The Timing Tip To Keep In Mind When Steaming Mussels

There are a lot of delicious proteins out there that people overlook when cooking at home. You shouldn't be scared of things you might typically only see in a restaurant, though; with a little know-how and a willingness to learn, you can make something delicious and restaurant-quality from the comfort of your own home. One great example of this is mussels, those delicious little bivalves in distinctive elongated black shells (in contrast to the gray, more rounded shells of clams). But what do you need to know to properly cook mussels? How can you get them right while making them at home?

When it comes to these little guys, timing is everything. Mussels are unusual in that they don't all cook at the same rate, so you can't just set them and forget them like you might with a lot of foods. Heck, you can't even set a timer and just take them out when it rings — you have to pay a lot more attention than that. After you pop them in the pot, be prepared to watch them until they open, and you'll ensure they come out with an enviably tender texture.

Watch the mussels carefully in brief time intervals

There's no two ways about it: Mussels can be finicky little beasts. You may have heard that mussels generally cook in 5-7 minutes, and this is usually true — but you don't want to wait five minutes when you're steaming them. The most important thing with mussels is to stop cooking them as soon as they're done, because they're very susceptible to overcooking. Fortunately, mussels are one of the easiest proteins to check for doneness: If they're opened, they're done. It's as simple as that.

After about three minutes, lift the lid off the pot and check if any of the mussels are opened. Remove these mussels and set them aside, then put the lid back on and keep cooking. Keep checking the pot every minute and removing any that have opened. If you cook mussels this way, you should eventually be able to get all of them to open up without wasting any.

Mussels open pre-cooking might still be alive

You may be wondering, "What if the shells are already open when I start cooking?" You've probably heard that this means they're dead, and thus, you shouldn't eat them because they will have spoiled in transit; shellfish need to be alive when or shortly before you cook them. To an extent, that's true — mussels with open shells are more likely to be dead. But it's not necessarily always the case.

Sometimes, mussels that are still alive will just happen to open their shells. Fortunately, there's a very easy way to test this: Tap the shell with your finger or on the side of a bowl. A mussel that's still alive will close up in response. If it doesn't, chuck it in the trash.

Cooking mussels is like cooking any other type of food — you have to pay attention and time it right. It's just that when it comes to shellfish in general, timing is super important. Keep an eye on those shells, and you at least won't have to question whether you've cooked them too much or too little.