I’d love to know how you prepare it… in my area we’ve found a few, but it’s been a dark art of waiting for the snow to be off the ground to get into the areas where we know them to be, and them being dried out and dead by the time we get there…

That's interesting. I guess you're in a cold area for snow 5o still be around, since they typically fruit June-Sept here.

I like to cut them into pieces and either sauté them or pan fry them like with light breading, like my homemade chicken nuggets.

I may have been given incorrect information, but I've heard that chicken of the woods is incredibly difficult to cultivate, close to morels (you need just the right conditions).