Losing mussels.

I would like to get some feedback on the best way to store mussels during service. In general I have always placed them in a deep hotel pan with a damp towel on the top. I keep them in the reach in cooler, but the mussels never seem to stay alive very long. Any suggestions for keeping mussels alive longer and maybe just some tips on how to properly store the mussels?

Thanks in advance.

[Bob S]

Mussel storage the age old problem. First, it is important to remember that the product is alive....not just fresh. As a result you can sufficate or drown the mussels in fresh water. What we do is.......Place the mussels in a bin that drains and keep the mussels smothered in flake ice. Putting musssels in a pan that doesn't drain will drowned the mussels.....covering the product will or could smother the product.....having the product near the door could send the temp up and down (we made this mistake before)resulting in a high mortality. If taken care of properly mussels should last 2 days.....if you are not getting that life you had better check to make sure your vendor is not doing something to kill the product (warm truck, older product, poor rotation etc).

The exception is Green Lip mussels from New Zealand. The need to be kept between 42 and 50 degrees.....any colder and you can say good bye.....obviously you should not use ice.

[Bob S]

Will Ice smother mussels? Nope, we have never had a problem.....and believe me, we smother those little black jewels.......but the tub does need to drain well....this is very important.

[Nicko]

It won't smoother the mussels if you pack them in ice?

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Thanks,

Nicko
nicko@cheftalk.com

[Bob S]

Caralien, that's interesting. I would like to hear from others who have unique and successful ways of storing mussels.....While I cannot speak for the restaurants, a wholesaler is unable to soak shelfish in water due to Shellfish Sanitation codes that are enforced by a semi-annual inspector named FDA......what I like about your method, from what I hear,is it adds to the integrity of the meat......let's hear from others

[Caralien]

For PEI mussels, I've always refrigerated them in cool water with either corn meal or oatmeal, changing the water daily (but for never more than 2 days)

I was wondering, here in Ottawa the water is treated with a "newer form of clorine" the name of which escapes me right now...but the waterworks and pet stores warn people that the water will kill fish if put into the tank with out first being treated. Simply letting the water stand over night is not enough since the clorine that is used will not evaporate (break down? or what ever clorine does). Could this effect the mussels?
I have stopped icing mine and they keep very well in our walk-in...but once washed they seem to pass-away very quickly.

[cookM]

I put my mussels in a hotel pan with holes, then put that into another hotel pan with ice. So I have the ice underneath.

[Bob S]

If you look what CookM posted and our original discussion you will find an iced mussel with drainage works best......especially if you keep mussels in a walkin that has a variable temp (open doors are killers)