If I'm freezing live clams, purge before or after freezing?
I buy live mussels and clams from Diana's Seafood in Scarborough, Toronto. It's far from home, so I go just once every one or two weeks. I always "Purge" Clams Before Cooking to Get All the Sand and Grit out of Them.
- Mussels ought not be frozen, right?
Thus I freeze live clams and eat my live mussels first.
- I'm guessing I ought purge them BEFORE freezing, when they are still alive and can eject the grit. If I freeze then purge, they're dead and can't discharge grit.
Best Answer
Here provides 2 methods to preserve clams:
- If you will cook these clams within future 7 days, you could just refrigerate them, just put whole package in the refrigerator, and do purging before cooking. Put clams in 2~3% salty water about 2 hours for purging.
- If you need longer preservation, you could freeze them, but remember to do purging before putting them in freezer. Clams will be no longer alive after freeze and unfreeze, and purging will become failed.
It's the experience from me and my friends who love culinary, hope it helps :P
Note:
If your clams are vacuum-packaged, both refrigerating and freezing should be OK (Prefer refrigerating, closer to clams living temperature).
No matter what method preservation, cook and eat these fresh ingredients ASAP always better.
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Quick Answer about "If I'm freezing live clams, purge before or after freezing?"
If you need longer preservation, you could freeze them, but remember to do purging before putting them in freezer. Clams will be no longer alive after freeze and unfreeze, and purging will become failed.What happens if you freeze live clams?
Place clams in a freezer bag or an airtight freezer-safe container. If using a freezer bag, remove excess air. Seal packaging, label, and date the clams. Clams frozen in their shells will last in the freezer up to 4 months.Can you freeze fresh live clams?
Clams can be frozen either in the shell or shucked. To freeze the clams in the shell, simply place the live clams in moisture-vapor resistant bags. Press out excess air and freeze. To freeze the clam meat, shuck the clams, then clean and wash the meat thoroughly.Can you freeze live clams to eat later?
Generally speaking, you can freeze live clams in their shells. Sort through the clams to ensure that all the shells are closed, indicating that the clams are still alive. Then, rinse and drain them. Finally, place them in a zip-top freezer bag and press out as much air as possible.How do you purge live clams?
Place all the clams in a bowl and fill it with cool tap water. We've also heard that adding cornmeal or black pepper to the water will encourage the clams to spit out more sand. Let the clams sit for 20 minutes to an hour. During this time, they will spit out the sand from inside their shells.[MV] Baek Z Young(백지영) _ IF I
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