• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Low Carb Yum
Easy Gluten-Free & Keto-Friendly Recipes
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Start Keto
    • What Is The Keto Diet?
    • The Benefits Of A Keto Diet
    • What Are Macros In Keto?
    • Best Keto Fruits
    • Best Keto Vegetables
    • 5 Types Of Keto Diets
    • Low Carb vs Keto?
    • The Keto Food Pyramid
    • Keto Supplements
  • Recipes
    • By Course
      • Keto Appetizers
      • Keto Drinks
      • Low Carb Breads
      • Keto Casserole Recipes
      • Keto Salads
      • Sauces & Dressings
      • Keto Sides
      • Low Carb Snacks
      • Low Carb Soups
    • By Cuisines
      • Asian
      • Italian
      • Mexican
      • Southern
    • By Diet
      • Dairy-Free
      • Paleo
      • AIP
      • Nut-Free
      • Egg-Free
      • Vegetarian
      • Vegan
      • Kid Friendly
    • By Cooking Style
      • Air Fryer
      • Crock Pot
      • Instant Pot
      • One Pan
      • Freezer Friendly
      • 30 Minutes or Less
  • Fast Food Menus
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner
    • Beef
    • Casseroles
    • Chicken
    • Eggs
    • Pork
    • Seafood
    • Turkey
  • Desserts
    • Cakes
    • Candy
    • Cheesecakes
    • Cookies
    • Frosting
    • Frozen Desserts
    • Fruit
    • Pies
    • Puddings
  • Shop
    • 5-Ingredient Keto Cookbook
    • Simple Keto Meals Cookbook
    • Low Carb Casseroles eCookbook
    • Low Carb Keto Products
Home / Recipes / Keto Sides

Sheepshead (Hen Of The Woods) Maitake Mushrooms Recipe

By Lisa MarcAurele · Jun 12, 2020 · 9 Comments

576 shares
Jump to Recipe
sheepshead maitake mushroom recipe pinterest image

Do you forage for wild mushrooms? The easy to identify hen of the woods Maitake mushrooms are not difficult to find. If you spot one, try it in them in this stir-fry sheepshead mushroom recipe.

sheepshead maitake mushrooms recipe cover image
Article Index
  • Cooking Sheepshead Mushroom
  • Ingredients For Maitake Mushroom Stir Fry
  • How To Make The Recipe
  • Where To Find Sheepshead Mushrooms
  • How To Serve Stir Fried Hen Of The Woods Mushroom
  • More Mushroom Recipes
  • Recipe

I was just introduced to eating wild mushrooms from the local woods. My husband has a friend who likes to go out and look for easy to identify native mushrooms.

One of the easiest mushrooms to identify in the wild are Maitake mushrooms. They are native to Northeastern Japan, China, and North America.

Here in Connecticut, many refer to this edible mushroom as Hen of the Woods. But I've also heard these wild mushrooms referred to as Ramshead or Sheepshead mushrooms. The scientific name for this mushroom is Grifola frondosa.

sheepshead maitake mushroom in red bowl

Cooking Sheepshead Mushroom

Maitake mushrooms can be cooked fresh or be frozen to use later. Some boil it first to get rid of any harmful bacteria that may be on it. However, there's no need to boil as the cooking process will kill any bacteria.

You can use frozen sheepshead mushroom pieces in a recipe without thawing first. Therefore, it's a good idea to cut it into smaller pieces before freezing.

The flavor of the Maitake mushroom is highly regarded among wild mushrooms. After listening to others rave about their taste, I just had to give it a try.

I'll admit I was a bit nervous to try one of these mushroom. But after frying one up, I'm ready to look for more because it was so delicious.

Ingredients For Maitake Mushroom Stir Fry

My recipe for a stir fried wild mushrooms may seem more complex that others, but the additional ingredients really enhance the flavor.

Hen Of The Woods

You'll need about a pound of cut Maitake mushroom. As mentioned previously, this wild mushroom is also called Hen Of The Woods, Sheep's Head, or Ram's Head mushroom.

Garlic And Onion

Nearly all basic stir fry recipes call for garlic and onion. They add flavor and provide a wonderful aroma. Feel free to adjust the amounts to suit your own taste.

Butter And Olive Oil

I like to fry my mushrooms in a blend of olive oil and melted butter. They add fat and give a richer flavor.

Beef Broth

Adding broth gives a subtle meaty element that really ups the taste of the mushroom. If I don’t have time to make my own beef bone broth from scratch, I typically use Kettle & Fire!

