# Mussels--- how to get the plumpest ones



## cave76 (Apr 14, 2014)

----- if that's possible. RockLobster just posted a pic of mussels (still drooling). 

I bought some mussels last week from Fisherman's Shack (they're actually fishermen and the seafood is always fresh until they say it's previously frozen.

The mussels were great but the were small-ish compared to some I had in a nice restaurant here which were very plump. Is that just the 'season'? Did I cook them right or too long?

Any  opinions?


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## Rocklobster (Apr 14, 2014)

Wild mussels are usually a lot bigger than the cultivated ones. A lot of places carry the cultivated ones, but fish markets usually have both. The wild ones are more expensive but worth it. As far as size,  you never know what you are going to get inside, but generally, the bigger the mussel shell, the bigger the mussel inside. Let your ingredients boil a bit to get maximum flavor and concentration of juice before adding the mussels. They do shrink and get tougher the longer they steam so you have to pull them right after they open.  They may seem a little under done, but they keep cooking in their own steam from the juice as they sit in the pot or on your plate. Like a lot of meat, they are ok to eat a bit underdone. I would rather eat one a bit underdone than an overdone one.....

One rule I learned while living in Italy was you never eat mussels during months with no "R" in it. So, basically, you don't eat them from May to the beginning of September.


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## Whiskadoodle (Apr 14, 2014)

I saw Rock's pic a minute ago too in the Dinner thread and thought, I bet I haven't had mussels in about 3 years! or Too long to remember. 

I'm pasting the Pic again, in case someone sees this thread later and doesn't know what we are talking about. Good it is.  ( drat.  the pic doesn't enlarge like the original. sorry)


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## Roll_Bones (Apr 15, 2014)

I use the PEI rope grown type.  I get them at Costco.  We have little in the way of seafood markets in these parts.
They are fairly consistent in size, but a bit smaller last time I bought some.
They were very good either way.


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## Addie (Apr 15, 2014)

I remember as a kid, bringing home a bucket of mussels. I would pick them off the rocks at Short Beach and we would have them for supper. We would wait until the high tide was just starting to go out. As the rocks came into view we would start picking them then. Mussels at that time were considered trash food that only poor people would eat. We weren't poor and we loved them. Mussels, clams, and lobsters were our summer fare every year.


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## cave76 (Apr 15, 2014)

I think, but would have to check, that wild caught mussels aren't allowed to be sold here in OR. But I think, have to check, that you can gather them yourself (which I'm certainly not able to do!). Of course not in months with R  in them.

I may have cooked my mussels a bit too long and shrunk them a little. Plus they were probably small to start with. But they still were good. Next time I'll take them out when just first opening and 'al dente' and let them finish.

The broth was great just to drink later on.

My mind went wandering again: "What warnings do foreign countries have about months with *R* in them for shell fish?"

Well, in case you're wondering---- a lot of the European countries have R's in the same month as we (U.S.) do.

EXCEPT Italian---- the word for January is *gennaio*

And what about Russia? Oh, dear!


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## Addie (Apr 15, 2014)

I grew up right next to the Atlantic Ocean. We ate shellfish all summer long. R or no R. Grant you, most of them are in the growing phase at that time, but you pick the largest ones you can find. I hate summer lobsters though. Their meat is sweeter in the summer, but it is the time of their molting and they are filled with salt water. They don't start to harden up until the ocean temps start on the downward slide.


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## taxlady (Apr 15, 2014)

When I was a kid, growing up in California, we always saw lots of mussels when we went to the beach. I was told you couldn't eat them.


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## Mad Cook (Apr 15, 2014)

taxlady said:


> When I was a kid, growing up in California, we always saw lots of mussels when we went to the beach. I was told you couldn't eat them.


When I was a student living on the coast of North Wales in the late 1960s, early 1970s, the local mussels were off limits due to some sort of algae  (red?) that was poisoning them and making them unsafe for humans to eat.

