Tinker:
Cornmeal in their water works well with clams.
It became moot Friday. They posted health advisories and closed the area to clamming on Friday. I like mussels, but not enough to leave town to find them. Not this year.
MechAndy:
I have harvested mussels for years. Mainly in Northern California but I apply the same tactics here.
I only harvest mussels that are on vertical structures. I keep telling myself that the ones that grow vertically on walls and such don’t trap that much sand.
I mean...hey I read it on the internet so it has to be true ;). Surprisingly it is kinda true.
When I am un kitting my gear I like to soak them a bit in a bucket and change that out every now and then while I am changing my gear, tying up the kayaks and tending to my crabs.
Where we are at sometimes during the beginning of crab season after I drop my 2 crab pots I like to go kayaking around the area to kill time on a crab soak.
I found out that I can just unroll a bucket of mussels from the nearby docks in a matter of a couple of minutes and that is taking my time.
This is the easiest way ever. No more paying them off with sharp pointy knives. No more effing up my knife tips up either.
Just a couple of easy cuts and they just fillet off or roll off so to speak.
I like to cook mine in a white wine with a garlic/butter mix of crap served on a pasta dish.
Once you roll off a couple hundred mussels the easy way you’ll never go back.
All the best. Andy.
eiboh:
--- Quote from: Pinstriper on November 29, 2020, 08:57:01 AM ---I use a small prybar what I bought at the dollar store for a dollar.
Avoid the super large ones, they will be tough. My rule of thumb is I take the ones that are as long as my thumb, but no longer than my traffic finger.
Give them a good rinse and a scrub with a stiff bristle brush to knock off the loose bits (again, dollar store wire brush works well) and the fibrous "beard" that holds them together you can grab and twist off with a longnose pliers (again, dollar store tool aisle is appropriate for this).
Do NOT do this in your kitchen sink. The beard fibers will absolutely destroy a disposal machine, and will also wreak havoc on a roto-rooter's blade set. Best to get two buckets - one with rinse water, and one over which you do the scrubbing and beard removal. Dispose in the yard as grey water. Dollar store dish pans work great for this, too !
Perfectly cromulent equipment for this comes from the dollar store, and if the tools rust (and they will) you don't really care.
The correct preparation is to open a jar of marinara and simmer the mussels in sauce until they open, served with lots of garlic bread.
Also, please don't just wrench a bunch off the rocks and discard the smalls. Those are the juveniles and need to be left where they are to grow for the future.
--- End quote --- traffic finger I've never heard that quote before hella funny. ;D
Tinker:
--- Quote from: eiboh on July 10, 2022, 12:56:51 PM --- traffic finger I've never heard that quote before hella funny. ;D