Another Smoked Mussel Recipe

[dsmiley]

What a grueling day that will be!  If it were me I would say to heck with the mussels.  In fact, I'm not sure I could even drive that long anymore.  Good luck.

Dean

Yes! It can be exhausting. I did the same thing last year. I'm glad you revived this thread when you did. I would have never given any thought of picking up some mussels while I was in Maine.

Once the mussels are packed in oil; how do you store them and what is the shelf life?

I'm certainly not a source of info on this but I can say:
The recipe follows USFDA guidelines (this is second hand but I trust it),
I have read another commercial vendor of the same product say 1 mo. in the fridge and 3 mo. in the freezer  - http://www.grindstoneneck.com/pdf/Shellfish-Leaf.pdf.  I don't ever have this concern.  They disappear from the fridge in less than a week and from the freezer in less than 2 mo.  I'll bet vacuum packed would  last 6 mo. or more.
If you ever come to my neck of the woods please let me know.

Dean

[The Life of Brine]

"I haven't tried either of these.  You are presented with major difficulties in both cases and if you were successful, I'm not sure the reward would be worth the efforts.  Steaming is about the easiest way to get them open and it firms up the meat enough to handle.  Hot smoking in the shell would require a much larger smoker for the quantities I'm after and would be very messy.   
I'm pretty happy with this method so I won't be experimenting with others."

Thanks for your reply!

[Habanero Smoker]

Dean;

Thanks for the information. If I ever travel to or near the Augusta area I will definitely let you know.

[Habanero Smoker]

Dean;

I picked up a 10 lb bag of mussels for $30. I got them in Bridgton, which is an area full of tourist and weekenders; as is Fryeburg. Also it is further inland, but the mussels look great. I may smoke 5 lbs, using your method, and the rest steamed with wine and herbs. I hope to get to them today.

[dsmiley]

Habs, more often than not we do the same thing.  I buy 20 pounds and smoke maybe 16 and we eat the rest with melted butter.  This has been a great seafood year for us consumers in Maine with the super depressed lobster prices.  We have purchased 20 lobsters in the last week and a half and had lobsters with friends on the coast yesterday that they had purchased on the dock for $2.70/lb.  However, it's been a real problem for the lobstermen who went on strike for a short while.

Anyway, glad you found some good mussels!  And glad you made it home after that kind of a day.

Dean

[Habanero Smoker]

When I was in Maine I was talking with a fisherman who mainly traps lobsters, and the price was so good I almost brought back lobsters instead.  :)

I'll give you feed back on your smoked mussel recipe.

[Habanero Smoker]

Dean;

Due to delays, I got around to steaming the mussels this morning, but will not be able to smoke them until tomorrow afternoon. I shucked, covered them in their broth, and refrigerate.

I follow your directions, and had about 40 - 50 floaters. Some shellfish distributors state that floaters may not be bad, but just have an air pocket. I kept the floaters separate, and steamed them last. They all opened except for about 4 or 5. So I'm assuming they were alive when I began to steam them. It is my understanding that dead mussels will not open when cooked. From your experience is that so in all cases?

[dsmiley]

Well, this is a tough one.  I know there are sites that say that floaters may have air trapped in their shells.  There are also those who say floaters are dead.  I always try to ere on the side of caution when it comes to food so I always chuck them, but I never have that many floaters.  The 48 pounds I smoked recently may have had 30 floaters total; that's out of hundreds of mussels.  So to have 40-50 floaters in 10 pounds is way out of line.  I would certainly be suspicious.  My protocol has always been to wait till the end of the 2 hour purge so they have that time to expel any air that may be trapped if they are alive.  I have tried to determine in the past if floaters are actually dead but have had no luck in this regard, so out they go.
I wish I could give you more info on this but a marine biologist, I'm not.  But 40-50 floaters in 10 pounds - I would not chance it.
It's one of the reasons I try to get mussels as fresh as possible and cook them straight away.  I hate the wondering.

Dean   

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks for the information. I had them on ice since the 5th, and didn't get to steam them until the 8th. While on ice I made sure they did not come in contact with any fresh water. The harvest dates on the bag was August 2 - 4. I should have steamed them on Monday as I originally planned. Out of the bag, except for the 40 - 50 floaters, I only have about 3 broken shells, 5 - 7 dead, and about another 4 that didn't open when steamed. So overall I consider it pretty good.

I will proceed with caution. I'm going to continue to process them separately and send a few email out to few commercial sites and see if I get a response. But as you state, and especially for such a small amount, the risk is not worth it.

This is one of the sites I'm getting some information from:
The Cornish Mussel Shack

[Habanero Smoker]

After seeing slowpoke's post, I realize I never posted about the final outcome of my mussels. They came out great. I did one tub with a garlic flavored olive oil, the rest I use canola oil. The garlic flavored oil mussels were delicious.

I did decide to throw the floaters away.

[dsmiley]

Ooh!  Flavored oil!  What a great idea, and garlic sounds like a good first choice.  I need to try that.  Glad it turned out well for you, Habs. 
By the way, the lobster prices are still down there if you make another trip.  I doubt that we will ever see another lobster year like this one so we have been taking advantage of it.

Dean

[manxman]

Been following this thread with interest, time to do some more smoked mussels methinks and follow this recipe!!  :)

I have always thrown floaters away as well as those that don't open on cooking, typically this only represents a small minority off mussels but on the one occasion there were a lot of floaters on further inspection I had been given a time expired batch which had gone bad!  >:(

Bacteria that cause food poisoning can give off gas..... perhaps this is one reason why they float!!  ::)

Great recipe dsmiley.  :)

[Habanero Smoker]

I was going to also try one with peanut oil, but after thinking about it I quickly changed my mind. I love lobster, but I have to have someone else cook them. I just can't bring myself to do it.

Manxman;
After reading your post, I'm glad I threw them out.

[manxman]

garlic flavored olive oil,

I like the thought of this, was also wondering about a mild chilli infused olive oil?

I love lobster, but I have to have someone else cook them. I just can't bring myself to do it.

We have had poor year on the lobster, the bad weather has limited the number of times we have hauled our pots but however many lobster we get cooking them is never pleasant. We put them in the freezer for an hour or so first to "sedate" them!

[Habanero Smoker]

Chilli infused oil sound great.

......but however many lobster we get cooking them is never pleasant. We put them in the freezer for an hour or so first to "sedate" them!

Now this I may try.  ;D