Help! What to do with fresh Mussels?

Numptie

Moules Mariniere with Spaghetti
shallots, peeled and diced, 2 oz butter, peppcorns white, crushed, 1 1/2 lb mussels, very fresh, washed, chopped parsley, 1 cup wine, white, small red chilli (optional).

Melt the butter in the pot you are going to steam the mussels in. Add the chopped shallots and crushed peppercorns. Cook gently till the shallots are soft but not brown. Add parsley. Wash and beard (pull the string from the side) the mussels. Any that are open and do not close after a tap on the shell, discard. Add to the pot. Add white wine, and cover and bring to a hard boil, just until the mussels open and will part from the shell with only a little urging.
In another pan cook some spaghetti until aldente, drain spaghetti and add to mussel pot, stir and serve.

Turns a few mussels into a main meal in about twenty minutes start to finish.

Jay-Jay_4

Doesn't boiling them for 10 minutes make them tough? I was always told that they should only be cooked very quickly and lightly like other shellfish/fish.

I soak them in water then scrub and de-beard them. Then, in a large pan a splosh of oil/butter sweat some chopped shallots, add crushed garlic and a large splosh of wine. Put the lid on and bring to the boil then drop the mussels in, put the lid on and cook until the shells are all fully opened (a few minutes). Serve with crusty buttered bread :drool:

Str4berr3

Just a Big Thanx for all advice, Cooking Mussels are dead easy and it came out ' delicious! '

I think I am going to have to make it more often now as there are sooo many yummy recipes for it here!!!

Thanx Again! :j

freyaluck

I always just fry mine in butter and with garlic never had a problem and they are so delicious.

chickaroonee

Hubbie has bought far too many mussels for tea! We're making fish stew, we can eat the rest tomorrow, but will mussels be ok to reheat in the microwave?

If anyone could help quite quickly it would be much appreciated!

lily_the_pink

I love seafood but always very wary so I probably would eat as much as I could today but not reheat ! I dont worry about many of the used by/best before dates but am always very respectful of seafood.

frivolous_fay

How about steaming, shelling then freezing?
We buy frozen seafood for risottos, etc, and it usually has mussels in it.
Otherwise... ditto what lily said!

chickaroonee

Should say they're live but cooking it all now.

Honestly you should see how much he's bought - enough to feed 4-5 people!!!

chickaroonee

Sorry I wasn't clear, do you think it's OK to microwave the fish stew (with the mussels in, deshelled) tomorrow? Not sure if my first post reads reheat the mussels much later?

mrbadexample

:hello:

I hate my small freezer. It means I have to keep going to Morrisons and always end up buying more than I meant to. This time it's a nice big bag of mussels for 86p.

There's nothing in the index, and precious little in the way of search results, so I feel obliged to start a new thread.

I just need to know how to cook them in a relatively simple sauce. I was thinking that I would probably need some white wine, but I couldn't justify buying a bottle just for that, so I haven't got any. By miraculous good fortune, I just happen to have some cider in the fridge. :whistle: I thought some of that might work? I also have:

Bacon offcuts.
Single cream.
Red and white onions.
Blue cheese.
Various other staples.

Can anyone give me an idea as to how to make a sauce? Have I got what I need? How do I do it? Do they need washing?

I'm quite looking forward to them as long as I haven't got to go back to the shop.

Cheers,
MBE :beer: