PEI Mussels vs. well, Mussels

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taxlady said:
Really? You wouldn't trust mussels from Canada?
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LOL. Yes, I would. I trust Canadian food safety and sustainability regulations. I just don't buy seafood from third world countries, which is what is often sold cheap in grocery stores here.

My first choice is to buy meats, seafood and produce from as close to home as possible, but I'm fine with products from Canada and Mexico.

I would not buy mussels from China, even if that was all I could find at the store. I'd eat something else.

CD
 
dragnlaw said:
Don't know the store HEB (assume it's a grocer?) But they should be able to tell you where they come from. If they can't - then I would not buy.
Other than Fish Mongers who sell them loose, grocers here have them in net bags, with identifying numbers and dates. Dates include the date it was harvested, date it was shipped and date to consume by.
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HEB is a San Antonio, Texas based, and as of now, a Texas and Mexico only grocery store chain. It is privately owned by the family that founded it. The founder's grandson is the CEO of the company.

In the US, seafood must be labeled with its point of origin. I just haven't looked to see what that is at my local HEB. I'll do that if/when I go to buy some. Yes, they are sold there in mesh bags kept in crushed ice.

CD
 
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OMG, I just found this picture...

1712166511506.png



CD :ROFLMAO:
 
LOL, casey - buy them! They used to be 4.99 Cdn but have gone up to 5.99 in the last couple of years.

Check that bags as best you can, look for open ones and especially cracked shells. If you purchase them the day they come in, or the following day, you will lose maybe 2 or 3 mussels. After that the longer they hang around, the more you lose.

Once bought a bag for 1.50 Cdn. as the due date was THAT day. I figured if I only get a 1/3 or 1/4 of them it's OK. That's exactly what I got out of them, I counted. 10 mussels out of 30 - LOL - just enough for a meal for me, served them over lots of buttery-thyme fettuccini, if I remember correctly. Was great.
 
dragnlaw said:
LOL, casey - buy them! They used to be 4.99 Cdn but have gone up to 5.99 in the last couple of years.

Check that bags as best you can, look for open ones and especially cracked shells. If you purchase them the day they come in, or the following day, you will lose maybe 2 or 3 mussels. After that the longer they hang around, the more you lose.

Once bought a bag for 1.50 Cdn. as the due date was THAT day. I figured if I only get a 1/3 or 1/4 of them it's OK. That's exactly what I got out of them, I counted. 10 mussels out of 30 - LOL - just enough for a meal for me, served them over lots of buttery-thyme fettuccini, if I remember correctly. Was great.
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I do plan to buy some, but I can't eat a whole bag of them myself, so I need to find a few friends who also like mussels to come over for dinner.

The ones I have seen in HEB have looked good. just looking into the seafood cabinet, I did not see any open mussels. I can also pre-order them if I want to get them as fresh as possible. I do that with crawfish.

HEB is an amazing store. Here is a shot of the dry aged beef cabinet in the meat department...

1712173499822.jpeg


The cheese department is pretty decent, too.

1712173694982.jpeg


CD
 
Wow, looks good casey! I will buy a bag just for myself if they are same/next day arrivals. Just divide the bag in half. Half today, other half tomorrow or a couple of days, still good.

Or do them all, eat half, ...to store, remove mussels from shell (discard shells), strain and store sauce separately from the meat. To serve when ready, heat sauce, take off the heat and then just add the meat. That is long enough for them to reheat without becoming rubbery. I also freeze them to enjoy much later. Same MO, separate from shell, freeze in separate containers. Let meat defrost a bit and add to fully heated sauce and ... there yuh go! dinner delish!

One b ag serves two healthy appetites. More than that - get a 2nd bag. Better too much than not enough.
 
We've always frozen just barely cooked enough to pop the shell mussels and clams in the cooled cooking broth, allowed to thaw, used broth in whatever dish is being made, then just heat up yhe clams or mussels. Freezing them in the liquid prevents freezer burn.

BTW, you can freeze oysters in the shell, just use within 3 months. Purge them and scrub the shells first if needed. Learned that when we came across a great deal of buying a bag of 50 for same price as 2 dozen. They open easier as well and are basically like fresh and still alive.
 
Sooooooo......my local seafood market was sold out of mussels when I stopped by on Saturday. However, after doing some Googling, I found that Wegman's sells live Canadian farm raised mussels. I typically do not shop at Wegman's as the size and complexity of the store is simply too much for me. However, I went in yesterday and purchased a 2lb sack of mussels. From this, I found 7 dead and 3 with cracked shells. Not sure if this is good or bad. Either way, I ended up following a Bobby Flay recipe for cooking them in garlic, shallot, white wine and parsley. I thought they turned out very good.
 

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I could literally harvest mussels in the water right next to our house — clams, too, and crabs. But that’s illegal without a license.

That said, I’ve cooked many things but never mussels. I’m just not a huge fan.
 