Of course, they have to be living in safe, clean water otherwise they can make you poorly. Most mussels you buy in the UK are farmed for that reason


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## taxlady (Apr 15, 2014)

That makes sense, but I was told "You can't eat mussels."


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## Addie (Apr 15, 2014)

Mad Cook said:


> When I was a student living on the coast of North Wales in the late 1960s, early 1970s, the local mussels were off limits due to some sort of algae  (red?) that was poisoning them and making them unsafe for humans to eat.
> 
> Of course, they have to be living in safe, clean water otherwise they can make you poorly. Most mussels you buy in the UK are farmed for that reason



When we are about to get hit with the red tide, we get plenty of warning via the television and newspapers. Here, it usually starts up in Maine and works it way down the coast. It only lasts a couple of weeks. It doesn't come every year.


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## pacanis (Apr 15, 2014)

Red algae, bad stuff. It will kill a dog that goes swimming in it.


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## Addie (Apr 15, 2014)

pacanis said:


> Red algae, bad stuff. It will kill a dog that goes swimming in it.




They close the beaches here. We get ample warning. In fact if you are one who listens to the early morning news, it will be their lead story. At 5 am, 5:30 am, 6 am, etc. right up to nine am. Then again at noon and 6 pm.


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## jennyema (Apr 16, 2014)

We haven't had red tide in awhile , have we?


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## CraigC (Apr 16, 2014)

jennyema said:


> We haven't had red tide in awhile , have we?



We can probably thank hurricanes for that.


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## Addie (Apr 16, 2014)

jennyema said:


> We haven't had red tide in awhile , have we?



No, we didn't get it last summer.


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## Roll_Bones (Apr 16, 2014)

cave76 said:


> I think, but would have to check, that wild caught mussels aren't allowed to be sold here in OR. But I think, have to check, that you can gather them yourself (which I'm certainly not able to do!). Of course not in months with R  in them.
> 
> I may have cooked my mussels a bit too long and shrunk them a little. Plus they were probably small to start with. But they still were good. Next time I'll take them out when just first opening and 'al dente' and let them finish.
> 
> ...



First. I have found mussels are well suited for longer cooking times. In fact, I wait until they are completely open. All of them in the pot.  They seem to stay tender even then.

I too bought into the "R" thing.  I know do not use this as my guide to shellfish anymore.
The "R" idea it seems comes from the eating of raw oysters and clams.
If you are cooking them, it would not matter at all.  Even if there was some science to prove the "R" is actually true.

I now eat raw oysters and clams year round with no negative results.


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## cave76 (Apr 16, 2014)

Roll_Bones said:


> I now eat raw oysters and clams year round with no negative results.



Are those ones bought in the store or do you 'pick' your own? They sell in stores year round?


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## GotGarlic (Apr 16, 2014)

From HowStuffWorks "Types of Shellfish Poisoning" :



> Dinoflagellates sometimes consume toxic alkaloids called saxitoxins. The type of saxitoxin the dinoflagellate consumes determines what type of shellfish poisoning you'll receive at your lofty position atop the food chain.
> 
> The bad news is that once a shellfish becomes toxic, no amount of heat during cooking will destroy the bacteria. Because of this, you should definitely not harvest your own shellfish during months with an "R" in them, especially along the Pacific Coast. This activity is banned in the state of California (and restricted elsewhere) between May and October because the toxin responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning is more prevalent during those months. Generally speaking, however, the major downside to summertime oysters is the disappointment you may feel upon eating them -- bivalves reproduce in the summertime and most of their energy goes toward this endeavor, leaving the meat somewhat scrawny.
> 
> The good news is that precautions taken during the raising and harvesting of commercial shellfish make them safe to eat any time of the year. So long as your shellfish has been commercially harvested and no advisories have been issued by state governments or the U.S. Department of Health, you should rest easy knowing your shellfish is safe to enjoy.



Shellfish are available year-round here. We don't catch our own, although we could put out crab pots if we wanted to.


