10 lbs. of mussels

Amy · **Posted:** Fri Feb 22, 2013 6:31 pm

My best (and only) fishmonger just sold me 10 lbs. of mussels at wholesale. I'm making some for dinner tonight in white wine and garlic, and I'm making a fish stew tomorrow, but would love to hear your ideas.

Amy

pepperhead212 · **Joined:** Fri Dec 19, 2008 7:58 pm **Posts:** 1206

A friend brought over 3 lbs of mussels last week, and I remembered a recent recipe from bon appétit, which sounded good, so I made it: Spaghetti with Mussels and White Beans. Turned out really good; though I had more mussels than it called for, that never hurt a recipe like that! I may have increased the pepper flakes a little, too.

May be too similar to what you just made, but I wanted to share this.

Here's another I have made for years, with a little heat in it:

Spicy Mussels or Clams Thai Style

1 cup(s) dry white wine; OR 3/4 c vermouth
1/2 tb fish sauce
1/2 tb soy sauce
2 tb cilantro (fresh); coarsely chopped
1 stalk lemongrass; julienned
1-2 superchiles or serranos, thinly sliced
1 large shallot; thinly sliced
1 large scallion; thinly sliced
1 clove(s) garlic; thinly sliced
1 1/2 lbs mussels; cleaned

Combine all ingredients in a 3-4 qt sauté pan and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 3 min., shaking a few times, and remove any mussels that have opened to serving dishes. Cover and cook 4 min. longer, and discard any unopened mussels, and distribute the good ones to 3-4 soup bowls. Ladle the broth evenly over the mussels and serve with french bread or rolls, to soak up the liquid.

Option: Clams may be subtituted or used half and half with the mussels.

wino · **Posted:** Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:07 am

Amy - This is my variation on a dish I had in old Quebec. Mine's better! :roll:

Fear not, no calories will be lost by eating this dish! :twisted:

Quote:

Mussels with White Wine Sauce & Parmesan
(Copyright 2007 by Bill Oehler, Regina, Saskatchewan)

(serves 2 as a meal or 4-6 as an appetizer)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs (1 kilo) mussels (or clams)
• 2 T rendered bacon fat
• 1 large white onion, finely chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped & then mashed
• 1 T white all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups white wine (oaked chardonnay preferred, (i.e., Lindeman’s Bin 65)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream (35% fat)
• ¼ cup parmesan (ground)
• 4 T fresh parsley or chervil
• 1 loaf of fresh French bread, sliced or torn

(Recipe can be doubled)

Preparation:

The key aspect of this recipe is to end up with a sauce that is thicker than water and contains big flavors though not so much as to overpower the mussels. Thus, the reduced wine adds flavor not more liquid; similarly the heavy cream versus half & half or milk. The final trick that prevents this from being too thick is adding the mussels and covering the pan. As they cook, the mussels release their juices and this keeps the sauce at the correct consistency once you perform the final stir.

1. Start wine in a separate wide pan or skillet (the wider the pan, the quicker the evaporation) at the same time that you begin cleaning the mussels or when you begin to cook the onions. To retain the maximum flavor of the wine, it must be heated at the lowest possible temperature that maintains a simmer. Reduce wine to ½ cup (approximately 15-20 minutes, re-measure frequently) and set aside. (750 ml takes about 30 min.)

2. While the wine is reducing, wash mussels in large bowl using cold water, scrubbing vigorously with brush and change water several times, de-beard mussels, and discard any that are cracked or open. Some open ones are still alive and will close with the scrubbing, so make your decision after scrubbing, not before. If they don’t close, they are dead and must be discarded. Drain and set aside.

3. Melt bacon fat over medium-high heat in a large pan with lid (i.e., soup pot, saucier pan). Do not let it smoke!
4. Add onions and cook for approximately 5-10 min. depending upon your preference. If you cook to the minimum, onions will stay white, while to the maximum time they will start to turn brown. Each flavor is good but different.

5. Just prior to finishing onions, add garlic and cook for 30 sec.

6. Stir in flour with wooden spoon until it is combined thoroughly.

7. Add cream and parmesan and continue cooking on medium heat until the mixture starts to boil.

8. Add wine and stir until combined thoroughly.

9. Add mussels, stir in thoroughly, turn heat to high, and cover for 2-3 minutes, but no more as they will toughen.

10. Remove lid, stir thoroughly, remove all mussels that remain closed (they are dead and must not be eaten), add parsley and stir once more.

Serve in large communal bowl, with French bread on the side.

gardnercook · **Posted:** Sat Feb 23, 2013 12:14 pm

Amy
Le Central in Denver serves a variety of mussels and never ending frites. My favorite is the blue cheese one, which seems like your recipe, but with blue cheese instead of parm.
Have fun,

Amy · **Posted:** Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:54 am

I love all of these ideas!

I made mussels in wine, cream and garlic two nights in a row as I didn't have some of the ingredients for the above recipes, and as we just got two feet of snow wasn't going to venture out.

Yesterday I knew I needed to use up a whack of them before they started to die, so I made a big vat of mussel chowder. A great way to use up about five pounds of them.

But, I'll be trying some of these recipes soon.

Thanks,

Amy

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10 lbs. of mussels

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