They look great Yankee, well done.
Your count is about average for an end of best date on the bag. Be sure to buy as close to the shipping date as possible.

I'm repeating tips here, but...
1. When rinsing and tapping shells for signs of life, once you've gone thru them all, re-tap, you'll be surprised at how many actually start to close up... slowly mind you, but they are alive - so cook'em!
2. Use a wide fry or saute pan rather than a deep pot. They will cook much faster as an almost single layer (5 - 7 min.) and you won't have to pick up to shake a large hot pot (7 - 10 min.).
3. If, by some strange chance :eek:, you have leftovers, remove the meat from the shells (discard shells) and store sauce and meat separately. Reheat sauce then stir in meat, serve. That is all that is needed to reheat meat and keep them tender and juicy.
 
Yankee00 said:
Sooooooo......my local seafood market was sold out of mussels when I stopped by on Saturday. However, after doing some Googling, I found that Wegman's sells live Canadian farm raised mussels. I typically do not shop at Wegman's as the size and complexity of the store is simply too much for me. However, I went in yesterday and purchased a 2lb sack of mussels. From this, I found 7 dead and 3 with cracked shells. Not sure if this is good or bad. Either way, I ended up following a Bobby Flay recipe for cooking them in garlic, shallot, white wine and parsley. I thought they turned out very good.
Click to expand...

Moules à la marinière is a beloved French dish and many TV chefs like Bobby pick it because it's simple and delicious and makes them look good, and it works well along side his ego. Another French one Moules à la crème Normande using cider of course considering Normandy is apple country and cream, quite nice. and another French mussel dish that is quite famous is Moules marinière à la crème that use garlic, parsley, white wine, crème fraiche, butter, shallots and bouquet garni.

My own concoction of saffron, curry spices and coconut milk has always been really popular and there's also white wine garlic, onion, sweet peppers, small chili's, and generally some lime leaf and cilantro.
 
jennyema said:
I could literally harvest mussels in the water right next to our house — clams, too, and crabs. But that’s illegal without a license.

That said, I’ve cooked many things but never mussels. I’m just not a huge fan.
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You are a lucky chef! I am from Maine originally and prefer steamed clams to mussels, but I had never cooked mussels before and wanted to give it a try.
 
dragnlaw said:
They look great Yankee, well done.
Your count is about average for an end of best date on the bag. Be sure to buy as close to the shipping date as possible.

I'm repeating tips here, but...
1. When rinsing and tapping shells for signs of life, once you've gone thru them all, re-tap, you'll be surprised at how many actually start to close up... slowly mind you, but they are alive - so cook'em!
2. Use a wide fry or saute pan rather than a deep pot. They will cook much faster as an almost single layer (5 - 7 min.) and you won't have to pick up to shake a large hot pot (7 - 10 min.).
3. If, by some strange chance :eek:, you have leftovers, remove the meat from the shells (discard shells) and store sauce and meat separately. Reheat sauce then stir in meat, serve. That is all that is needed to reheat meat and keep them tender and juicy.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the tips dragnlaw. I actually tapped them first and if that didn't work, I cupped them between my two palms as I read that the warmth will cause them to close. Hopefully, I waited long enough and didn't throw out any good ones. Next time I will use a wider pot as on this round I definitely had a pile in the sauce pan. And oh, I am a big boy and there were no leftovers....LOL
 
Yankee00 said:
Thank you for the tips dragnlaw. I actually tapped them first and if that didn't work, I cupped them between my two palms as I read that the warmth will cause them to close. Hopefully, I waited long enough and didn't throw out any good ones. Next time I will use a wider pot as on this round I definitely had a pile in the sauce pan. And oh, I am a big boy and there were no leftovers....LOL
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If you tapped on some, and they didn't close, they were probably dead, so it's a good thing you tossed them. Better safe than sorry.

I've never bought mussels to cook myself, but when I buy live crawfish, I always have a few dead ones. It's easier to spot dead crawfish, since live ones move around.

CD
 
caseydog said:
If you tapped on some, and they didn't close, they were probably dead, so it's a good thing you tossed them. Better safe than sorry.

I've never bought mussels to cook myself, but when I buy live crawfish, I always have a few dead ones. It's easier to spot dead crawfish, since live ones move around.

CD
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LIVE CRAWFISH???? I have waited so long to get my hands on quality live crawfish. I currently utilize the frozen Riceland Brand as there are no live crawfish in Virginia. I am jealous!
 
Yankee00 said:
LIVE CRAWFISH???? I have waited so long to get my hands on quality live crawfish. I currently utilize the frozen Riceland Brand as there are no live crawfish in Virginia. I am jealous!
Click to expand...

This time of year, I can get them pretty easily, although I usually have to order them about week in advance from HEB (grocery store).

Crawfish001.jpg


My last crawfish boil.

CD
 
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