shellfish
Mussels
Rope-grown mussels eat plankton out of the water column, so farming them takes no feed, no antibiotics and no fertiliser — and removes nitrogen from the water. They cook in four to six minutes covered. The check that matters happens before cooking, not after.
In one line
Farmed with no feed, no antibiotics, and no fertiliser — and it's the cheapest thing in the case.
Buy it if
You want dinner for four for the price of one steak and you'll cook them the day you buy them.
They are farmed by hanging rope in the sea. Mussels are filter feeders — they take plankton out of the water, so growing them requires no feed, no antibiotics and no fertiliser, and a mussel farm removes nitrogen from the water column rather than adding it. Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch currently rates farmed mussels a Best Choice.
The inspection that matters happens raw. Before cooking, discard any mussel with a cracked or broken shell, and any open one that doesn't close when you tap it — that one is dead. This is the real safety check, and almost nobody does it.
The unopened-after-cooking rule is mostly folklore. A mussel that stays shut usually has an unusually strong adductor muscle or a shell packed with sand. Pry it open and judge it the way you'd judge anything else: smell and appearance. Throwing out every closed one just wastes food.
Debeard last. The beard is the fibrous thread the mussel anchors itself with. Pull it toward the hinge, not away — and do it right before you cook, because removing it kills the mussel.
Where it comes from on the animal
| Species | shellfish |
|---|---|
| Subprimal | live in the shell |
What else it’s called
How to cook Mussels
| Best methods | Steam Boil Grill Smoke |
|---|---|
| Skip | Pan sear |
| Cook to | Four to six minutes covered over high heat, until the shells open. Longer and they shrink and toughen. |
Common questions
Should I throw out mussels that don't open?
Usually not. A shut mussel after cooking generally means a strong adductor muscle or a sand-packed shell, not a bad mussel. Open it and judge by smell and appearance. The check that actually matters is before cooking: discard cracked shells and any open mussel that won't close when tapped.
How do I clean and debeard mussels?
Rinse under cold water and scrub the shells if they're gritty. Grab the beard — the tuft of fibres at the seam — and pull it firmly toward the hinge. Do it just before cooking; debearding kills the mussel, so it shouldn't sit around afterwards.
How long do mussels keep?
They are alive, so they need air — store them in the fridge in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, never sealed in a bag or sitting in water. Cook them within a day or two of buying; the sooner the better, and the count of dead ones climbs each day.
Are green-lipped mussels the same as blue mussels?
No. Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) are what most rope-grown North American and European mussels are — the ones in moules marinière. Green-lipped mussels are a larger New Zealand species, meatier and milder, and usually sold on the half shell rather than live.
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