White Cooking Wine

I use a dry white cooking wine to add flavor that complements the broth. If you don't have any on hand, you could try using a little lemon juice or vinegar.

Note: You'll find the full list of ingredients to make this low-carb dish with amounts used in the recipe card at the bottom.

ingredients for maitake mushroom recipe

How To Make The Recipe

This easy Maitake mushroom recipe whips up in less than 30 minutes. You'll find the full instructions in the recipe card. Here you'll find a step-by-step look at the process.

Sauté Onion And Garlic

Begin by placing your chopped onions in the butter over medium heat, sautéing for around 5 to 10 minutes, until garlic is golden and onion is translucent.

mushroom recipe initial steps

Add Ingredients

Add in the mushroom pieces, beef broth, and cooking wine. Reduce heat to medium.

mushroom recipe broth and wine

Cook Off Liquid

Cook for 15 to 20 minute, stirring frequently, until the liquid has boiled off. Because it's cooked for an extended period in liquid, there's no reason to boil the mushroom before.

cooking sheepshead mushroom

Brown The Mushroom

After the liquid is gone, allow the sides of the mushroom pieces brown up in the pan. Be careful to brown and not burn the mushroom.

browned maitake mushrooms in skillet

Where To Find Sheepshead Mushrooms

Maitake mushrooms are an excellent wild mushroom for beginners to gather from the woods. That's because there are no dangerous mushrooms that look like them. These mushrooms can usually be found in late summer and early fall growing at the base of large oak trees.

They've also been found on elm, maple, beech, chestnut and sycamore trees. I've probably walked past these mushrooms hundreds of times. But I've never thought of picking these ugly looking tree growths and cooking them up.

These wild mushrooms have been shown to contain anti-diabetic properties as well as anti-cancer and anti-tumor properties. They have also been found to be helpful in relieving the effects of chemotherapy.

The Maitake mushroom is also known to have medicinal value. It contains a beneficial protein-bound beta-glucan compound too.

Sheepshead mushrooms are rich in minerals such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium. In addition, they contain various vitamins such as B2, D2 and niacin as well as fibers and amino acids.

How To Serve Stir Fried Hen Of The Woods Mushroom

maitake mushroom recipe hero shot

This simple Maitake mushroom recipe was given to me by my husband's friend Joe. He has been making it for decades.

Joe told us he likes to serve the stir fried mushrooms with pasta or Italian bread. But I find the dish to be a nice side for steak.

I find the leftovers are great to use in a keto cream of mushroom soup. They also work well in a low-carb marinara sauce.

More Mushroom Recipes

If you like to forage for wild mushrooms, you may want to try them in other recipes. Here's a few of my favorite mushroom recipes.

  • Cauliflower Rice Risotto
  • Keto Stuffed Mushrooms
  • Crustless Spinach Mushroom Quiche
  • Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Portobello
  • Sautéed Green Beans And Mushrooms

Follow us on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, and INSTAGRAM for even more tasty keto-friendly recipes!

Recipe

sheepshead maitake mushroom recipe featured image

Stir Fried Sheepshead Maitake Mushrooms

5 from 2 votes
You'll love cooking up the wild sheepshead mushrooms in this simple stir-fry. It's a great way to enjoy low carb Maitake mushrooms.
Prep Time:10 minutes mins
Cook Time:15 minutes mins
Total Time:25 minutes mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Print Pin Review Recipe Save Recipe View Collections
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 154

Video

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • ¼ cup onions chopped
  • 1 pound Maitake mushroom cut into pieces
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • ¼ cup cooking wine
  • shredded cheese optional
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Cook garlic and onions in hot butter and oil until golden. Add mushroom, beef broth and cooking wine.
  • Cook on medium high, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. They will turn nice and brown.
  • Serve with grated cheese, if desired.

Notes

Can be served with keto noodles or low-carb bread. The stir-fried sheepshead is also a nice side for steak.
Leftovers are great to use in a keto cream of mushroom soup or low-carb marinara sauce.

Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart

Nutrition

Calories: 154 | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 351mg | Potassium: 432mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 200IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 0mg | Iron: 0.5mg

Additional Info

Net Carbs: 5 g | % Carbs: 14.3 % | % Protein: 8.6 % | % Fat: 77.1 % | SmartPoints: 6
Values
Array
(
    [calories] => 154
    [carbohydrates] => 6
    [protein] => 3
    [fat] => 12
    [saturated_fat] => 4
    [polyunsaturated_fat] => 1
    [monounsaturated_fat] => 5
    [trans_fat] => 15
    [cholesterol] => 15
    [sodium] => 351
    [potassium] => 432
    [fiber] => 1
    [sugar] => 2
    [vitamin_a] => 200
    [vitamin_c] => 0.8
    [calcium] => 0
    [iron] => 0.5
    [serving_unit] => g
)

Notes on Nutritional Information

Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.

