You might have heard that soaking mussels will help remove sand, grit, and salt from the meat and shell. Most recipes suggest soaking the mussels for a few hours. However, you might also consider soaking them overnight. Can you soak mussels overnight?
You can soak mussels overnight by placing them in a bowl of seawater or saltwater in the fridge. Don’t leave mussels to soak overnight outside the refrigerator, as this can cause the mussels to die and go bad. Use the mussels within three days after harvesting them to prevent them from going bad.
Preparing your mussels properly is crucial to preventing sad-filled mussels with their beards attached. Therefore, this article will discuss how to clean your mussels before cooking them correctly. We’ll also discuss what to look for when buying fresh mussels to ensure they’re fresh.
Can You Soak Mussels Overnight?
Removing sand and grit from the mussels before cooking them is crucial to ensuring they are edible. While scrubbing the shells will help clean the outside of the mussels, you must soak them before cooking to ensure the meat and inside of the shell are also thoroughly cleaned.
Most recipes recommend soaking your mussels for at least a few hours. This will give the mussels plenty of time to purge the salt and grit from their stomachs before cooking them. However, you can soak the mussels overnight if you plan on cooking them the following day. Ideally, you should cook your mussels within two days of harvesting them.
When buying fresh mussels, the packaging might say they are already clean. However, we suggest soaking them for at least an hour, regardless of the packaging. Having grit-filled mussels is unpleasant, and soaking them will help prevent an inedible dish.
So, how do you prepare and soak your mussels overnight? Follow these steps to purge your mussels before cooking them.
Step 1: Ensure The Mussels Are Fresh
If you purchased the mussels a day or two ago, ensure they are still alive and fresh before cooking them. The shells should be closed or close tightly when you tap them. Discard any broken or cracked shells.
Step 2: Scrub The Shells
Use a stiff brush to scrub the outer shell of the mussels. This helps remove external sand, barnacles, and other impurities on the shell and will allow the mussels to soak quicker.
Step 3: Prepare The Water
Ideally, you should soak the mussels in seawater. However, you can also prepare a bowl of salt water by mixing one gallon of fresh water with 1/3 cup of salt. Never soak mussels in freshwater, as fresh water will kill the mussels. Also, ensure there is enough water to cover all the mussels.
Step 4: Soak The Mussels Overnight
Add the mussels to the prepared water and place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight. You can add corn meal to the water to help speed up the purging process. The mussels will eat the corn meal and expel the sand and grit from their stomachs. The mussels will also discharge the sand inside their shells as they breathe.
Ensure the mussels remain cold throughout the night. Placing them in the fridge is best, but you can also leave them on a bowl of ice or in a cool spot of your house. Change the water out for fresh water at least once during the night.
Step 5: Remove the Mussels From The Water
After soaking the mussels, you can remove them from the water. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the mussels from the water. Don’t use a strainer to dump the mussels in, as this will cause the sand and grit to fall onto the shells and you won’t have properly cleaned mussels.
After removing the mussels from the water, you must debeard the mussels. Commonly known as beards, the green fibrous strands protruding from the mussels should be removed before cooking them.
To debeard the mussels, take the mussel in one hand and grip the shell firmly. Then, with a dry towel in the other hand, pinch the beard tightly and give it a quick tug in the direction of the shell’s hinge. The beard will come out of the shell without harming the mussel.
However, if you pull the beard in the wrong direction (towards the shell’s opening), you can tear the flesh, and the mussel will die.
Step 6: Cook The Mussels
When you have cleaned, soaked, and debearded the mussels, they are ready for cooking. You can cook mussels in various ways, such as steaming, grilling, or boiling. The mussels are done when the shells are fully opened.
Discard any mussels that did not open when cooked, as these mussels aren’t safe to eat. Use a sharp knife to dislodge the mussels from their shells. Now that you know how to soak and clean mussels properly, you might still wonder what to look for when buying mussels.
How To Select Fresh Mussels
Mussels, like most seafood, have a short self-life and start rotting quickly once they are dead. Therefore, we recommend buying the freshest live mussels you can find. Frozen mussels are also okay, but they often get freezer burn, and this influences their taste. However, there are several things to consider when purchasing fresh mussels.
First, live mussels should be kept on ice and in a breathable bag. The mussels need to be kept cold, and they need oxygen to survive. Secondly, the mussels should have a shiny shell and be tightly closed. Open mussels close tightly when tapped.
Next, ensure the mussels don’t smell fishy or rotten. Fresh mussels have a neutral, ocean-like smell. If the mussels smell like anything other than the ocean, they are no longer fresh, and you cannot cook or eat them.
Don’t buy mussels with broken, cracked, or chipped shells. These mussels are damaged and may already be dead. Remove dead mussels from your batch as soon as possible to prevent them from contaminating the rest of the batch.
Finally, ask your fishmonger to show you when the mussels were harvested. Ideally, you should cook the mussels 3 days after harvesting them. Therefore, you don’t want to buy mussels older than two or three days. The fresher the mussels, the better they will taste.
Conclusion
You can soak mussels in salt water or seawater overnight. Change the water at least once at night to ensure the mussels have expelled all the sand and grit in their stomachs and shells. In addition to soaking the mussels, you should also scrub the shells and debeard the mussels before cooking them.
When buying fresh mussels, look for mussels that have been harvested within the past two days. Fresh mussels should have an ocean-like smell. They should be tightly closed, and the shells should be whole and shiny.
References
- https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-clean-mussels/
- https://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t–1236/how-to-prepare-and-open-mussels.asp