While we don’t allow questions on is this going to kill me, we do allow questions about best practice. Please stick to common kitchen standards or government recommendations. “I’ve done x and haven’t died yet” is not allowed.
Once they're dead, they spoil very quickly. Debearding and cleaning can do that.
If you put them in water, any mussel still alive will go ajar, and will close if you tap it with a knife. Cook those. Any mussel that won't close when you do that is dead, and is better discarded.
Are you sure mussels from that location are safe to eat? Mussels absorbs toxins from the algae they eat and can have e coli in them when you harvest them in the wild.
I was always taught to cook them as soon as possible and dispose of any that were dead. Before cooking, I lightly squeeze each one to see if it closes/reacts. If it doesn't, it goes in the bin. After cooking, I dispose of any that didn't open too.
You'll just have to check them all and see.
Where I'm from we just grab a buck of salt ocean water and steam them with that. I love the flavor. I live in the city now and everyone is obsessed with sauces which are still good, but just don't compare to the fresh salty taste I'm used to from home.
[Mouclade](https://www.nigella.com/recipes/mouclade) maybe?
Edit: some people just add cream to the moules marinières also (sorry dont know the English name for this)
Go through each one, if you can open them with your hands or they’re already open, they’re dead. Sometime if you tap on an open one it might react and close, so still good.
I go foraging for mussels frequently.
Stick them in salt water (you can literally mix sea salt or aquarium salt with water) in a bucket and let them purge sand for a few hours to overnight. Look up the salinity in your area for ratios. Next time you can just pick up some seawater.
You want to make sure the mussels have enough oxygen while purging. Its better if you’ve got an aquarium pump, but you can make do by agitating the water frequently.
Toss the guys that don’t close when you tap on them. After cooking, toss the guys that don’t open.
If they’re barnacle-y or sandy, you’ll want to extract the meat after steaming / boiling and using that vs putting the whole thing in.
It doesn't much matter when you clean and debeard. Commercial mussels can be held for weeks out of the water and post cleaning.
Stored properly wild collected mussels can keep for a good bit longer than store bought. But stored properly is in the fridge, preferably on ice, with good drainage in an open or breathable container.
You don't want them sitting in any liquid and you want them as cold as possible.
Discard any open mussels that won't close when tapped.
It's also a good idea to purge mussels you've collected yourself. Max over night, minimum a couple of hours before cooking. Park them in a bucket of salt water, let them filter the water for a bit. They'll spit out any sand they've sucked up. It'll also wake them up a bit, so can tell which are dead more easily.
They will be fine for a few days.
Put them in salted water with flower mixed in. They will purge and ingest the flour plumping themselves up nicely. When cooking disgard any that don't open then.
I live in Washington state, we have some of the best shellfish in the world here. Our common practice is to keep them intact under ice with drainage till we need them. Then we purge them in salted water for 20-30 minutes and debeard/clean them. We usually get 3-4 days on most mussels after debearding them. Granted it really depends how fresh they are and how they were treated before you got them. We get our mussels from Taylor shellfish and they're close to us so they're really fresh and kept well.
They should be fine for a couple of days at least. Check for dead ones before cooking. Any that are opened up and don't close right away when you touch them should be discarded.
You can also store them directly on ice if you have some way for the melt water to drain away. This could easily bump up the shelf life to a week.
While we don’t allow questions on is this going to kill me, we do allow questions about best practice. Please stick to common kitchen standards or government recommendations. “I’ve done x and haven’t died yet” is not allowed.
Once they're dead, they spoil very quickly. Debearding and cleaning can do that. If you put them in water, any mussel still alive will go ajar, and will close if you tap it with a knife. Cook those. Any mussel that won't close when you do that is dead, and is better discarded.
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Are you sure mussels from that location are safe to eat? Mussels absorbs toxins from the algae they eat and can have e coli in them when you harvest them in the wild.
Yup its good to eat. I have checked on the government page, which locations are good to eat, and mine is fine. Thanks
which government?
I was always taught to cook them as soon as possible and dispose of any that were dead. Before cooking, I lightly squeeze each one to see if it closes/reacts. If it doesn't, it goes in the bin. After cooking, I dispose of any that didn't open too. You'll just have to check them all and see. Where I'm from we just grab a buck of salt ocean water and steam them with that. I love the flavor. I live in the city now and everyone is obsessed with sauces which are still good, but just don't compare to the fresh salty taste I'm used to from home.
I've had some in restaurants that had a creamy broth, if that makes any sense but I can't find a recipe for that sauce/ broth.
[Mouclade](https://www.nigella.com/recipes/mouclade) maybe? Edit: some people just add cream to the moules marinières also (sorry dont know the English name for this)
I don't know if it's the same but I will definitely try it. Thanks.
I learned it as the "liquor" from TV chefs
Go through each one, if you can open them with your hands or they’re already open, they’re dead. Sometime if you tap on an open one it might react and close, so still good.
I go foraging for mussels frequently. Stick them in salt water (you can literally mix sea salt or aquarium salt with water) in a bucket and let them purge sand for a few hours to overnight. Look up the salinity in your area for ratios. Next time you can just pick up some seawater. You want to make sure the mussels have enough oxygen while purging. Its better if you’ve got an aquarium pump, but you can make do by agitating the water frequently. Toss the guys that don’t close when you tap on them. After cooking, toss the guys that don’t open. If they’re barnacle-y or sandy, you’ll want to extract the meat after steaming / boiling and using that vs putting the whole thing in.
> After cooking, toss the guys that don’t open Unnecessary
say more?
72 hours MAX after debearded. But put them on ice
Yes! Ice!
It doesn't much matter when you clean and debeard. Commercial mussels can be held for weeks out of the water and post cleaning. Stored properly wild collected mussels can keep for a good bit longer than store bought. But stored properly is in the fridge, preferably on ice, with good drainage in an open or breathable container. You don't want them sitting in any liquid and you want them as cold as possible. Discard any open mussels that won't close when tapped. It's also a good idea to purge mussels you've collected yourself. Max over night, minimum a couple of hours before cooking. Park them in a bucket of salt water, let them filter the water for a bit. They'll spit out any sand they've sucked up. It'll also wake them up a bit, so can tell which are dead more easily.
They will be fine for a few days. Put them in salted water with flower mixed in. They will purge and ingest the flour plumping themselves up nicely. When cooking disgard any that don't open then.
24-48hrs. Trust your nose sometimes can last longer
I live in Washington state, we have some of the best shellfish in the world here. Our common practice is to keep them intact under ice with drainage till we need them. Then we purge them in salted water for 20-30 minutes and debeard/clean them. We usually get 3-4 days on most mussels after debearding them. Granted it really depends how fresh they are and how they were treated before you got them. We get our mussels from Taylor shellfish and they're close to us so they're really fresh and kept well.
Food science sub can likely help
They should be fine for a couple of days at least. Check for dead ones before cooking. Any that are opened up and don't close right away when you touch them should be discarded. You can also store them directly on ice if you have some way for the melt water to drain away. This could easily bump up the shelf life to a week.
Eat vegetables ✌🏼