When Wyoming Game and Fish recently discovered more than 500,000 invasive zebra mussels on a boat lift, officials aggressively eradicated them.
For good reason.
Wyoming and other states are desperate to avoid the scourge of invasive zebra mussels. If they ever establish themselves in the Cowboy State’s waterways, they could cost the state billions, destroy local ecosystems and be nearly impossible to remove.
When they are found, why don’t people eat them?
You could, Wyoming chefs tell Cowboy State Daily. But you probably wouldn’t want to.
Mussels are delicacies throughout the world, but not exactly zebra mussels. They might be palatable to Wyomingites, but that doesn’t mean they’d be safe or tasty for the dinner table.
“Zebra mussels can be cooked and consumed, but I don't think it'll be worth the potential digestive issues that may follow,” said Cheyenne chef Petrina Peart.
The How’s
Earlier this month, aquatic invasive species (AIS) specialists with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Casper office cleaned more than a half-million zebra mussels off a boat lift that had been at the Lewis and Clark Recreation Area in South Dakota.
The AIS specialists overkilled the mussels, ensuring none survived to get their DNA into Wyoming’s waters, which remain free of the invasive bivalve mollusks. The mussels were scalded with hot water, but if for whatever reason someone wanted to, how might they be cooked?
“Mussels have to be harvested from clean and uncontaminated waters and cooked thoroughly,” Peart said. “Lots of butter, lemon and fresh herbs couldn't hurt, but there could still be potentially harmful bacteria.”
Piper Fennimore, a chef and author of the gluten-free cookbook “Seriously Delish,” has several recipes for mussels. She’s aware of many recipes that make liberal use of wine.
“Wine is used in mussel recipes to help kill bacteria,” she said. “It also happens to be delicious.”
One of Fennimore’s recipes calls for white wine, parsley, garlic, shallot, olive oil, fresh bread and two pounds of “fresh edible mussels, scrubbed and debearded.”
If that’s making your mouth water for zebra mussels, it shouldn’t. Take it from the chef.
“This is a general, basic recipe for mussels,” Fennimore said. “I would discourage people from eating zebra mussels.”
The Why You Wouldn’t Want To’s
Zebra mussels aren’t true mussels. They’re more closely related to clams, but that’s a distinction for biologists to digest.
Mussels and clams are filter feeders, siphoning plankton and other microscopic creatures floating in the water. Freshwater mussels are important bio-indicators, as their presence and health reflect the overall health of their ecosystem.
Because they’re constantly filtering water, mussels retain a lot of the harmful bacteria they remove from it. That’s a cautionary tale for mussel consumption overall, not just invasive zebra mussels.
“I reached out to a Lakota Indian chief to get a native take on mussel consumption,” Fennimore said. “He said today’s streams are just too toxic to consider consuming mussels.”
It’s easier to find composting instructions than recipes for zebra mussels. That’s a telling sign of their culinary potential.
Peart said mussels must be cooked thoroughly to reduce the risks associated with their consumption. Nobody wants a garnish of freshwater toxins on their mussel meal.
“Freshwater mussels consume plankton and with it any toxins that are present in the water,” she said. “They make for great water filtration but may not make for a great Amuse Bouche.”
Hold The Iguana
Invasive species like the prickly Russian thistle and New Zealand mud snail thrive in Wyoming because they have no natural predators or anything that can safely consume them.
Human consumption is one way to counter invasive species, as Peart discovered during a visit to the Cayman Islands.
“The green iguana is an invasive species in the Cayman Islands,” she said. “They have created dishes and cuisine around the efforts to eradicate destructive invasive iguana species by turning them into something mainstream.”
Green iguanas are much larger than zebra mussels, another reason they wouldn’t make for a good meal. The largest zebra mussels only get around 2 inches wide, so you’d need a lot of mature mussels to make a decent meal.
Peart can see why someone would consider eating zebra mussels “from a problem-solving standpoint,” but that’s a terrible reason to give them a home in Wyoming. Peart has no plans to add them to her menu.
“I won't lie — I skipped the iguana soup while in the Cayman Islands, and I'll probably skip the zebra mussels too,” she said.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
