How many days would you leave a bag of mussels in your fridge?

cookbookchick added over 2 years ago

I keep them in the fridge no longer than the day after I purchase them. Preferably, I buy them the same day I am going to cook them. But if you are buying from a reputable fishmonger, they should be able to advise you.

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pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.

added over 2 years ago

Overnight at most. Make sure they are resting on ice. Some people have said you can hold them longer but I'm not one of them. You don't know how long they've been out of the water when you buy them. Mussels are a safe, sustainable seafood (if you don't let them spoil).

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Abbie is a trusted source on General Cooking.

added over 2 years ago

I think the question is - are they still alive? They usually open a bit when you leave them alone - tap them - if they close back up they are alive and OK, if they don't they are dead and you need to chuck them

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I always use them the same day, as I am touchy about seafood. Industry says "a few days" if stored correctly. See http://www.discovermussels...

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Chris is a trusted source on General Cooking

added over 2 years ago

I agree with everyone. Mussels are more fragile than oysters and hardshell clams. If you are somewhere where you can buy them on the day you are eating them, that's what to do. If that's impossible, putting them on top of--not in--ice is okay. But regardless, toss any that won't close or have cracked shells.

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Merrill is a co-founder of Food52.

added over 2 years ago

Use them as quickly as possible -- preferably the same day you buy them!

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ChefJune added over 2 years ago

I don't buy them if I am not going to serve them the same day. I am like that about any mollusk or shellfish in its shell. The animal needs to be alive when you cook it.

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Chris is a trusted source on General Cooking

added over 2 years ago

While I basically agree with you ChefJune, I think your advice is most important for mussels. Oysters are a completely different story. They have much thicker shells and the advantage of one side being more rounded than the other. Packed round side down, they survive pretty well. Even in the 1800s, growers on the East Coast packed them up and shipped them inland. Knowing that, I wouldn't mind keeping oysters on ice for a couple days if I lived somewhere that I couldn't get them on the day I wanted to eat them.

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Chris is a trusted source on General Cooking

added over 2 years ago

I just remembered another mussel-buying point. While it's my preference to know and love my fishmonger, some people don't have access to a great one. My brother, would lives inland, buys his mussels at Costco. They come in bags identifying their source and the date that they were pulled from the water. I've had them and they're really fresh.

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