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## Addie (Apr 17, 2014)

Gee, if Boston didn't have fish and shellfish available year round, we would all die off. The fishmongers in this city just love Lent. And we have always ignored the old wives fish tale of the "R" factor. In spite of the church's edict many years ago about eating meat on Friday, there are many families that still live by the old rules. And if you go to Mass on Sunday, you will see many of the old timers who still have and use their old family missals that are in Latin.

I have heard the "R" story as to never eat shellfish unless there is an "R" in the month and also without one. Take your pick. I ignore both.


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## buckytom (Sep 30, 2014)

bumpah.

mussels, their incarnate selves inside the shells, are mostly "belly"with much less of the fleshy body as compared to oysters and clams. they can withstand longer cooking. they also freeze really well because of this. most seafood doesn't. it loses too much quality.

mussels grow everywhere including seriously polluted areas, so a lot of people refrain from eating them.

but a mussel from cold, clean, north atlantic waters is a treat. 

i like them because they're just fishy enough to stand up to spicy sauces like thai or italian.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 30, 2014)

This week I'm cooking a lot of food from the sea--steelhead trout, mussels, lobster, and crab. I've ordered the lobster, crab, and trout from a wholesaler, the mussels I'll get locally (the rest are being shipped to my house from Nova Scotia). 

If it were up to me, I'd make 4 meals instead of 2 from the protein sources. Crab cakes one day, mussels and homemade pasta another, steamed lobster, corn on the cob, boiled potatoes...and steelhead trout another day. Instead, I will be test driving two recipes using these four proteins. Lunch will be a feast on Friday!

However, I will be making a seafood bisque using the shells, plus some shrimp and additional crab shells I have in the freezer over the weekend or sometime next week. Anyone care to share favorite bisque recipes (and if you've ever added the mussel shells to the stock)?


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## buckytom (Sep 30, 2014)

can we all just freakin' come over, already!!

yer killin' me, c-dubya.

who is gonna eat all of that briney goodness?

and serving a load of heavy duty coffee to the photog when he or she gets there to get the shot done asap wouldn't hurt anyone, you know.

jus', well, you know.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 30, 2014)

buckytom said:


> can we all just freakin' come over, already!!
> 
> yer killin' me, c-dubya.
> 
> ...


The photographer and I get to eat all that food. A friend's coming from Toronto on Friday for the weekend, so I guess I don't have to think about what to serve over the weekend...leftovers from the sea...


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## Addie (Oct 1, 2014)

I am on my way. 

You can have the lobsters. They have been on sale for $4.99 a pound for quite a while now. Bought two last month. Along with a large bag of clams for clam chowder. The lobster shells were just beginning to harden. I cooked the lobsters first and then boiled their shells and used the broth for the clam chowder the next night. I have been in seafood heaven.


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## Roll_Bones (Oct 3, 2014)

Addie said:


> I am on my way.
> 
> You can have the lobsters. They have been on sale for $4.99 a pound for quite a while now. Bought two last month. Along with a large bag of clams for clam chowder. The lobster shells were just beginning to harden. I cooked the lobsters first and then boiled their shells and used the broth for the clam chowder the next night. I have been in seafood heaven.



I wish I could get lobsters at that price. 
Do you get them from a grocery store or a fish market?
I love lobster!


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## Addie (Oct 3, 2014)

Roll_Bones said:


> I wish I could get lobsters at that price.
> Do you get them from a grocery store or a fish market?
> I love lobster!





Grocery store. I could go over to Hooks, a lobster clearing house, but it is in town and the savings would be taken up in the travel expenses. It would cost me $8.00 for The Ride, a service for handicap.


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## CraigC (Oct 3, 2014)

Hopefully some folks will start farming New Zealand green-lips in the US or Canada, so we can get fresh ones.


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## puffin3 (Feb 6, 2015)

These are the mussels we get in our local grocery store. Note the size and color.
Saltspring Island Mussels They really are as good as it gets. Another local grocery store sells PEI mussels.....if you can call them that.
Tiny little tasteless nurdles the size of a frozen pea...and EXPENSIVE!


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