How to cook a seafood delicacy - frozen mussels

The life of the peoples of the sea has always been inextricably linked with its gifts.
This fact is difficult to refute. After all, if it is quite difficult to find material evidence of the consumption of certain cereals, vegetables, and fruits, then archaeologists discover remains of fish bones or shellfish shells during excavations of settlements dating back to the Middle Paleolithic.

How to choose the right product

Today, the price of mussels in cafes and restaurants is very high, but in a store this seafood can be bought much cheaper, but for this it is important to know how to choose it correctly, defrost it and cook it. About this right now.

How to choose the right shellfish meat:

1. When purchasing seafood, try to buy it frozen rather than fresh. Remember, fresh mussels are stored for no more than two hours.
2. When choosing a product, carefully inspect the shells; purchase only whole shells without chips.
3. Smell. It should be pleasant, sea, iodine. If the mussels smell unpleasant or suspicious, refuse to purchase; they may have already spoiled or were not stored correctly.
4. The shells should be tight and open with serious effort; if you were able to open it without difficulty, then the seafood is stale.
5. If you purchase peeled shellfish meat, it should be beautiful in appearance and elastic; dried or shriveled specimens will be stale, and possibly even spoiled and then frozen.
6. The color of mussel meat should be light, almost white. If you see a yellow product in front of you, this will indicate that it has already been defrosted and re-frozen several times.

Defrosting the product

How to properly defrost mussels so that they retain their benefits?

To do this, pour cold water over frozen seafood so that all shells or meat are completely submerged. Next, you need to wait until the product defrosts, drain all the water from it, rinse, clean and you can start cooking.

On a note! After defrosting, mussels must be cooked immediately, since harmful microorganisms grow and multiply very quickly in this seafood. When fresh, that is, defrosted, shellfish and shellfish meat are stored for no more than 1.5-2 hours.

...frozen scallops

Scallops - it doesn’t matter whether they are just meat or along with the shell - need to be defrosted as delicately as possible. For scallops, there is one trick that is said to retain maximum juices inside: pour cold milk over the scallops and leave them in it until completely defrosted. I do not recommend cooking scallops directly from the freezer: although this is also an option, the surface of thawed scallops, it seems to me, is more susceptible to the formation of a golden brown crust, which means that it will be easier and more familiar for you to assess their readiness and find the right moment to remove the scallops from the heat .

Frozen Scallop Recipes

Fried scallop Scallops with bulgur Scallops with pumpkin and couscous Scallop tartare

How to clean mussels

There are several simple rules for cleaning mussels.

1. The first step is to defrost the product and throw away any cracked or open shells.
2. Next, the seafood is poured with hot, but not boiling water, so that the shells open.
3. The meat is removed using a knife (the shell is opened and the mussel is removed from it), then the existing algae is removed from it and washed under cold water to remove sand and other contaminants.

Mussels, how to cook frozen peeled mussels

Right now you will learn how to cook peeled frozen mussels, and how to cook seafood at home quickly and tasty. Below are some interesting recipes.

We will prepare a delicious and aromatic julienne of mussels and champignons. The dish turns out beautiful, festive, satisfying, filled with nutrients, and incredibly aromatic.

What ingredients will you need:

• — 250-300 gr. shellfish meat;
• - 300-350 ml. heavy cream;
• - 200 gr. fresh champignons;
• — 70-100 gr. cheese;
• - a piece (40-50 grams) of butter;
• — 30-40 gr. vegetable oil;
• - breadcrumbs half a glass;
• - a couple of tablespoons of wheat flour;
• - any spices for seafood.

How to cook frozen peeled mussels, recipe step by step.

1. Wash the champignons, cut into slices, fry in vegetable oil until tender (7-12 minutes).
2. If they are in the shell, clean the mussels and cook for 5, maximum 7 minutes in lightly salted water.
3. Heat the frying pan by adding a piece of butter. Add flour and fry until it acquires a caramel color.
4. Add spices, salt, cream to the flour and, stirring constantly, cook over low heat until the mixture thickens a little.
5. The resulting sauce, by the way, if desired, you can also add garlic to it, beat with a whisk until fluffy.
6. Take julienne pots or molds, grease them with butter or vegetable oil of your choice, and sprinkle the edges with breadcrumbs.
7. We put mushrooms in layers in molds, then mussels, fill all this beauty with sauce, and sprinkle grated cheese on top. By the way, in this case you can even use processed cheese, but with semi-hard varieties it turns out tastier.
8. We put our mussel dishes in a preheated oven and cook at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. The main thing here is that the cheese melts and browns.

