Mussels

Bought me a bag of Mussels last night

2 lb fresh Mussels
~ 1 bunch flat leaf Parlsley coarsely chopped
3 to 4 sprigs fresh Oregano finely chopped
6 to 7 medium cloves Garlic finely minced
Olive oil
Butter (unsalted preferably)
Salt
1 lemon rolled and then halved

In a braising pan or large pot, heat 2 Tbs Olive Oil over low heat. Add the garlic, herbs and about 3 Tbs butter until they begin to release their aroma. Meanwhile rinse the mussels and discard any that won't close tightly. Add the Mussels to the pot, sprinkle them with salt and cover. Let them gently steam for about 5 to 7 minutes, peek every once-in-a-while to see if they have opened. The moment they have all opened, remove from the heat and squeeze the lemon over the tops of the mussels.

Serve immediately with a warm Batard or Baguette. Use the bread to sop up all the wonderful sauce that results from the Mussels opening. I had some cheese (Brillat Savarin at room temperature) on the side, any soft ripened cheese would be nice.

Serve with La Fin du Monde .

Looks Yummy. We used to do this when i was a kid... I grew up where we could just pick Mussels out of the water, clean, cook, and eat. Yum... Sometimes we put over pasta.... sometimes with bread. Another good addition is dry white wine...

I make some PHENOMEMAL (if I do say so myself) Thai/Asian-flavored mussels. No specific reciepe, it depends on what I can get my hands on. A little sake, some lime juice, fish oil, cilantro, onion, garlic, shallots, carrots, chilis (roasted, ideally), coconut milk, lemongrass or lemongrass oil... I usually have about twelve or fifteen different ingredients. Basically make a sauce that I steam the mussels in. When it comes out best, it's got a great balance of heat and spice from the chilis with some sweetness from the coconut, and some gorgeous salty, savory undertones from the fish sauce, and the cilantro just gives a great freshness to the dish that I love (cilantro is the dryhopping of cuisine).

EDIT: Lime zest, in addition to the lime juice. Oh, and ginger.

MMMmmm, The only thing better than well prepared mussels is well prepared mussels with BEER!

Steamed Mussels with Hennepin (or a good homebrewed Belgian) and Ginger

2 Tbsp. butter
2 oz. bacon, finely chopped
1 cup scallions, finely chopped
½ cup celery, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
4 pounds mussels, thoroughly cleaned and bearded
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1½ cups Hennepin
¾ cup heavy cream (optional)
2 Tbsp. finely minced fresh cilantro or parsley

Melt the butter in a large pot (with lid). Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the scallions, celery and ginger and simmer, stirring, for another 3 minutes. Add the mussels, flavor with a generous grinding of black pepper. Pour the beer and the cream over the mussels and cover the pot tightly. Bring to a boil over high heat and steam the mussels in the covered pot until they all open, 3 to 6 minutes, depending on their size. Shake the pot vigorously a few times to toss the mussels with the buttery vegetables and to allow them to open. Discard any mussels that remain closed. Divide the hot mussels into soup plates along with the broth. Garnish with the minced cilantro or parsley. Serve with a generous portion of “Belgian fries” or bread, and Hennepin.

Serves 4


**Adjustments: I highly recommend pouring the entire bottle of Hennepin over the mussels--no need to stop at 1 and a 1/2 cups. Make sure you buy extra bottles to have with dinner, of course.

It's kind of funny because:

The first thing was running through my mind...maybe over Angelhair, but I wanted the rustic easy touch of just the bread.

Second thing was: Maybe do Thai Style...but I just made a yellow fish curry with eggplant over the weekend.

Third was: I didn't want to use wine or beer because I just wanted the simple broth from the Mussels themselves.

I think it is interesting the responses and just the thought processes I went through last night when I was making my way through the store. Started watching "Pan's Labrinth" with it...I got sleepy though, just because I have been 'under the weather' so to speak..yuk.

All are great suggestions/ideas/methods though.

Mussels are one of those things that every once in a while I just gotta get a bag. SWMBO went to visit her parents for a few days and she doesn't really dig Mussels so I figured it was a good idea.

The sweetness of the Mussels and the Fin du Monde were an incredible pairing. I could definitely see something like Hennepin along as well.

mussels and Belgians = heaven!

You guys suck. I wish I could get mussels that were anywhere close to fresh.

Cheesefood said:

You guys suck. I wish I could get mussels that were anywhere close to fresh.

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I actually don't make them very often anymore because it's tougher to get good ones out here than where I used to live (which had a Whole Foods nearby). I was at the crappy local supermarket down the street, and they were selling mussels - wrapped up tightly under plastic wrap

JESUS, they have to breathe, man!

Cheesefood said:

You guys suck. I wish I could get mussels that were anywhere close to fresh.

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The seafood we get here in central PA is ok, but there is still quite a difference from say living on the coast. It all depends on the store I have found. At Wegman's here, it was almost 6 bucks but there were maybe 5 bad ones out of the whole bag, they have a good way of doing business and their fish is brought in fresh all the time. I have bought them from Giant market where literally half the bag was shot. I paid less, but not really in the end. So I am leary of some places anymore.

the_bird said:

I was at the crappy local supermarket down the street, and they were selling mussels - wrapped up tightly under plastic wrap

JESUS, they have to breathe, man!

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What a bunch of retards . That's like putting your beer out in the sun.

Don't forget the Frites!!!! I went through the trouble last year to render up some beef lard to use in my deep fryer to cook up some proper fries. I've got the lard saved in the fridge as it should be good for a couple more batches. I'll have to make some for a cook out this summer.

Of course, you still have to have the bread to sop up the juices. Swap out the parsley in the recipe for cilantro, and add some bay leaves and you'd have the Portuguese version!

I've also had them in a cream based suce with blue cheese that was quite good.

Allow me to share a simple but delicious Mussels recipe.

Moules A La Gueuze

4 1/2 lbs mussels
1/2 stick butter
2 sticks celery (diced)
6 shallots (diced)
1 1/4 cups Gueuze

...and of course, as mentioned above, a large plate of frites is the traditional accompaniment

pjj2ba said:

Don't forget the Frites!!!! I went through the trouble last year to render up some beef lard to use in my deep fryer to cook up some proper fries. I've got the lard saved in the fridge as it should be good for a couple more batches. I'll have to make some for a cook out this summer.

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Yeah most people cringe at the idea...but there really is no substitute unless you are like McDonalds and add the flavoring agent that mimics the flavor of Beef Tallow.