Fresh Mussels

Using a recipe from the freebie Whole Foods mag, I made the yummiest seafood mixed grill. All was good, but the mussels (purchased at Burhops don't remember what kind) had barely half a bite in each,pure torture as the flavor was spectacular. I did cook the mix longer than the recipe called for in order for the clams to open. Were the miniscule mussels due to overcooking, or do I need to be more selective when shopping?

If the mussels weren't quite chewy, then they weren't overcooked enough to shrink.

Geo

I know this sounds strange but Dominicks has some of the best mussels I have had around. Ive bought mussels at whole foods, fish mongers, what have you, but these are the best I have found.
Just so you know they are frozen but they cook up wonderfully. They come in a flat bag, they are either 2.99 or 3.99 and they are huge and tender, they never have any grit either, I wish I had a bag handy so I could tell you the brand name. They come in a blue bag in a small freezer section right by the fish counter.
I promise you wont be dissapointed.

Good to know about the Dominick's mussels, nice first post, thanks!

Bit of a digression, but what about clams? I try to favor the local Sunset food store, and the mussels look good and seem reasonably priced, but they want 50 cents apiece for little half-dollar-size clams!

Another clam question - my East-Coast-dwelling brother tells me that I should look for plastic tubs of frozen clam meat for my clam dishes, but I haven't seen anything like that in grocery stores around here. Has anyone else?

Okay, back to mussels now.

I'm sure I've seen that clam meat at Whole Foods on occasion. I bet also if you ask at the better fish places (The Fish Guy, Dirk's, etc) you'd be able to get some.

Don't know if you're close to the city, but when they have them, the Costco on Damen has some of the best mussels I've ever purchased. Contrary to Costco-norm, the bag isn't 15lbs...which is also a plus.

In several other topic areas, people have been discussing getting bad mussels at restaurants. I can say that while I haven't eaten at every place on the planet, I have NEVER had a bad mussel at a restaurant. Ever. I follow 2 rules - never eat an unopened mussel, and never eat one whose shell is broken. I've seen plenty of both of those, but never eaten them.

So my question for those of you who say you've gotten bad mussels - did you eat an unopened (or just BARELY opened) one? One with a broken shell?

leek wrote:In several other topic areas, people have been discussing getting bad mussels at restaurants. I can say that while I haven't eaten at every place on the planet, I have NEVER had a bad mussel at a restaurant. Ever. I follow 2 rules - never eat an unopened mussel, and never eat one whose shell is broken. I've seen plenty of both of those, but never eaten them.

So my question for those of you who say you've gotten bad mussels - did you eat an unopened (or just BARELY opened) one? One with a broken shell?

I posted today about a bad mussel at a restaurant. The rules you described are good ones. Unfortunately for me, the bad mussel that I had was indeed opened and the shell wasn't cracked (that's my recollection).

ljjb29 wrote:Using a recipe from the freebie Whole Foods mag, I made the yummiest seafood mixed grill. All was good, but the mussels (purchased at Burhops don't remember what kind) had barely half a bite in each,pure torture as the flavor was spectacular. I did cook the mix longer than the recipe called for in order for the clams to open. Were the miniscule mussels due to overcooking, or do I need to be more selective when shopping?

I think you probably just need to be more selective. Overcooking, as far as I know, doesn't make them that much smaller. It mainly makes them chewy.

Were the shells also small, or did the meat seem really small for the size of the shell? I'd ask the guys at Burhops what they think. That's one of the best fish stores in town.

We vacation in Maine for a week each summer with family from the East Coast, with mussels marinara & steamed clams a major part of cooking. Frankly, almost no restaurant up there can compare with our choices here in Chicago--we're very spoiled. But the local seafood, bought fresh, is outstanding.

At any rate, here's the Cliff Notes version of what I do:

Mussels Marinara

Run 5 pounds mussels in sink under water, scrub a little bit to get 'beards' off if necessary. Drain, put in big pot, with a little water, dry white wine (to a couple inches up in the pot from bottom), and a bunch of chopped garlic. Cover, turn on high, let go for maybe 10 minutes, when they start to open, take some homemade marinara, not too much, and mix in along with Italian parsley & a little ground cayenne pepper. Strive for a heavy fish broth or loose gravy consistency. 5 more minutes & finito. Serves 6.


