What is the best way to clean mussels?
I've tried scrapping with a knife (scissors), but it's hard work and slow. Any other idea?
Best Answer
If you mean cleaning in terms of getting rid of the 'beard', use clean pliers and a lot of elbow grease. It's hard to pull that out.
If you mean just cleaning the shells, use a stiff bristled brush and scrub.
If you mean cleaning the sand from the inside of the mussels, put the live mussels in a large container full of water and cornmeal and leave overnight in the refrigerator. The mussels should flush the sand out and replace it with cornmeal (never tried this method, but I've heard it works well.)
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Quick Answer about "What is the best way to clean mussels?"
Place your mussels in a colander or bowl in the sink and run them under cold water. Rinse them to get rid of any debris or seaweed on their outer shells. If you feel any muddy spots, rub them off under the water, but you're very unlikely to with farm-raised mussels.What do you soak mussels in to clean them?
How to Clean MusselsShould you soak mussels in saltwater?
Soak the mussels in a salt water bath for 15 minutes. The mussels will "breathe" and expel salt and dirt from their shells as they soak in the salt water. It helps purify them, and it'll give you a much nicer eating experience.How do you clean freshly caught mussels?
Before cooking, soak your mussels in fresh water for about 20 minutes. As the mussels breathe, they filter water and expel sand. After about 20 minutes, the mussels will have less salt and sand stored inside their shells.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Max Vakhtbovych, Rachel Claire, Tim Samuel, Lachlan Ross