How do you cook mussels?

[NancyinArkansas]

How do you cook fresh water mussels? Are they good?Can you Fry them?Are You supposed to eat them?Thanks ,Nancy

[morrowsmowers]

Steam them. That is supposed to be the preferred way to cook all shellfish.

Ken in Glassboro, NJ

[Kmac15]

good some fresh chopped garlic in olive oil until you can smell it, not letting it brown.
Add the cleaned mussels and one cup of white wine. Put a tight lid on and wait about 5 minutes and then check. When they are open they are done.
sprinkle a little sea salt or kosher salt and enjoy

[naturelover]

Make sure you only cook fresh mussels with closed shells. If the shells are already open before cooking discard them, they are dead and will have bacteria on them. Closed shell mussels are safe and once the mussels with closed shells are cooked they will open during the cooking. Mussels are very sweet compared to other shellfish.

[Farmerwilly2]

Originally Posted by Kmac15

good some fresh chopped garlic in olive oil until you can smell it, not letting it brown.
Add the cleaned mussels and one cup of white wine. Put a tight lid on and wait about 5 minutes and then check. When they are open they are done.
sprinkle a little sea salt or kosher salt and enjoy

I do similar, but prefer shallots or cleaned leeks rather than garlic.

[A'sta at Hofstead]

Oh I love Mussels! I use them in a cippino or just steam with garlic, onion and herbs and a bit of butter for dipping! YUM! Like said above, remove any open/cracked shells and rinse really well before cooking. If they are wild there will be a beard at the tip of the shell, this is how they cling to rocks, this should be pulled out. Sometimes you need a pair of pliers to do it right, you don't want a beard in your mouth. If you do a cippino or serve with pasta still in the shell, (think fra diavlo), then you really should scrub them with a brush first too, especially if wild, not farm raised.
Also, any that do not pop open after steaming should be discarded, not forced open and eaten.

[longshot38]

i've never had freshwater mussels but for the salt water vairety i like to gently boil till they open in either salted water or straight sea water with a little vinigar and onion when they pop open they are ready. another way my dad told me about although we never tried it that i recall, was to wrap them in wet, fresh seaweed and put them in the coals of a fire on the beach and when they open they are ready takes about an hour as i recall.

dean


PS mussels are great beach food and are really good for you.

[booklover]

My 5 year old absolutely loves mussels. She is an expert mussel eater and her favorite is moules marinieres:

In a large stockpot, melt several tablespoons of butter. Add 1/2 c. of chopped shallots and cook until tender. Add two cups of white wine and bring to a boil. Add mussels, put on a lid and let them steam until they pop open... 5 - 10 minutes. Add a big handful of freshly chopped parsley at the end. Serve with good crusty bread to sop up the broth. The correct way to eat a mussel is to use the shell of one mussel to remove another from its shell. Enjoy!

[Coco]

Kmac is so right if you don't have white wine do some red or some beer but add some flavor when steaming.

[A'sta at Hofstead]

DOH! I missed the fact that they are freshwater....... never had them.

[OkieDavid]

I like to keep them in a tub of clean well water overnight to let them "flush" a little. After that, ANY of the above recipes sound yummy. Only caution I would have for you since you are in Ark. is to make double darn shure "which" mussel you have as there are a couple (Ouachita Rock Pocketbook for one) that is on the Fed. Endangerd species list.......I'd do a google search on "Arkansas Endangered Species" and search around a bit. They will have both the federal and state listed species as well as good photos and descriptions and warngings as to any contamination concerns from metals/pesticides. Regardless of your feelings for the endangered species act, I would hate to see you get crossways with that law.

[Cabin Fever]

I think you're suppose to "slide 'em down" raw on the half shell and chase 'em with beer.

[longshot38]

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

I think you're suppose to "slide 'em down" raw on the half shell and chase 'em with beer.

i believe thats oysters my friend.


dean

[Kmac15]

we just had oysters last weekend at my moms in Charleston and that is the favorite way of the guys to eat them, open, slide down and swallow. LOL

[Cabin Fever]

Originally Posted by longshot38

i believe thats oysters my friend.


dean

What do I know....I'm from Minnesota. The only seafood we eat around here is sardines, kippers and lutefisk.

[Auric]

DW cooks them in a tomato sauce. I can't tell you what they taste like, as I don't touch them, but she sure likes them.

[meanwhile]

We cook them same as above.....olive oil, garlic, white wine but we add a carrot, shallot and chopped tomato to the broth too. Eat it with good French or Italian type sturdy bread = good stuff.

[BarbG]

Kmac has it to a T!! LOL We love mussels and almost never buy anything else. They are WAY better then chewy little clams. LOL.