Cleaning Mussels:
1. Mussels are attached to one another by a "cord" or "beard" which looks like old wet hay or grass. Nowadays, mussels are often sold half cleaned (That is, with the beard removed), even though they die rapidly without their life-sustaining cord. Even the live ones lose a lot of moisture and end up being small, dry and very yellowish, instead of plump, moist and pale beige in color. If you plan to keep them a few days, buy the uncleaned type.

2. With a small paring knife, scrape off the dirt and most of the encrustations that are on the shell. Cut off, or pull off, the beard. Place in cold water and rub the mussels against each other to clean the shells further.

3. Press each one on a bias to determine if it is full of mud or sand. If so, the shells will slide open and, obviously, these are to be discarded.

4. Certain mussels are open. This does not mean that they are bad. The spoiled ones smell strongly, contrary to the fresh mussels which smell pleasantly of iodine and seaweed. If you touch the inside muscle and edge with the point of a knife

5. the fresh mussel will close immediately. As long as the shell is moving the mussel is still alive. Place the mussels again in a lot of cold water with salt (a handful of salt per gallon of water), and let them sit for 1 hour so that they throw off any sand that escaped the first washing (there will always be a minimal amount of sand left in them).

* Exported from MasterCook *

Moules Mariniere (Mussels Sailor-Style)

Recipe By : "La technique" by Jacques Pepin ISBN 0-671-70711-6
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Shell Fish

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
5 pounds mussels -- cleaned
1 cup onion -- chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled, washed and chopped
1/2 cup parsley -- chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 dash thyme
1 dash salt
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup dry white wine

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot, cover, place on high heat and bring to a boil.

2. Keep cooking for approximately 10 minutes. Twice while they are cooking, lift the kettle with both hans, your thumbs holding the cover, and shake the kettle in an up-and-down motion to toss the mussels. They should all open. Do not overcook or they will toughen. Serve in large deep plates or in bowls with some of the broth on top.

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