The finished julienne is served in portions directly in the pots in which it was baked.

Helpful advice! Alternatively, the champignons for this dish can be fried with onions.

...frozen seafood cocktail

In general, a seafood cocktail is a mixture of various seafood, which usually includes squid, mussels and shrimp (in fact, the composition can be anything: sometimes I add octopus to this trinity, less often other seafood, since this increases the cost of the cocktail) - the idea is controversial. Different seafood requires different times and often different cooking methods. However, a frozen seafood cocktail can be prepared deliciously. To do this, you need to either defrost it and drain the liquid, or fry it directly from frozen in hot oil flavored with garlic. In the first case, fry the cocktail over high heat, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, in the second, focus on the liquid, which should completely evaporate. Of course, you cannot overload the pan, otherwise it will cool down, the seafood cocktail will begin to stew rather than fry, and as a result, the seafood will become rubbery.

How to Cook Frozen Mussels in the Sink

How to cook frozen mussels in shells is very simple, right now there is one such recipe that you will certainly like. The preparation requires a minimum of ingredients and a minimum of time, and the dish turns out to be very interesting and appetizing in appearance, as well as very tasty.

To prepare you will need:

• — Clams in shells – 2.5 kg.
• — Lemon – one small one.
• — Water – 1-1.2 l.
• - Salt and spices to taste.

How to prepare the shells:

1. Dip frozen shells in cool water for about 40 minutes, then brush on all sides and rinse. Be careful, if there are shells that are open or cracked, throw them away.
2. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a small saucepan or saucepan, add cold water, spices and salt to it, stir the liquid.
3. Place the shells in your lemon mixture, cover the pan with a lid, turn on medium heat and cook the clams for five minutes from the moment of boiling.
4. Carefully remove the opened shells to a plate.
5. Serve your mussels immediately after cooking. The top of the treat can be sprinkled with soy sauce or sprinkled with sweet paprika. In the middle you can place a lemon ring rolled into a tube and a tomato with a sprig of dill or parsley.

Mussels have a very rich, pleasant taste if you add dry white wine to the water instead of lemon. In this case, the ratio of wine and water should be one to one.

Mussels, how to cook frozen mussels in creamy sauce

For this mussel dish, seafood should be purchased in shells, and even the smallest specimens can be taken.

You will need to take:

• — Cream (from 25% fat content) – 300 ml.
• — Mussels, not peeled – 1 kg.
• - Bay leaf.
• — Hard cheese – 60-70 gr.
• — Soft cream cheese – 130 gr.
• - Garlic at your discretion.
• — Butter – 30 gr.
• — Pepper, any seasonings, herbs, salt.
• - A spoonful of flour.

How to cook frozen mussels in shells, step by step recipe:

1. Defrost the mussels, boil for five minutes, remove from hot water into a bowl and while we prepare the sauce, cover the food so that it does not cool down. Only opened shells are good; the rest should be thrown away.
2. Melt the butter in a frying pan, pour flour into it, fry for 5-7 minutes and then pour cream into this mixture.
3. Next, add soft cheese, chopped garlic and spices to the frying pan, mix everything and cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Grind the hard cheese, add it to the rest of the ingredients in the sauce, mix, cover with a lid and wait until it dissolves.
5. Open the mussels, pour the prepared hot sauce over them and you can serve them, garnished with chopped herbs or green sprigs of dill, for example. Rice is an excellent side dish for seafood prepared this way.

Ask the chef! Didn't manage to cook the dish? Don't be shy, ask me personally.Go

Octopuses

Large octopus must be defrosted before cooking.

How to clean

Rinse the defrosted octopus with cold water. Turn the carcass inside out, remove the entrails, ink sac and beak. Rinse again with water.

How to cook

Place the cleaned and gutted octopus into boiling water. Add salt at the very end of cooking, and choose other seasonings to taste. Often allspice, bay leaves, lemon slices, carrots, and celery stalks are added to the water. Cooking time depends on the size of the seafood. It may take from 5 to 30 minutes.

Fish&More baby octopuses cook much faster! They are already cleaned and do not need to be defrosted. Just pour boiling water over the carcasses and add to any dishes.

Where to add

Octopus can be served as an independent dish or as an ingredient for salads, risotto, and pasta.

Mussels, how to cook frozen mussels in shells in the oven

Ingredients:

• — Unpeeled mussels – 1.5 kg.
• — Tomatoes – 2 pcs.
• - Bread (dry), you can use breadcrumbs - 2-3 pieces.
• - A couple of garlic cloves.
• — Olive oil (vegetable) – 1.5 tablespoons.
• — Parsley, cloves, salt and pepper.

