I've never eaten beefsteak mushroom but my trusty field guide says that they get too tough when dried and it is best to cook something with it and then freeze the dish.
"Beefsteak mushroom has a slightly metallic taste; slice into strips and soak in milk for 2 hours. Then, grill like steak with some onion, basil and garlic. Try it on a charcoal grill or barbeque, or added to soups and stews."
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Treacodactyl
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Congratulations, I've never found a beefsteak fungi. Young CotW shouldn't be bitter and it's quite surpisingly chicken-like to eat isn't it? I've frozen CotW without doing anything to it and it was fine, some books suggest blanching it first. So if you have a large amount of the beef steak you could try freezing a bit raw and see how it goes.
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Fee
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Cool, well done I'm off on a bramble and elderberry hunt now 
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kyoto
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Pictures!Thanks everyone, was really chuffed to find a chicken of the woods finally!
Well, we just had half of the COTW for dinner (stir fried with bacon) and can confirm that this is just fantastic! Recipe as follows:
Fry bacon strips with a diced onion. Add the sliced COTD with some olive oil & carry on frying, add a little chopped garlic, some shredded cabbage and season with pepper (salt not required as bacon contains salt). Finally, add a little bit of double cream and water & leave to steam a 2-3 minutes until the COTD is tender. Serve with some new potatoes … delicious.
Anyway, have now frozen the rest of it. Will tackle the beefsteak tomorrow. Currently soaking chunks of it in milk. Thanks for the tip Lozzie!
The pictures:
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Bernie66
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Now I am hungry and inspired to go foraging tomorrow.It was going to be allotment, but now its foraging. 
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Naomi
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That really does look good... Hmm can almost smell it!
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Penny Outskirts
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Yummm - looks delicious
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cab
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Excellent, looks really good!
Regarding beefsteak fungus, I'd cook it in something before freezing it. I've had it frozen without cooking once, came out rather wet when defrosted.
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bernie-woman
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The finished dish looks absolutely delicous - had a walk in the nature reserve yesterday and saw some chicken of the woods (I think  ) - I wonder whether I will ever be brave enough to give this mushroom foraging a go
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