Mussels--- how to get the plumpest ones

[buckytom]

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.

 

[CWS4322]

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)?

 

[buckytom]

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.

 

[CWS4322]

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.

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...

 

[Addie]

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.

 

[Roll_Bones]

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!

 

[Addie]

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.

 

[CraigC]

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

 

[puffin3]

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!