How to cook mussels in shells in the oven, step-by-step recipe:

1. Boil the shellfish meat until cooked, that is, until the shells open.
2. We transfer the finished shells to a plate, removing the top flap from them. As a result, the meat should be visible, it should lie on one part of the shell. Let the products cool.
3. Chop the parsley, add salt, pepper, cloves, grated peeled tomatoes, bread crumbs (grate the pieces of bread), vegetable or olive oil, mix. Attention! If your mixture is too thick, you can dilute it a little with boiled water.
4. Grease a baking sheet with oil, place all your shells evenly on it, cover each one with a spoonful of the resulting tomato mixture.
5. Bake the dish for 12 minutes at 180 degrees. Immediately after baking, serve the seafood on the table, placing it on a beautiful large dish and sprinkling it with herbs on top.

How to cook frozen mussels with shell

Another great, quick and easy recipe for cooking frozen mussels in shells.

To prepare we take:

• — Shellfish meat in shells – 1.5-2 kg.
• — A small head of garlic (you can take granulated).
• — The lemon is small.
• — A bunch of parsley.
• — Butter – 50-70 gr.
• - Half a glass of heavy cream.
• - Spices.

How to cook mussels in shells, step by step instructions:

1. Boil the shells in water mixed with lemon juice and salt. As soon as the doors open, it’s time to take out the product.
2. Place the finished seafood in a frying pan, removing the top of the shell from each mussel.
3. Pour in a third of a glass of water, add oil, spices and heat your food in this mixture for about a minute.
4. Squeeze the garlic into the pan with seafood, add cream to the mixture, cover everything with a lid and simmer until the sauce thickens.
5. When the cream thickens, transfer the mussels to a dish and serve hot.
6. You can pour the sauce remaining in the pan on top of the shell, mixing it with any chopped herbs, in particular parsley.

You can add tomato, chopped into pieces, but without the skin, into the sauce. It turns out very tasty and beautiful when served.

An exquisite delicacy for health and benefit

Along with such popular seafood as fish meat, shrimp and crabs, shellfish are included in the list of the healthiest food products and are recognized as dietary food by specialists in proper and healthy nutrition around the world.

The exceptional value of seafood is due to their high nutritional value, excellent digestibility, as well as the presence in them of a huge amount of macro- and microelements useful for the human body.

Modern nutritionists often use a conditional division of foods into complete and incomplete protein. A food product that contains the entire set of amino acids that are essential for the human body is called a complete protein.

A product that contains only part of the essential amino acids is considered an incomplete protein. Mussels and their habitat neighbors are complete protein foods. At the same time, shellfish have a fairly low calorie content in comparison with such protein sources as beef, chicken and sea fish, and therefore are recommended as a dietary dish for those who want to lose weight without compromising their health.

Comparative characteristics of these products are given in the table.

Table 1. Comparison of the energy value of products - sources of animal protein.

In addition to its exceptional nutritional value, mussel meat includes B vitamins, and the content of vitamin B12 in 100 grams of shellfish meat exceeds the daily norm three times, vitamins A, C, E, D3, as well as nicotinic acid PP.

Mussels are rich in sodium, phosphorus and choline, their consumption has a positive effect on the functioning of the thyroid gland, and due to the increased amount of selenium, these bivalves are considered a natural antioxidant and immunostimulant.

Mussels in tomato sauce

The dish turns out to be spicy, incredibly appetizing in appearance, and very tasty.

You will need to take:

• - 1 kg. mussels;
• - 4 cloves of garlic;
• — Tomato sauce (you can use ketchup or fresh tomatoes) – 200 ml.
• — Lemon (juice of half a small citrus).
• - 3 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil.
• — Parsley, seasonings.

How to prepare a seafood treat:

1. We peel the garlic, chop it finely along with the herbs, wash the shells well, clean them, put them in a frying pan, fill them with water, and cook until they open. We dilute the tomato paste with water; there is no need to dilute the ketchup. If you took fresh tomatoes, you will need to grind them through a meat grinder, after removing the skin.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add garlic and spices, and fry.
3. Add the tomato mixture, the juice of half a small lemon and chopped parsley to the browned garlic and mix. If desired, for a more spicy and piquant taste, we recommend adding chopped chili pepper to the sauce.
4. As soon as the tomato sauce begins to boil, add your seafood to it (only the opened shells). Simmer over low heat for several minutes (3-5).

