Mussels question

[ChrisnChris]

We're going to our youngest's for a late lunch tomorrow & taking mussels with us for a starter.
They are fresh, normally I would wash & de-beard then cook straight away.

How much of this can be done in advance, i.e before we leave, it's about 1hrs journey, we have cool box, ice etc....or should I just do it all when we arrive?

Thanks.

[BubbleHash]

If you are going to cook them before you leave,
make sure they are coverd in ice for the travel and you should be good to go

[Shaolin]

Wash and debeard, cool, transport then cook will be fine, I assume you'll be picking out the dead ones during this process.

[ChrisnChris]

Thanks, I'll prep them before we leave & cook them when we arrive (I had never intended to pre-cook them)......the deceased will be hunted down & dealt with in the usual manner

[dickymint]

Did you know it's a total myth that un-opened (after cooking) mussels are "gone off"?

[ChrisnChris]

dickymint said:

Did you know it's a total myth that un-opened (after cooking) mussels are "gone off"?

No, I didn't know that. I always thought that they didn't open because they were dead before cooking & therefore not fresh, in a similar way live ones should close when "disturbed" & any that don't are probably dead, so, again it's a question of their freshness.

We had 2 nets from Waitrose, I discarded about 10 during the washing process, becauase of broken shells & non-closure. The remainder all opened after cooking & were delicious.

I had a look at the mussel "myth busting" sites through Google & it makes interesting reading, I did also come across this which seems to present a different view regarding the reliability of Nick Ruello's supposed findings..............

"Why are we still printing this rubbish?..NO no no.. this is not what the research found at all. Nick Ruello (the consultant PAID to undertake a completely different study, but made this finding as a by product) never makes a single statement that does not refer to and only to FARMED blue mussels (which are known to have high rates of remaining closed after cooking). The study (in 2002 and selectively regurgitated every few years since then) has never been peer reviewed appears only in industry magazines and seems to have run amok. Why would you risk a gastrointestinal hell for the sake of one mans paid word and a few cents of discarded mussels. Do the research look around. This is highly selective unreviewed research for the mussel industry. Check out the the PEI alliance of mussel growers whose PEI University consultants are routinely used by the FAO, yep you guessed it 8 years after the alleged "discovery" they still say discard unopened mussels."

Myth or not, I shall be sticking with the "general concensus"