[Gumby]

What are some good places to buy clams or mussels? Are they even in season now? Thanks in advance.

[6793026]

T&T yaohan always have them...

[Hondaracer]

central city brew pub's like Specialty is muscles if u want to eat out lol

fuck i dunno what the hell kind of bar/pub specializes in muscles, talk about a money loser lol

[Ch28]

Chambar has great mussels if you ever want to eat out.

[azncreationz]

^ I agree with Chambar. Also, Stella's has awesome mussels.

I'm sure any fish market can sell you mussels. (22nd Ave & Rupert)

[bd0n]

lobster man!

[Levitron]

Superstore has live ones as well. Never tried them from there though.

Fall is usually season for mussels...you should get really fat juicy ones around this time.

[Senna4ever]

Lobster Man for sure for variety - but you have to cook 'em yourself!

[Gumby]

Cool - I'm thinking of cooking them myself for a special occasion. Might be a bit of a challenge for someone who can only fry an egg and make rice (in a rice cooker)... :D

[Senna4ever]

Cool - I'm thinking of cooking them myself for a special occasion. Might be a bit of a challenge for someone who can only fry an egg and make rice (in a rice cooker)... :D
Don't worry - I once knew a girl from Japan who was so coddled & protected that she didn't know how to boil water on a stove until she was 18. No joke. I was like, "Uuuhhhhh....." Most certainly not marriage material.

[darkfroggy]

Don't worry - I once knew a girl from Japan who was so coddled & protected that she didn't know how to boil water on a stove until she was 18. No joke. I was like, "Uuuhhhhh....." Most certainly not marriage material.

Pics so we can decide.

[murd0c]

they sell them at Costco when they have the seafood going on. Big bag's for like $10 and they go a long ways. Yummmm so good I just love shell fish. I like to steam them with butter, white wine onions and parsley yumm they are so good with french bread to dip in the sauce.

[Senna4ever]

Pics so we can decide.
Haha...they're somewhere in my photo albums back at my parent's house. Not bad, she was a good three-night-stand.

[Gumby]

they sell them at Costco when they have the seafood going on. Big bag's for like $10 and they go a long ways. Yummmm so good I just love shell fish. I like to steam them with butter, white wine onions and parsley yumm they are so good with french bread to dip in the sauce.
I believe the seafood thing is happening at Costco starting on Sep 16 for a few days. But the items they have are frozen, aren't they?

I was at Superstore and I saw 2lb bags of mussels for $10, and these are sitting in open tanks of water so wouldn't these be more fresh than the frozen ones?

[unit]

T&T yaohan always have them...

u sure? i know they have clams but i dont think they have mussels

also, mussels are the easiest thing to make.... its seriously like one level more advanced than frying an egg (actually a lot of ppl cant fry an egg properly but can probably steam/cook mussels)
just takes a slight bit of prep to clean them up, then toss em in some sauce with some pasta, close the lid and away you go

[murd0c]

I believe the seafood thing is happening at Costco starting on Sep 16 for a few days. But the items they have are frozen, aren't they?

I was at Superstore and I saw 2lb bags of mussels for $10, and these are sitting in open tanks of water so wouldn't these be more fresh than the frozen ones?

the mussles and clams are fresh the rest is frozen.

[TheNewGirl]

u sure? i know they have clams but i dont think they have mussels

also, mussels are the easiest thing to make.... its seriously like one level more advanced than frying an egg (actually a lot of ppl cant fry an egg properly but can probably steam/cook mussels)
just takes a slight bit of prep to clean them up, then toss em in some sauce with some pasta, close the lid and away you go

Cooking an egg properly is actually one of the harder things to do for a novice cook. (I stress the properly part)

Cooking mussels is mega easy. I've even done them in the microwave before.

[Inaii]

Urban Seafood, 4190 hastings. Saw the sign for live mussells/clams when I was going by on the bus and thought of this thread lol.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[TRDood]

How do you guys clean it? Do they have sand like clams?
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[Gumby]

No mussels or clams at the Richmond Costco tonight - although it's possible they were sold out. Shoot - should've asked the guy.

[reFR3SH]

I think superstore is like the best fall-back plan incase u cant find any haha.
I'm not sure but maybe you could try No.1 where the harbour is, thats where alot of "fresh" seafood comes in.

[6793026]

i got a question, can you really tell if mussels are fresh?
like seriously, have you tried comparing the two? cooked the same way, blind tasting.. etc...

if done right, they could be very similar.

[unit]

for mussels, fresh means still alive when you start cooking them.
you should only eat fresh mussels.... if theres any dead you'll know because the shell is open and doesnt close anymore.

[jackmeister]

for mussels, fresh means still alive when you start cooking them.
you should only eat fresh mussels.... if theres any dead you'll know because the shell is open and doesnt close anymore.

i thought dead shellfish dont open when they are dead?

[unit]

im not positive but if its dead it should be easy to open since the abductor muscle is no longer working.

u usually get a few in a bag of mussels that are open and dont close even when you give them a tap. same with oysters. pretty sure those are dead since they should close to defend themselves

[reFR3SH]

for mussels you can tell if they are fresh by how its packaged. if its a sealed bag then its wrong, cause mussels need to breath. you can tell by the smell too, if it smells fishy its mostlikely not

[Senna4ever]

i thought dead shellfish dont open when they are dead?

They'll be either open and not close when touched, or not open when cooked.