As soon as the treat is ready, it is served hot on the table straight from the frying pan with or without any side dish of your choice.

Shrimps

Thanks to its subtle, elegant taste, shrimp pair well with a wide variety of ingredients. The range of their culinary uses is very wide and can only be limited by your imagination.

How to clean

Small-sized shrimps, such as northern ones, can be easily peeled by hand. First, tear off the head, and then, starting from the upper part of the body, remove the shell plates. Hook the intestinal vein with the tip of the knife and pull with your fingers. Use only a well-sharpened knife, as a dull knife can damage tender meat.

Kitchen scissors are useful for peeling large shrimp, such as Argentine shrimp. Also remove the head with your fingers, then cut the shell along the back with scissors and remove it along with the legs. Hook the intestinal vein and gently pull it out.

In order not to peel the shrimp yourself, you can purchase already peeled king prawns without a tail at Fish&More. You just need to defrost them.

How to cook

Please note that boiled-frozen shrimp do not need to be cooked, because they are already cooked. It is enough to defrost such seafood and serve it on ice or scald it with hot broth with spices to warm it and add additional flavor.

It is best to cook raw frozen shrimp unpeeled, as this makes them more tender. In addition, if you accidentally overdo it with salt, the shell will absorb it, not the meat.

If you peeled the shrimp before cooking, do not discard the heads and shells, but make a broth with them. This will be a great base for soup!

To boil 1 kg of shrimp, take 2 liters of water. Rinse defrosted seafood. Bring water to a boil, add 1 tbsp. l. salt and bay leaf. If desired, add fresh herbs, black peppercorns, lemon slices and ginger root to the broth. Depending on the size of the shrimp, cook for 2 to 5 minutes. Read the cooking time recommendations on the package carefully. The shrimp are ready when they become brighter in color and take the shape of the letter C.

Drain the broth, and then, to prevent the shrimp from continuing to cook from their own heat, immerse them in cold water. Drain in a colander and serve.

How to fry

It is advisable to peel small shrimp before frying, but large ones can be fried directly in the shell.

Thawed seafood should be pre-rinsed with water and dried with a paper towel. Next, place in a single layer on a preheated frying pan and fry over medium heat, stirring, until golden brown.

Where to add

Small shrimp are most often added to appetizers, salads, omelets and frittatas. King prawns are suitable for soups, pasta, risotto. Langoustines and tiger shrimps are good to grill or grill.

How to eat mussels, video

Mussel dishes are quite popular in the world, but not everyone knows how to properly eat this seafood delicacy.

1. Everything in mussels is edible except the shells. It doesn’t matter whether the product is baked, boiled or fried.
2. Before eating this exotic seafood delicacy, you need to cook it, then remove the meat from the shell, and then you can dip it in some kind of sauce or simply eat it ready-made without sauce.
3. It is important to consume cooked mussels fresh, without leaving them to be stored for the next day or for a week. Remember, stale seafood can lead to serious poisoning.
4. You can eat the seafood delicacy with a fork, spoon or chopsticks. Here everything will depend on your preferences.

Before purchasing seafood, remember that mussels can cause allergies, and therefore it is not recommended for allergy sufferers and people with blood clotting problems to consume shellfish meat.

Now you know absolutely everything about mussels, how to cook frozen mussels, clean them, and serve them. All that remains is to purchase seafood and surprise your household or guests with a wonderful, tasty and most importantly healthy treat.

For dietary nutrition

Seafood is rich in vitamins and high in protein, but remains low in calories. We have prepared a table to compare the CBJU (C - calories; B - proteins; F - fats; C - carbohydrates) of chicken breast, turkey and some seafood.

Comparative table of KBZHU chicken, turkey and seafood

The table shows that the calorie content of seafood is lower than that of chicken breast, and the BCFA of shrimp is almost the same as that of turkey, so seafood is considered ideal for the diet menu. With their help, it is easy to diversify dishes by replacing boring poultry with something more original. You can find quality seafood in the Fish&More catalog.

If you are on a diet, remember that the presence of low-calorie foods does not automatically make the food low-calorie. Much depends on the method of preparation, dressing, etc. To ensure that the dish is dietary, follow these recommendations:

• seafood and other ingredients should be boiled rather than fried because the oil needed for frying is very high in calories;
• the dish will not be dietary if you use heavy cream, sour cream, mayonnaise or sweet sauces for cooking; use lemon juice or balsamic vinegar instead;
• the amount of oil for dressing salads and other dishes should be moderate; adjust it taking into account the desired calorie content.