Chanterelle?

[ChristiaandeWit]

My friend found this in Western NC, she said it's very large.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

[CajunShroomer3578]

I’d say with certainty it is NOT a chanterelles 

I would suggest looking into lactarious or russala
 

Press with finger on gills to see if it extrudes white latex substance. 
 

Or snapping the stalk to see if it snaps like chalk. Russalas tend to have this characteristic. 

[Dave W]

In the photo showing the gills, it looks like there are a few tiny white droplets between the gills... just a couple areas. This mushroom looks like Lactifluus piperatus (formerly Lactarius piperatus). Extremely acrid-tasting, peppery. There are a few very similar species (eg. L. glaucescans) that are also acrid/peppery-tasting. Slice through the gills and see if a white liquid oozes. 

In Scandinavian countries and parts of Eastern Europe these types of acrid mushrooms are prepared for eating by slicing, covering in rock salt, and layering between leaves of a certain type. They are stored like this inside a cool basement for probably longer than a month. 

But, if you simply slice and saute as though these are chanterelles, then the result will be a bad-tasting meal that will probably make you sick.