Can I eat river mussels? How to cook these shellfish

On the banks of many rivers, rivers and streams in dense thickets, everyone is able to collect a certain amount of mollusks in shells. But there are many questions about the edibility, usefulness of them ... and in general - what are river mussels? How to cook them so that they do not get poisoned and get pleasure from such an unusual dish?

River mussels: do not poison yourself ...

The main food product of the river mussels are numerous microorganisms in all their diversity. Thus, these mollusks serve as a kind of filters that purify the native water body. It is believed that the presence of mussels in the river indicates a certain purity of its waters. However, for safety, it is recommended to refrain from eating these mollusks if the water in their habitat seems suspicious in appearance, color, or smell.

Edible?

Edible are almost any river mussels. You can eat those that were collected on the river, and those whose habitat is the swamp, and those who live in the lake - the main thing is that the water in the pond was fresh and clean. And one more obligatory condition: deciding to consume exactly these mollusks, it is necessary to strictly and strictly adhere to the technology of their preparation, because (like living natural filters) the river mussels accumulate a lot of unpleasant and harmful substances for the organism. Thus, improper preparation of river mussels can lead to sad consequences.

Preliminary preparation of the product

Mussels can be collected independently, can be bought in the frozen state (clean and uncleaned). Frozen food should be thawed. Mussels should be thoroughly washed, and those that are in the shell - cleaned of dirt, sand, debris in all grooves, the fiber at the junction of the flaps should be removed.

By the way, all shells that did not open after the initial heat treatment should be discarded without regret - the product inside is still damaged.

When processing shells opened after thermal "cooking" (cooking, frying, etc.), the internal organs of the shellfish are usually removed, although there are fans who consume the whole delicacy.

All for a picnic!

Imagine that during a holiday in nature, river mussels suddenly appeared. How to cook them simply, reliably and tasty? Washed, debris-free shellfish should be soaked in a mixture of water, vinegar (the latter should be 2 times more) and a decent amount of salt. Such a marinade will destroy the smell of mud and harmful microorganisms. After 20-30 minutes you can start cooking - fry them on the grill over the fire. Fried open mussels are lightly sprinkled with oil and salted. Well, if a horseradish or a basket for a picnic has horseradish "Wasabi" and a pair of tufts of any greenery - this is an ideal seasoning for such a dish.

Soup of mussels

Such a soup is good to cook in nature from freshly caught shellfish - if they are poured out on a hot sunny place, after about 10 minutes they will open slightly. It remains to insert the knife into the sash, turn and open the sink. Cut from the mussel leg - it is the biggest delicacy. Than both maritime and river mussels are remarkable. How to cook further is no longer a question. Prepared meat should be washed at least three times in clean water. From the peeled fillets of mussels, a strong broth is cooked, where one part of the mollusks has 2 parts of water. Spices can be added any, and preferably more. The broth should be cooked for at least 20 minutes, so that the heat killed all likely pests and parasites. They say that such a soup causes a sharp burst of vitality.

Baked river mussels

There are many options for how to cook river mussels. Recipes of preparation vary in both the processing methods and the quality of the raw materials - mussels can be used cleaned or not, small and medium. However, enough lyrics, it's time to work.

Take a couple of shallots, wash, finely, finely chop. Peel and squeeze a couple of cloves of garlic, parmesan cheese (100 g) grate on a large grater, finely chop a bunch of parsley.

In a deep saucepan (always with a thick bottom) boil the water, pour a glass of white dry wine, add a chopped onion and drop the mussels. Cook at maximum heat for about 5 minutes under the lid, then remove and remove one (!) Leaf from all the open shells.

In a separate bowl, mix the prepared cheese, garlic, parsley, a third of a spoonful of chili powder and a half a kilogram of white breadcrumbs, pour in 3 dessert spoons of olive oil and mix thoroughly.

On the baking tray, lay the mussels down, each of them to fill with the resulting mixture and put in a preheated oven to 200 ° C for 15 minutes.

Stewed river mussels

Here, cleaned and frozen, and in the shells of the river mussels. How to cook them in sauce? We will pay special attention to this issue. Kilogram of mussels cook in salt water, drain, put in a frying pan, pour a glass of white wine-"biscuit" (can be replaced with pink or cider) and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Celery, a small onion, fresh rosemary and thyme finely chopped. Celery and onion to fry until transparent in vegetable oil (preferably - olive), then add the same chopped greens and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

Two egg yolks to grind with a glass of sour cream and pour into mussels, then add the prepared roast, a quarter teaspoon of red hot pepper, salt to taste, saffron and mix thoroughly. Next, we must simmer the dish on a small fire until thickening, regularly mixing and not letting the dish boil.

To such mussels with sauce fried potatoes are suitable.