New England-style Steamed Clams

Buy 10 pounds 'steamers' from fish store. Wash & scrub in sink to get sand out if they're dirty (sometimes, they are). Drain, empty in big pot, add 1-2 cans cheap beer (drink the good stuff!). Cover, turn on high, peek after 8-10 minutes--when all of them are at least a little open, turn off heat. Let sit for two minutes more, drain, reserving the clam broth. Melt butter, put in little bowls. Take reserved clam broth, put in little bowls. Sit at picnic table outside (this is messy stuff!) Open clam, dislodge from shell, pull off 'sleeve' from the neck, dip/wash in clam broth, dip in butter, and eat. Maybe some Italian bread on the side. Oh, and some more beer. Whether there are 3 people or 10, those steamers will disappear quickly!

I'll give this thread a bump since my gf is craving mussels and we have some time to ourselves this weekend.

Does the suggestion of Dominick's still hold (this amazes me)? Where have people had luck recently?

I've had good luck at the Costco on Damen recently. I've only bought them on Saturdays when they have the seafood station set up - not sure what other days it might be there.

I got a beautiful pound-and-a-half of mussels from the Church/Chicago Whole Foods last week, and enjoyed them immensely. That same day of purchase, I scrubbed 'em off with a stiff brush (removing any beards I encountered) and held them briefly in a colander while chopping a Roma tomato and a handful or so of stemmed parsley, then cooking a sliced shallot or two and a couple or three of finely chopped cloves of garlic in a couple-three tablespoons of sweet butter. Once the garlic and shallots were cooked to my nose's liking, I threw a couple cups of Chardonnay into the pot, and added the mussels, tomato, and parsley (plus some generous grinds of pepper) when the liquid came to a howling boil. Dinner was done seven minutes later, and the broth was delicious to sip afterward. I drank a couple of glasses of the same Chard with the mussels once they were done, and also with a green salad afterward (dressed with a Balsamico vinaigrette).

In any case: that Whole Foods seemed, on that occasion anyway, to take right and reasonable care with their mussels. I had to toss exactly one critter who wouldn't open by cooking's end, and there were no cracked customers -- they'd been tossed out before being sold to me. I was well pleased.

The past few times I've bought fresh mussels for steaming at home they have been tasteless. I'm puzzled on how this could happen. Can anyone recommend a place to buy good quality fresh mussels?

Boston Fish Market. I'm not a big mussels fan but my niece is and she buys from Boston Fish almost exclusively.

Hi,

It seems most of the mussels around here are from Prince Edward Island.

I buy them from Costco.

I have to admit I am not sure what a plain mussel tastes like, because there is usually a sauce with it.

How do you prepare your mussels?

Regards,
CAthy2

Fresh in the shell Mussels sold today in the ubiquitous black mesh bags with tags are farm raised. I have not seen a wild Mussel in the Midwest for decades.
They simply do not have the stronger distinctive flavor of wild Mussels.
That said, they range from very mild to mild and from small to very large.
I usually purchase from H Mart noting the Harvest Tag information, especially the ship date.
We sauté shallots in good olive oil, add chopped flat parsley, toss in the Mussels with a spritz of dry white wine. Garlic and fresh oregano are also suitable.
Cook covered until the shells open, serve with crusty toasted bread for sopping.
One can also provide butter, unsalted for dipping.
50 years ago, wild Mussels went begging on rocky Maine tidal flats.
We used them for bait.
But when cooked, they were tasty.
-Richard

Half of a small tin of Maesri Red.
Sizzled for a few minutes in some kinda regular oil with some fresh garlic, ginger, lime leaf, and fresh chile to "refresh" it.
Regular sized can of coconut milk.
Add em, cover and steam em..

I would never in a zillion years turn down the good ol prep budrichard described, either.

I'm kinda thinking a "kerahi" prep would be good.

Mussels and clams are a favorite over here.

Those huge "greenlipped" ones that are in the frozen boxes are an abomination, imo. I've always hated frozen mussels. I'm guessing that plenty of them are frozen for a short period of time, then sold as fresh, but the ones that are sold as frozen - just not a fan at all. Lifeless, no "chew" - even though that sounds bad. Might as well just be a chicken tender. Frozen mussels are a "thing" for me. I pass every time.

marcwitham wrote:The past few times I've bought fresh mussels for steaming at home they have been tasteless. I'm puzzled on how this could happen. Can anyone recommend a place to buy good quality fresh mussels?

Dirks on Clybourn.

Katie,

Regarding clams, have you been to those Chinese/Vietnamese grocery stores around Broadway and Argyle. The one across the street from the Post Office almost always has at least one kind of clam.

Marc

I see that one person recommended H-Mart. I've purchased good fish from them but never mussels. How about Fresh Farms on Touhy in Niles?

Mussels this week are on sale for $2.99 per pound at H-Mart.

Looking forward to your results in searching for tasty mussels.

Regards,
Cathy2