Another Smoked Mussel Recipe

[dsmiley]

I am probably the only member of the forum who bought an OBS just to smoke mussels.  Well, it wasn't the only reason, but it certainly was the primary one.  There is a company in Maine who sells very excellent smoked mussels and after eating them for a year at $1/oz. I decided that if I could smoke them and have them taste half as good, I would consider that a success.  So I did a little internet research on smokers, found this forum, and headed off to Cabelas to get my OBS.  That was two years and 2-3 hundred pounds of mussels ago.  Of course, I smoke other stuff now, too, but I still smoke lots of mussels.  My missus said we can't be without them and relatives and neighbors say "Thank you for smoking".  Here is the recipe and I'd love to have one or more of you give it a try to see what you think.

This recipe is designed for 20 pounds of mussels and my OBS has 2 elements, 8 shelves, and a PID so you may need to adjust what you do.

Dump the mussels into a sink and wash them off with the sprayer. 

Mix up a 3 gallon salt water solution, 1/3 cup of sea salt per gallon of water (I use a 5-6 gal pail).

Check each mussel, de-beard it, rinse it off, and throw it into the brine.  Chuck all broken or cracked mussels and if they are open, tap it.  If it doesn't close, out it goes.  Farm raised may not have beards.

Leave the cleaned mussels in the brine for 2 hours to purge themselves of grit.  If any float at the end of 2 hours toss them; they're dead.  If you know your mussels are farm raised you shouldn't have to purge them.  Mussels are normally cleaner than clams but I still purge mine because they are not farm raised and I have gotten gritty ones before.  Grit will spoil your day.

Get the smoker ready.  I smoke with 1 apple, 1 cherry, 3 oak, and 1 maple puck.

Mix up 7 1/2 cups of water , 3/8 cup of sea salt (or a 20:1 mix), and a tablespoon of sugar and set it aside.  You will use this to soak mussel meats later.

Steam the mussels before smoking.  Steam until they just open, being careful to not overcook.  If some are not open, they go back into the steam for another minute or two.  If any of them aren't open then, toss them. 

When they open move them to the sink and start shucking, watching for missed beards.

Warm the smoker to 145°.

Give the mussel meats a 2 minute soak in the above briny mixture.  Remove from the soak but don't rinse.  I use a colander here.

Spread mussels out on smoker trays with frogmats (you will need frogmats).  Twenty pounds will require about 7 trays.




Smoke for 2 hours at 145-147° rotating the trays every 20 minutes (with each new puck) and spin them front to back occasionally.  Set the vent to ½ open.

Move meats to a bowl and coat them with soybean oil.  Canola oil will work if you can't find soybean.   I found it in a health food store.




I pack in 6 oz. containers and freeze all but one (the reward).

My most recent smoke was 19.5 lb.  This yielded 3.5 lb. of meats before smoking and 2 lb. 13 oz. after smoking.

I'm lucky to be able to get very fresh, local mussels cheap.  But I have tried farm-raised mussels from Prince Edward Island.  They were twice as plump as what I normally use, but they were unappealing smoked.  They are awesome eaten as steamed mussels with butter but they just don't smoke up as well.

Please give the recipe a try and let us know what you think. 

Dean

[Mr Walleye]

Dsmiley

Man does this sound good!

Mussels are a little hard to come by for a prairie boy here in Saskatchewan but I'd give it shot if I had a chance.  ;)

Mike

[dsmiley]

Hey, Mike.  No problem, I will drop some off the next time I'm in Moose Jaw.  Yeah, I would imagine mussels and the like might be a scarce commodity there, other than canned anyway.  Can you get frozen smoked mussels there?

Dean

[squirtthecat]

Oh my, I need to try this...    Maybe not 20 pounds worth the first time.  ;)

[Mr Walleye]

Hey, Mike.  No problem, I will drop some off the next time I'm in Moose Jaw.  Yeah, I would imagine mussels and the like might be a scarce commodity there, other than canned anyway.  Can you get frozen smoked mussels there?

