shucked mussels

various dates

The only mussels I can get here—and 'here' means Las Cruces Walmart, 75 miles away—are frozen. It may not be your or my idea of ideal, but it is all I can get here for a reasonable price. I could have fresh mussels overnighted from the East and/or West coasts, but I can't say I like them that much that I'll pay the price tag that comes with those. So frozen it is and will likely stay that way.

Heating up a package of frozen mussels goes very quickly. There is plenty of ice in the package ( = less mussels!) and once that water starts boiling, I cover up and give them 2-3 minutes while stirring a few times. Don't cook too long. The mussels will shrink and get chewy.

With the water and the shells, you get maybe 15% of the listed weight in mussel meat. One pound of frozen mussels is nothing. Two is a tidbit, barely enough to get a taste. Four is better. Six pounds ( = 3 2-lb. bags from Walmart) is enough to have some leftovers.

Shucking mussels for the sake of shucking them is a bit like picking berries or peeling shrimp. If you don't eat beforehand, you might not have anything to show for your effort by the time everything is gone. So when I set out to shuck mussels, I ate a meal first and then started on six lbs. Even then, there isn't really that much mussel meat.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for each serving:

  • 1 cup shucked mussels
Pic1: shucked mussels in broth

Directions

2020-12-03

Pic2: cooking
Pic3: served
Pic4: shucked

a. mussel sandwich

2020-12-04

Pic5: chopped mussels
Pic6: hot sauce
Pic7: served

b. mussel egg scramble, with tomato sauce, mango salsa

2020-12-05

Pic8: stir-fry
Pic9: add egg
Pic10: scramble

 

Pic11-13: served