So what are mussels?
The mussel is a bivalve mollusc, which basically means it is a filter feeding shellfish. They can be found all over the world in temperate zones, and some species can be found in warmer waters, though not in the same large numbers.
The most important thing to remember when gathering mussels is that they are filter feeding, which means they suck in sea water and feed on any bits they filter out of it, so keep in mind where your gathering them from.
If you see a sewerage management plant anywhere near by, or the shore looks particularly dirty, with brown foam along the shore line for example, then stay well away. Also with inland fresh water mussels be mindful about any up-flow animal field run off if in a river or stream. The same goes for static bodies of water, with the most common signs of unsafe mussels being large amounts of algae or off coloured water.
Where to find them
The best place to gather mussels is definitely the beach. They live their whole lives stuck to the same object, and need to be submerged for the majority of when the tide is in, so rocky beach’s are your best bet, with the bigger the rocks the better.
Generally when you find one you will find thousands as they normally breed in huge groups. Rock pools can have clusters form in them as long as they are low enough down the beach, but flat rocky outcrops exposed at low tide is normally a prime spot. But be mindful to watch the tide and not go to far on the rocks away from the sand.
Gathering mussels
Whenever you find a mussel above the water level it should always be closed. They have no reason at all to be open when there’s no water, so if its open leave it be as its probably dead. As for gathering its pretty straight forward, simply grab one and pull while twisting. Mussels stick themselves to objects using a hair like glue, and when they form in patch’s these hairs can often stick together, so be careful not to dislodge something you aren’t going to eat.
As for quantities there’s no limit to the amount you can gather in the UK. Fishing in the sea and gathering from it is a public right, and commercial mussels are normally produce in controlled farms, so nobody normally touches regular beach mussels leaving for you as many as you can eat.
Cleaning and Cooking mussels
After you get home with your mussels dump them all in the sink and pick through them. Discard any that have opened up and scrub off any chunks of dirt on the shells.
How to prepare mussels to use later.
Get some water on a good rolling boil and drop the mussels in. They normally take around 3 to 4 minutes to cook for the average size one, but if your doing a large amount at once add a couple of minutes on top to be safe.
After they are cooked strain them through a colander and discard any that haven’t opened. Mussels have an abductor mussel which connects them the the shell which normally wont break on cooking, so grab a sharp knife or a teaspoon and hold the mussel with the full half upwards, then slide the knife or spoon under the mussel and cut through the abductor that connects it to the shell.
Some of them may be tricky but you’ll get the hang of it after doing a few. A this point you should have a nice bowl of de-shelled and cooked mussels ready to store.
If you wish you can freeze them for later, though freezing shellfish can sometimes make them taste bitter. If you wanted to use them over the next few days simply fill a bowl with some strong saltwater, put them in and leave them in the fridge. They should be fine to eat for 3 or 4 days.
Never freeze mussels you gather on the beach whole in their shells. If you freeze them they will obviously die, which means if you then cook some later on, ones that died closed on the beach and started to decompose will be mixed in with all the rest, so always process them straight away after gathering.
How to cook mussels whole
After you’ve cleaned the shells and discarded any open ones, you can cook them straight into a dish as they are, making sure to keep an eye on them to make sure they open straight away. The best methods are to steam or boil them, and there are countless recipes out there, but I’m going to share my personal favourite one with you below:
Ingredients:
1 spoon of butter
50 to 100ml of a sweet white wine
3 large cloves of crushed garlic
1 small diced shallot
a small dollop of Dijon or wholegrain mustard
a splash of Worcestershire or soy sauce
salt and pepper
as many mussels as you can fit in your saucepan
Method
Melt the butter in the bottom of a sauce pan and then add all of the above ingredients apart from the mussels. Cook them all together for 2 to 3 minutes on a medium-high heat, or just so the liquid is simmering.
Add the mussels and cover with a lid. Be careful not the let them boil by just lifting the pan and swirling them round a little whenever they get to hot.
Keep them on a simmer for about 4 or 5 minutes and serve with some cheesy garlic bread.
Now for the science stuff:
Amount per 100 grams:
Calories: 172
Sodium: 369mg
Potassium: 268mg
Carbohydrate: 7
Protein: 24g
Fat: 4.5g
Cholesterol: 56mg
100 grams of cooked mussel meat will also provide you with 400% of your recommended daily value of Vitamin B-12.