Chicky Tendies (of the Woods)

You know me, not a long story first, but some notes:

• Obviously, make sure your woods ID is correct for these wild delicacies (laetiporus sulphureus), and also make sure they're in good condition (clean them well and check for bugs - these fun guys can get maggoty pretty quickly).

• After you clean them (I like a big tub of cool water, a knife to trim woody or questionable bits, and a stiff brush, and cut them up while you're doing this to get allllll the nooks and crannies), dry them off a bit so they don't water down your brine.

• Y'all know I'm terrible at actually making recipes with, like, quantities, so I'll do my best here. The brine was based on enough cuts to fill a gallon freezer bag, and I ended up actually frying 2 batches filling (not crowding) a 9-inch cast iron pan.

• When dunking in the egg and breading, make sure you're getting coverage (they won't lay flat like a chicken cutlet).

Brine:

• pickle juice of whatever you've got, but something on the kosher/dilly side for me, about 1 1/2 cups

• salt, about 1 T

• garlic, 2-3 peeled & smashed bulbs

• I added extra dill because I had it and I wanted it, totally optional

• enough water to cover the mushrooms in the bag

Remove as much air as you can, tightly close the bag, refrigerate overnight (if your COWs are in good shape, they will last a couple of days because they're being pickled), turning them when you think about it.

Breadings 1 and 2:

• my first breading was brown rice flour and spices only, about 1 1/2 c flour (I did maybe a third of the gallon bag and had plenty left over)

• egg wash in between (I used up 2 eggs worth)

• second breading was brown rice flour and fine ground corn meal (about half a cup each), with salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin.

Fry in about 1/2" of crisco in a cast iron pan - make sure your oil gets hot first! Medium-high heat to start (might need to turn it down a little if you're doing several batches - I love that cornmeal crunch, but it tends to burn), and one way to check if it's hot enough is sprinkle a little breading and see if it bubbles/fries.

Turn a time or two, and make sure they're golden brown - you always want to make sure mushrooms are cooked all the way through!