[Gumby]

You can't control what happens to your mussels once you start cooking, but you can control which mussels you buy. So if possible, make sure you don't buy any that are open when alive. After cooking, for the ones that are closed, I still open them up to take a look. If they look normal, I still eat them (or spit them out if it tastes funky).

I ended up buying mussels from Superstore (on Marine & Main) last Friday cuz that was the most convenient. They had 2 2-lb bags left, but those were going bad. Fortunately, they had a lot of loose mussels to choose from, so it must have been a recent shipment. I was there again earlier this week, and most of their loose mussels had been purchased.

For those curious, I had the day off and was going to cook mussels in white wine for my wife for our anniversary dinner as a surprise while she was at work. She was unwell that morning so she called in sick, ruining my plans in a way. After sleeping the morning away, she got better so in the end, I bought & prepped the ingredients and she did the cooking. :D

[Rogue951]

Costco has vacuum packed trays of mussles recently. but theyre huge like 6-10 pound trays. I wouldn't be able to eat that much so I never bought it. They're supposed to be live. theres water in the tray too.

[Chicken Balls]

I bought mussels from lobsterman a few weeks back. 1/4 of them did not open up.

[Senna4ever]

I bought mussels from lobsterman a few weeks back. 1/4 of them did not open up.

Hmmmm..... Did you cook them that day? Were they stored for any length of time in a warm environment like your car as you did other errands? There are many variables that could have killed them. There will always be about 1 or 2 that are dead in a pound of clams or mussels, but 1/4 seems a bit too much.

[Chicken Balls]

Hmmmm..... Did you cook them that day? Were they stored for any length of time in a warm environment like your car as you did other errands? There are many variables that could have killed them. There will always be about 1 or 2 that are dead in a pound of clams or mussels, but 1/4 seems a bit too much.

Yea, i bought them and went home to cook it. I find that odd too that so many did not open. I also bought clams that day, and all of them opened..So it was very strange since I've never had so many not open on me before. They had given me ice to place on top of them prior to bringing them home, however the time inbetween buying, and cooking them was about an hour.

[azncreationz]

How did they turn out? Re-reading this tread gave me some inspiration, and motivation to try to make some this weekend. Can't wait...

[lol]

what are some good ingredients to cook the mussels with?

someone mentioned white wine.

I made some last week for this chick im seeing. my primary ingredient was butter and then i added a few diff spices.

they turned out really good but i would like to try a creamier based sauce? any suggestions for next time?

[Senna4ever]

^^^ No, no no, you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to feed her oysters! :p

Butter, garlic, white wine and freshly chopped parsley is the classic for mussels. I'm not sure if a cream based sauce will work with mussels.

[lol]

hmm found this one.

Recipe
Mussels with Thyme and White Wine Cream Sauce
(aka Moules à la crème)

serves 2

1 lb. mussels (de-beard if necessary and keep refrigerated until use)
5 shallots, sliced (or 1/2 large onion, sliced thin)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 handful of fresh thyme on stem
1 1/2 cups white wine
1/4 cup cream
4 Tbsps. butter
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and pepper

1) De-beard the mussels if necessary and keep them cold until ready to use. If any of them are open they might well be dead. If they are only slightly open, rap them on the side of a bowl or the counter. If they close up again, they're edible, if not, they are DEAD. If they are dead prior to cooking, do NOT eat. Dispose of immediately or possibly pay the horrible horrible consequences.

2) In a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid, heat the olive oil and melt the butter. Sautee the shallots and/or onions until translucent, then add the garlic, sautee for a couple minutes more, then add the wine and the thyme, stirring everything around.

3) Once the wine is bubbling, add the mussels. Put the lid on, and shake the pot a bit to coat them. Let stand for 5-7 minutes. By this time the mussels should have opened up. Those that haven't, you should discard. Add the cream, a bit of salt and pepper, and stir everything. Leave out the cream and you've got "moules mariniere."

4) Add some cooked, fresh linguini to a bowl (this is optional) spoon several mussels over the top, then ladle a generous amount of the delciously fragrant sauce over it all. Mop sauce up with crusty bread or frites!

http://kitchenmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/04/mussels-with-thyme-and-white-wine.html

[Jermyzy]

Costco has vacuum packed trays of mussles recently. but theyre huge like 6-10 pound trays. I wouldn't be able to eat that much so I never bought it. They're supposed to be live. theres water in the tray too.

I just bought a tray from Costco (says eat before Nov 4), but can't cook them til Monday. Will let you guys know after then.

[lol]

How did you cook them? and how did they turn out?

[sonick]

Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin recently posted this recipe on his twitter

Boil1cupChardonay+1/2onion+3 cloves of garlic + 1/2 cup dry spicy chorizo all sliced thin+1pound clams or mussels.Cover until opened.

[le_dakine]

Costco now carries fresh PEI mussels. i think they are flown in like 2 or 3 times a week. super good for the price.
T&T's mussels tend to shrink alot when cooked, but the Costco ones come out big a juicy.

[lol]

Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin recently posted this recipe on his twitter

Boil1cupChardonay+1/2onion+3 cloves of garlic + 1/2 cup dry spicy chorizo all sliced thin+1pound clams or mussels.Cover until opened.

I was flipping thru the channels the other day and this lady was cooking mussels on some cooking show. She waited till the end (when the mussels starting to open up) to add the white wine. I guess you can do it either way? I wonder how big of a difference it makes.

The recipe I posted along with yours both boil the wine prior to adding the mussels.