Mussels question?

[Bobcat]

Hiya all, I'v been collection mussels but I cant remember the preperation bit.

Do I soke them overnight in fresh water with oats then without oats?

Bingo they are ready ??

Have I got it right ?

Bobcat

[bertybass33]

sorry m8 im not sue how you do them but im sure some one on the site can help

why not pm one of the moderators and ask?

[Bobcat]

Thanks for your reply berty :)

I just found this in an old cook book : Clean the shells, add fresh cold salted water and leave overnight. Add clean unsalted water.

Then boom cook and add chilli sauce :D

[Norrie]

Preparation, what preparation, I just get them in Boiling water, cook and eat !!!!! or steam them in a little bit of white wine !!!!

Actually just picked some superb ones up at LA yesterday, along with Davy Holt...mainly for bait....but, some might get eaten !!!! :)..he got some Cockles too !!!!:):)

[geffaz]

is the soaking over night down to the fact you need to purge them
of sand and c**p?

[dower]

and after you have cooked them, still look for the beard that is inside the mussel, it can harbour the crabs/mites that cause stomach upsets.

It`s in about 80%of mussel

[archiewil]

Hiya all, I'v been collection mussels but I cant remember the preperation bit.

Do I soke them overnight in fresh water with oats then without oats?

Bingo they are ready ??

Have I got it right ?

Bobcat

you need to purge em which i do by scrubbing em first then put in a bowl/saucepan in the sink and run cold water slowly over them for 10-15 mins then leave in water in the fridge overnight. next morning rinse them and change the water and repeat as many times as poss. don't bother with the oats used to work with a chef who put oats in the water with the mussels and it has no blinking worth:uhuh: !!! i never understood the logic of mussels eating quaker porridge oats anyway!!:g:

[Bobcat]

ok some good ideas there. Thanks all.

Bobcat

[Norrie]

you need to purge em which i do by scrubbing em first then put in a bowl/saucepan in the sink and run cold water slowly over them for 10-15 mins then leave in water in the fridge overnight. next morning rinse them and change the water and repeat as many times as poss. don't bother with the oats used to work with a chef who put oats in the water with the mussels and it has no blinking worth:uhuh: !!! i never understood the logic of mussels eating quaker porridge oats anyway!!:g:


Hiya,

Well there you go, I never heard that one before...in fact, I have eaten them stright from the sea, right into boiling water on the camp fire. Cant remember ever getting an upset tummy either after eating them...:)


And, as for the beard mites (sounds awfully rude BTW) :) ,doesnt cooking them kill them off...I dont eat that part anyway !!!! :):)

[archiewil]

Hiya,

Well there you go, I never heard that one before...in fact, I have eaten them stright from the sea, right into boiling water on the camp fire. Cant remember ever getting an upset tummy either after eating them...:)


And, as for the beard mites (sounds awfully rude BTW) :) ,doesnt cooking them kill them off...I dont eat that part anyway !!!! :):)

hiya norrie, yeh i agree..i've eaten them straight after picking and not suffered any upset tummy..
purging them as above won't kill any nasties either. its just to get any sand and grit out of em.
to kill the nasties i think i'm right in saying they have to go under UV lights for however long.
as for the beard mites, you obviously take any beards off whilst scrubbing any barnacles away.

[Norrie]

Archie,
I have still got loads here..shelling a bucket a day at the present.but they were picked from near the loading pier of the Silicon Sand mine at LA...and are full of grit/sand....lovely size too, full of meat....so, would "purging" them make them ok to eat ???? If so, I'm for a plate full in a couple of days....:):)

[ChrisP]

I collect them off a wreck that shows at low water, off the decking timbers. They are up high in the water and reasonably clear of grit. Put them in the sandeel tank for 24 hours to give them a purge to get the final bit of grit out.

I put a pair of leather gardening gloves on and take a couple of handfulls of them and scrub together, this removes the odd barnacle and weed and takes a lot of the beards off. Quick rinse and into boiling water. Cockles get the same treatmant apart from needing the scrub.

Any that float or don't open are binned. Boil until they pop open and then shell them out removing the remains of the beards.

Into a pan with some cockles, fresh crab, lobster, and prawn, add a splash of white wine, black pepper, garlic (touch of chili flake if you like it) and cream for a couple of minutes, bring up to a simmer and add a good dose of fresh chopped parsley. Pour the lot over fresh pasta.

[archiewil]

Archie,
I have still got loads here..shelling a bucket a day at the present.but they were picked from near the loading pier of the Silicon Sand mine at LA...and are full of grit/sand....lovely size too, full of meat....so, would "purging" them make them ok to eat ???? If so, I'm for a plate full in a couple of days....:):)

purging them will certainly help to get rid of most of the sand/grit. i cook them as follows.... sweat off some onion with a bit of garlic in a knob of butter til soft (but not browned), add mussels and a glass of dry white wine, turn up heat and put lid on. leave lid on pan to allow mussels to pop open (about 2-3 mins), stir and add a glug of cream and some freshly chopped parsley, heat and serve...TO MINIMIZE GRIT/SAND.... spoon mussels out of pan with a female spoon (one with holes) and pour the cooking liquer over the mussels reserving the last 3 tablespoons of juice in the pan!! any sand/grit that may have been in the mussels will now have sunk to the bottom of the pan and will be in the remaining liquer if you've been careful (ie not shaken the pan too much when pouring juice over mussels) this method of reserving the last bit of juice obviosly works with most shellfish recipes!!:) ps dont keep mussels for more than 3 days!!:yucky:

[fishermann]

I think the biggest risk from getting your own would depend on the locality. I would have no probs with Norries from L.A. or from some of the waters around Cornwall.
There are some monsters just outside Padstow where the ferry pulls in at low water but they do not look that clean for the eating of, just couldn`t bring myself to trust them there. Just my own look at things they could be lovely but !!!

Dave

[chunky butt]

Hiya all, I'v been collection mussels but I cant remember the preperation bit.

Do I soke them overnight in fresh water with oats then without oats?

Bingo they are ready ??

Have I got it right ?

Bobcat
. best way is to soak overnite, as for cooking i use large pot with lid . heat the pot without any thing init till its red hot , then throw in a good couple of handfuls of the moluscs , splash of white wine if you want , then cover with lid till cooked. once cooked , keep juice add nob of butter and parsley pour over and enjoy with crusty bread and the rest of your wine.