Freezing Cooked Mussels
Before cooking they should be thawed at room temperature and must be sniffed.
Freezing cooked mussels. If youve cooked your fresh blue mussels and want to save them to enjoy later that isnt a problem. While you can not freeze live mussels you can freeze mussels that you have cooked. Storing cooked mussels in fridge cooked mussels that are stored following these steps can be stored in the refrigerator for one day after cooking. If youve just cooked the mussels wait until they cool down before removing the shells.
Do note that freezing live mussels will kill the shellfish. Stick in the freezer and youre done. After the mussels are cooked set aside any that you wish to freeze. Carefully pry open the shells and remove the meat.
To maximize the shelf life of cooked mussels for safety and quality refrigerate the mussels in shallow airtight containers or wrap tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil or plastic wrap. There are many different ways of cooking mussels but were not going to be covering it in this article. If the aroma is pleasant then you can safely prepare them further. How to cook mussels in seashells well tell you a littlelater.
If say youd like to cook the mussels first prior to freezing prep the shellfish by cleaning them. You can remove the meat with a spoon or knifeit should come out easily if the mussels are properly cooked. Or better yet give them a quick steam before you freeze to separate the bad from the good. If youve cooked some mussels already and need to store them for the long term freezing them is the best option.
Make sure the cooked mussels have cooled down first. Before you start cooking mussels the shells should be thoroughly cleaned of algae and then put in a bowl with cold water and rinsed several times to get rid of sand residues. The ingredients in your sauce may not freeze well so plan your sauces accordingly. Properly stored cooked mussels will last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
All you need to do is remove the meat of the mussels and place them in an air tight container. The frozen ones ive tried have always had the upper shell removed. Those shells that have not opened you need to throw. Mussels in the shells are cooked in water in white table wine or broth for several minutes until the sash of the mollusks opens in a saucepan.
One food safety notebefore freezing mussels or clams you should make sure you tap on each one to make sure theyre alive before you freeze discarding the dead ones. Refer to the first few instruction on how to clean the muscles above. Cook the mussels as described above then freeze them in the shell as soon as possible and seal the container tightly. Once the mussels are clean pour them in a large pot and boil for 3 minutes.
Storing cooked mussels in freezer freezing cooked pei mussels is extra convenient as you will now have mussels for your favourite chowder or pasta dish down the road. Here is how to freeze cooked mussels.