Mussels are one of the most useful seafood. The meat of these shellfish contains high quality protein in its pure form, polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as many different constituents and enzymes, whose value for the human body has been repeatedly proved by nutritionists. Such substances contribute to improving the brain and digestive system, accelerate metabolism and prolong youth.
In addition, mussels are rich in a mass of essential amino acids and trace elements. Their meat contains the lion's share of B, D and E vitamins, as well as an impressive portion of cobalt. And the content of the latter in mussels is ten times higher than the amount of this element in the beef or chicken liver .
The use of mussels in food helps to protect the body from the onset of cancer, strengthens the immune system and is an excellent prevention of arthritis. In addition, the meat of these shellfish has a pleasant taste and is considered one of the sea delicacies.
Below we will tell you how and how many minutes to cook fresh, frozen and boiled-frozen mussels in order to preserve their valuable properties as much as possible and at the same time emphasize, rather than spoil, the taste qualities.
How much to cook frozen mussels?
Special departments of supermarkets and fish shops abound with packages of frozen, already peeled mussels. To cook these is most convenient, since efforts for this will be minimal. The cooking technology of the product will depend on whether fresh or already brewed frozen mussels you have purchased. When buying cooked frozen shellfish, just dip them into boiling water and wait for the first signs of re-boiling.
In order to boil the frozen, cleaned fresh mussels, we first give them thawing, transferring them to the lower shelf of the refrigerator, and then rinsing under running cool water to wash off any sand grains that may be present. Now we lay the prepared meat of mollusks in boiling, slightly salted water and boil for three to five minutes. The cooking time varies depending on the size of the mussels, but do not exceed a five minute limit, otherwise we can get a rubbery taste of seafood.
How and how much to cook fresh mussels in shells?
Before you start cooking fresh mussels in seashells, you should make sure of their good quality. Shells of shellfish should be intact, without chips and damages, and their shutters fit snugly together. A quality product, when placed in a bowl of cold water for twenty minutes, sinks to the bottom. From floating on the surface of shells is better to get rid of.
After testing, thoroughly wash the mussels, cleaning the shells with a brush all the dirt and sand. Now we choose to cook the mussels a suitable pan by volume and lay out the seafood in it. Mussels can be boiled in both pure water and add white dry wine, lemon juice, greens, garlic and various spices.
Water or spicy liquid base for mussels cooking should only cover the bottom a little. A lot of it should not be, otherwise the richness of the taste of the shellfish will be significantly lost, since it will simply be passed on to the broth.
Place the pan with mussels and water (wine and spices) on the fire, cover it tightly with a lid and let it fully boil. From this moment, we cook seafood from three to five minutes. During this time, the shell must open, which will indicate the readiness of the mussels. Undisclosed mollusks must be discarded, with a high probability they were lifeless and stale.