Dean

I haven't looked lately but canned or frozen smoked are even difficult to find. I'm sure if did manage to find some labelled as fresh they would be farm raised.

I'll look forward to the next time your passing through Moose Jaw!   :D  :D  :D  :D ;D

Mike

[slowpoke]

Sounds great,Dean.I love mussel too.Fresh steamed with draw of vinegar.or Preserved Mussell's in straight vinegar.Smokin will give them a whole new meaning.Thanks.

[dsmiley]

Sounds great,Dean.I love mussel too.Fresh steamed with draw of vinegar.or Preserved Mussell's in straight vinegar.Smokin will give them a whole new meaning.Thanks.

Slowpoke, you must have had those rope grown PEI mussels; they are right in your backyard.  Aren't they awesome?  If you try this recipe get some wild-caught; they work the best.  And please do try it.  You will be glad you did.

Dean 

[dsmiley]

Well, I was hoping this recipe would spark enough interest for someone to actually try it but it doesn't appear to have.  So I just want you mussel lovers to know that you're missing out on the best smoked mussels you will find.  These mussels are OMG good.   The other day I gave a neighbor who loves these 2 containers and she was so happy she kissed me.  So I asked her if she needed more.

Latest smoke – 48 pounds - had to do in 2 batches -

Before processing -



Into the 2-minute soup -



Ready to smoke -



Covered with oil and ready to tub -



After processing - 14 tubs of 6 oz. each



I mentioned this in the recipe but it bears repeating - do not overcook; just one minute over in the steam will make a huge difference in the texture and dryness of the finished product.  Cook until they just open; plan on cooking some (those that don't open) an additional minute or two.

If you like smoked mussels and try this recipe, you'll be very happy.

Dean

[Habanero Smoker]

I've always had a great interest in this thread and Manxman's thread on smoked mussels. What is the price of mussels in Maine. I'll be in Maine on Sunday, and if the price is good, I'll bring my cooler and bring back a load of mussels with me. I haven't seen any really good mussels in New York this year.

[dsmiley]

I get them from a lady in Augusta who runs a fish market (Molly's Seafood), more of a roadside stand, and I let her know in advance.  She makes a trip to the coast about every morning so the mussels I get are very fresh.  She sells them regularly for $.99/lb which I think is about as low as you'll find them.  Purchased in the local grocery stores they will be $2/lb. and on sale in other fish markets maybe $.99/lb.  If you are coming to Augusta, PM me so I can arrange for you to get one of my containers.

Dean

[The Life of Brine]

Very nice photos and good effort!

Have you tried
a.) cold smoking mussels or
b.) for hot smoking got them fresh out of shells without steaming first?

I haven't tried either of these but am keen to hear your experience,

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks for the kind offer, but I will be going to Fryeburg, and it is a day trip. It's going to be a little hectic since it is a 5.5 hour trip one way. So that is an eleven hours of traveling in one day. Part of my trip will be along the New Hampshire coastline, so that may provide another opportunity to get some mussels. Once I get to Fryeburg, I will ask the locals where the nearest seafood stores, or roadside stands are at. I just have a craving for mussels since you bumped this thread. If the mussels are as large as you got, I will pay any price.

[dsmiley]

Very nice photos and good effort!

Have you tried
a.) cold smoking mussels or
b.) for hot smoking got them fresh out of shells without steaming first?

I haven't tried either of these but am keen to hear your experience,

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.

Dean

[dsmiley]

Thanks for the kind offer, but I will be going to Fryeburg, and it is a day trip. It's going to be a little hectic since it is a 5.5 hour trip one way. So that is an eleven hours of traveling in one day. Part of my trip will be along the New Hampshire coastline, so that may provide another opportunity to get some mussels. Once I get to Fryeburg, I will ask the locals where the nearest seafood stores, or roadside stands are at. I just have a craving for mussels since you bumped this thread. If the mussels are as large as you got, I will pay any price.

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

[Habanero Smoker]

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?