Copyright

© LowCarbYum.com - Unauthorized use of this material without written permission is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes. Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.

First published on October 24, 2010. Post updated on October 15, 2021, with new photos, video, and recipe information.

« Easy Sugar-Free Pumpkin Fudge (Paleo Recipe)
Week 60 Keto Meal Plan »

Related Posts

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rich Spinosi

    October 13, 2017 at 11:54 am

    sheepshead mushroom recipe 2lbs mushroom heat cast iron skillet with a little olive oil and fresh minced garlic to your liking. when garlic starts to brown add mushrooms. cook for 10 to 12 minutes on a higer heat to get mushrooms golden brown(crackling in skillet) remove from heat and skillet let mushrooms cool a little. turn oven to bake at 350 -360 degrees. put mushrooms in safe baking dish cover them with your favorite red sauce for 10 minutes. remove from oven cover them with mozzarella cheese or your favorite cheese for 3-5 minutes. until cheese melts. a glass of red wine with this dish is simply fantastic Bon appetite.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      October 13, 2017 at 2:52 pm

      Thanks for those tips Rich! Sounds like you know what you're doing there.

      Reply
  2. Jojo

    October 07, 2017 at 11:00 am

    Idiots. You don't need to boil your hens all your doing is taking all the flavor from it so why bother

    Reply
  3. kevin

    September 15, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    anyone ever use bloodred oranges

    Reply
    • Lisa

      September 16, 2017 at 7:16 am

      Not me.

      Reply
  4. Minh

    January 10, 2016 at 9:40 pm

    How much cooking wine did you put in?

    Reply
    • Lisa

      January 11, 2016 at 5:21 am

      I used about 1/4 cup. I'll add to recipe.

      Reply
  5. blackbookkitchendiaries

    October 26, 2010 at 7:25 pm

    5 stars
    this dish looks absolutely delicious. i could eat the entire thing all by myself. thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  6. fooddreamer

    October 26, 2010 at 1:45 pm

    Oooo, yummy! Never occurred to me to pick any mushrooms either, I'd have to kknow exactly what I was looking for so I didn't poison myself!

    Reply
5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

BEST Keto Fall Recipes

Here are some of our most popular keto fall recipes you can make this season! From homemade dips to quick and easy dinner recipes, these low-carb recipes will be on repeat all summer long!

  • Keto Beef Stew Featured Image
    Easy Keto Beef Stew Recipe
  • Pumpkin Cheese Ball
  • Keto Pumpkin Deviled Eggs
  • overhead of shredded pot roast in the slow cooker after cooking with two forks in it.
    Mississippi Mud Roast (Crockpot Recipe)
  • healthy pumpkin smoothie featured image.
    Healthy Pumpkin Smoothie (With Pumpkin Pie Spice)
  • hot dog mummies on halloween platter.
    Keto Mummy Hot Dogs

Popular Fall Keto Desserts

Desserts can be a challenge while on a keto or low-carb diet. We have wonderful recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth while watching those macros!

  • Keto peanut butter cookies featured image.
    3-Ingredient Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
  • Keto cinnamon churro featured
    Cinnamon Churros (Keto + Low-Carb)
  • pumpkin chocolate chip muffins on wire rack
    Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (Keto + Gluten Free)
  • pumpkin truffles candy featured image
    Keto Pumpkin Truffles Recipe (Sugar-Free Candy)
  • keto snowball cookies
    Keto Snowball Cookies
  • sugar free snickers Featured Image
    Sugar Free Snickers Bar

Footer

Featured On:

Parade FitnessHuffington PostHealthLineBuzzFeedThe KitchnShapeWomen's HealthCountry Living Men's Health

Keto

  • Get Started
  • Keto Calculator
  • Low Carb vs Keto
  • Low Carb Food List

Recipes

  • Breakfast
  • Desserts
  • Dinners
  • Salads
  • Sides

About

  • About
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Work With Us

↑ back to top

LowCarbYum.com makes money through affiliate partner links: If you click on a link, we may earn a commission. Our writers create all reviews, recipes, and other content to inform readers, with no influence from our advertisers. LowCarbYum.com may earn from qualifying purchased made on Amazon.com. Learn more about our policies and disclosures.

Copyright © 2025. Low Carb Yum. All Rights Reserved.

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.