Debeard or purge mussels first?
In the process of cleaning mussels, should I be letting them purge, then remove the beards? Does the order not matter?
I ask because I don’t want to give the mussels any discouragement of purging and I am not sure if that would affect it.
Best Answer
Soak first, then debeard.
I'm not sure that there is any real difference but everyone I've worked with, from grandmother to chef, from fisherman to fireman has done it that way. And there is something to be said for an amassed amount of experience.
One last to add though (and this is why I say that I'm not sure there is any real difference) is that while I get most of my mussels diving out with friends (so wild-caught and with beards and frequently barnacles to clean), most that I've seen in the past few years are commercially grown on ropes and usually don't have beards at all.
Pictures about "Debeard or purge mussels first?"
Do you purge mussels before cooking?
If the mussels are to be cooked in a liquid that can be strained, preliminary purging is not necessary. If the mussels are to be cooked directly in the sauce, they should be purged. Fortunately, most mussels we buy these days do not need this purging. If you collect them from the water, they will need to be purged.Can you Debeard mussels in advance?
If you're serving the dish as an appetizer, halve that. Though they are thought to be highly perishable, mussels can be stored a couple of days in the refrigerator ahead of time. Place the mussels in a bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel. These debearded and cleaned mussels don't know what's about to hit them.How do you clean and Debeard mussels?
Mussels attach themselves to submerged rocks and other underwater surfaces using strong excreted fibers called byssal threads, also known as their beards. Most preparations call for removing these tough filaments from the shells before cooking, but doing so incorrectly can kill or damage the bivalve inside.How to debeard, clean and prepare mussels - Franck Dangereux
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Julia Khalimova, Alex Favali, cottonbro, Magda Ehlers