There are wonderful fresh mussles in our fishmarket at the moment?

Question

I need to know the best way to cook them and freesze them to use later.

Answer 1

i would say it is not safe to freeze them.enjoy now!
perselay,butter and white wine!

Answer 2

The simplest and one of the best ways to cook mussels is to steam them in butter, garlic and a nice white wine.

First you need fresh mussels. About a dozen per person is a nice appetizer. They should smell clean like the sea with a faint hint of cucumber.

If a mussel stinks like rotten fish it's dead! I smell each mussel individually as I pick them. A good fishmonger will let you do this.

The mussels should all be closed. If you find some that aren't simply tap them and they should close. If they don't throw those individual mussels out.

The next thing you need to do is scrub them and de-beard them.

Under cold running water with a coarse brush scrub any sediment they have off the shells. Next comes the de-bearding part. You'll find on each mussel what feels like a coarse rope or weed, this is the "beard". You need to grab the beard and rip them off of/ out of each mussel.

Rinse your mussels one more time after this.

The rest is simple.

For 3 dozen mussels:

Slice about 7 - 9 large cloves of garlic.

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a heavy pot with a tight lid. A 5 qt dutch oven type of pot should do the trick.

Saute the garlic in the butter until it gets aromatic.

Pour in 1 and a 1/2 cups of white wine. A nice Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay should do the trick. I like to use a good Italian Muscati.

Put on the lid and bring it to a raging boil.

Dump the mussels in the pot, put the lid on, and steam them open. This should take 8 -10 minutes, tops.

When finished dump them in a serving bowl (or just serve them family style from the pot) and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Check for any mussels that are still closed, remove these and throw them out, they are no good.

Serve the rest with a good bottle of white wine and some nice crusty french bread.

By the way, you can't freeze mussels, clams, or oysters.

If you are going to eat shellfish it's best to buy them and eat them the same day.

Answer 3

Oh, I am jeolous! I am craving some and cannot get them where I live (trust me, I have tried) I would just steam them in a little white wine, olive oil, lemon juice, fresh parsley, and garlic. To freeze them, put small portions in zip lock bags and just freeze. Thaw in cold water. I wouldnt have any left over to freeze-would gobble them all up in one swoop. Why not forget about freezing them, and just send the rest to me! lol

I know the "gourmet chef" said you cant freeze them, but I do it all the time. I can only get them by driving for 2 hours-so I load up, and work off of my frozen reserves until I can get them again-never had a problem with it. I may not be a chef, but I have cooked and done this for 30 + years

Answer 4

answer from a chef you can freeze buy only after you have cooked them. best way to cook is in a wok or sauce pan
finely chopped onion and garlic then add some white wine then place washed mussels in with above ingredient's until all shells are open discard any that are not then add some double cream and reduce this until a thick sauce yummy!!

Answer 5

I wasn't aware you could freeze fresh mussels. That'll kill them. You need them still alive when you cook them. You need to see if they open while cooking and discard the ones that don't open. How about making a dish of something (like steamed in white wine and garlic) and freezing that?

Answer 6

I haven't had them fresh for many years. You do know they are alive when buy them? Just put them in a saucepan wuth a little water and heat until they open Throw away any still closed & eat the rest there & then. I wouldn't freeze them; Any filter feeders are dodgy to mess about with!

Answer 7

if you want to freeze them, you'll have to cook them first. i'm assuming that's what you mean. i'm not sure how great that would be, though. when you heat them again, they may be all rubbery and disgusting. anyway...steam them. put them in a pot (shell and all) with a little water at the bottom. they'll open when they're done. don't eat any that don't open. then make some garlic butter wine parsely sauce and toss them in it. eat them right from the shell. mmmm.

Answer 8

Cook with white wine, chopped onion and garlic serve with crusty bread to dip into the sauce... I would not recommend freezing them though!

Answer 9

steaming is the best way to cook them, but you can be so creative. white wine and herbs is very common, but i've had 'curry' kinds where they are steamed in a curry broth. not sure about freezing, but i always thought you weren't supposed to.

Answer 10

Cook them in a good marinara sauce and freeze.........then after thawing, just heat til hot and do not reboil when reheating so they don't overcook.

Answer 11

You don't need to do it that way round,freeze them then make mussel mariner, quick simple and delish.