For the longest time, mussels seemed like an impossible entree to tackle. Where do you source the mussels? What if you overcook them? Aren’t they expensive? Since I had never actually had them in anyone else’s home, I assumed that mussels were a “special occasion” type meal, on the same level as prime rib, tomahawk steak, lobster, and Beef Wellington.
It wasn’t until recently as I was casually perusing the seafood section at Costco, that I decided to take a leap and try to make mussels for myself. At only $14.99/ 3lbs, making a run at cooking mussels at home became my moral responsibility.
What resulted was an eye-opening journey of how easy it is to make mussels in your own home. With a few pantry staples and some flavoured liquid, you too can walk amongst the culinary titans and conquer the not-so-insurmountable mountain of mussels.
Ingredients
• 3lbs mussels
• 5 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 1/2 cup flavoured liquid (white wine is classic)
• 1/2 cup parsley
• pepper to taste
Method
- Wash your mussels to remove sand, grit, and discard any broken ones
– This is an important step. If it is ignored, you’ll end up have a mouthful of grit in the soup/mussel juice at the end. - Mince garlic
– Everything happens pretty quickly, so you want to be efficient - Melt butter in a big, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat and add garlic and chilli flakes
- Once garlic is golden brown, add mussels and wine. Then quickly cover
– You want to trap the steam, as this is what is going to cook your mussels - Let steam for 5-7 minutes
- If majority of shells are opened, add parsley and pepper
- Serve with crusty bread or flatbread and enjoy!
It’s really that easy! There’s really no sense in paying upwards of $20, if it takes only 5-7 mins to make at home! If you want to make it more interesting, you could always add chorizo, bacon, lemon, or smoked paprika to make it interesting! This is the most basic base recipe so feel free to put your own spin or take on it!
Quick Tips for “Mussels at Home” Success
1. Wash your mussels
It’s important to make sure wash the grit and sand off your mussels (because who wants to eat that). But two, you want to try to discard any broken mussels in the bunch
2. No peaking!
It might be tempting to see what’s happening inside there, but the more that you open it up, the more you’ll allow the steam to escape. You don’t want that
3. If the mussels remain closed, they’re gonna taste gross
If the mussels don’t open up after their time in the garlic/butter steam room, that means they were dead to begin with. If they’re dead, that’s going to be no bueno if you decide to eat it.
4. White wine is king
Yes, this dish will work perfectly fine if you use other cooking liquids like chicken stock, vegetable stock etc. They will accomplish what needs to be done – steaming. However, if you use something as robust as a beef broth, the beef flavour will likely overpower the flavour of the seafood, and then you’ll be kicking yourself for wasting your money.
The reason why white wine works the best is because of it’s acidity and fruity notes. It pairs beautifully with the salty, sea flavour of the mussels, contrasting and adding complexity to an otherwise simple dish. So if you can, I’d opt for wine.
thecultureofcookery.com 