Mussels for Dummies

[babka]

Dear Miss Manners,

What is the etiquette for inviting mussels to one's home? I try to attend to their basic needs, providing a comfortable temperature and air to breathe, but many of them seem to lose their will to live long before we get to the hot pan.

I suspect the problem creeps in during the pre-dinner phase. Books on their entertainment stress the importance of cleaning own's guests before cooking them, but the texts are distressingly light on the details of how to do that. I know my delicate friends dislike soap, but how do I clean them? The estimable Mr. Bittman advises the host to let them sit in a bowl of cold water beneath a slowly running tap for half an hour and then scrubbing individual shells and removing beards. Last night, some of them crowded to the top of the bowl, but a full three-quarters sank to the bottom and, upon examination after the requisite thirty minutes--replete with light taps to the knee--were quite dead.

As they were all very cheerful and alive when I left the store earlier, where their previous host examined each one as he lifted it off the ice, this was quite distressing. Dinner went on without them--pasta with garlic and oil--but please tell me, for future invitations, how to keep my friends alive and happy until I can eat them?

Sincerely,

Gravedigger.

Edited June 19, 2004 by babka (log)

[bobmac]

My guess would be that the fresh water is killing them. I'm not sure what you gain by soaking them. I simple rinse and debeard.

[Anna N]

My guess would be that the fresh water is killing them. I'm not sure what you gain by soaking them. I simple rinse and debeard.

That is all I do, too. I don't de-beard them until I'm about ready to use them as I have heard that they don't last long without their beards. If I need to store them for a few hours, I make sure they can breathe by popping them into a colander, suspending it over a bowl and then putting a damp towel on top. The only time I managed to kill them was when I put them in the coldest part of an old fridge and the poor things froze to death!

[Behemoth]

On really cold days I would just leave them outside on top of a bowl of ice until I was ready to cook them. I also take the beards off at the last minute, and use a brush to scub them clean. Don't think I killed any. Before the steaming, I mean

[rcaffelle]

Get farm raised for less beards. Store in colander in bowl covered with damp towel in fridge. I scrub with a brush that I also use to scrub potatoes. Most farm raised I have bought, in MA, have had little in the way of beards. Steam and enjoy! Yum!

rich

[cjsadler]

I have a question about mussels and their spawning season. I've had some problems with bitter, gummy mussels that glue to each side of the shell (hopefully someone will recognize this problem). Drove me crazy until someone told me that you can't buy them during their spawning season, or they will be like this. Now, I've heard that there is, in effect, no spawning season for mussels since they are all rope grown under controlled conditions. What's the story here? (And if the 'no spawning' season is true, why were my mussels bad).