How do you know when mussels are done?
I bought 1/2 pound of mussels and cooked them in a cast iron skillet with a little white wine and some shrimp stock on boiling heat.
Almost all of them opened after about 15 minutes, some did not. The ones that opened were done perfectly, and those were the ones I served.
Still, in the future - should I just throw away the rest, or would a few more minutes in the skillet be in order?
Best Answer
You should throw them out. Mussels that don't open were quite possibly dead and decomposing for an unknown period of time prior to cooking. You don't want to take a chance here.
Just in case future readers don't know, mussels, clams, and other in-shell shellfish are still alive when you buy them, and they should be still alive when you cook them.
Pictures about "How do you know when mussels are done?"
How long should you cook mussels?
Cover the pot with its lid and cook until all the mussels have opened; 6 to 10 minutes. If any mussels do not open, discard them.How do you tell if a mussel is undercooked?
How do you know when they're done? Easy - the shells open up. Once they open, they're done.What color should cooked mussels be?
The external shell should be clean, free from over catch, diret or worm and \u201cpot ready\u201d mussels should be cleaned of their byssal thread (beard). Cooked mussels should be full in the shell and will be either orange/peach (female) or cream (male) in colour.How should mussels look when cooked?
COOKING THE MUSSELS: It is very important to not overcook the mussels, as they become dry, pale and shrunken. They need only a few minutes \u2013 just enough to open the shells. The bright orange color is a good sign that they are cooked enough.More answers regarding how do you know when mussels are done?
Answer 2
In the future, I would recommend the following: When washing the mussels before cooking, if any are slightly open try gently closing them. If they react by snapping closed themselves or they stay shut, it means the mussels are alive and well. If instead they react by immediately popping back open, throw them out (they are dead). I've found that the majority of the dead mussels are slightly open before cooking; they rarely are completely, tightly closed. Using this method, when you actually cook the mussels, you have a reasonably good idea that they are all alive and therefore safe to eat, regardless of whether or not they open all the way during cooking. After cooking there will likely be none that are closed, but if there are, there will likely be few and you can discard them if you like.
Answer 3
When mussels don't open when cooked, it means that they were dead before you cooked them. Don't eat them you risk becoming very very sick.
Answer 4
A friend of mine (professional cook) told met to steam mussels extra hot, lid closed. In about 5' they should be open and done. They are done when they open. Don't leave them cooking any longer than necessary as they'll toughen up.
Answer 5
As far as I know, if you spray fresh live mussels with cold water they will open slightly. If they don't open, throw them out.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Ann H, George Dolgikh @ Giftpundits.com, NOHK, George Dolgikh @ Giftpundits.com