Zesty Steamed Mussels
For the longest time, I thought I didn't like mussels. They always seemed to be a bit gritty, rubbery, and weirdly flavoured. That all changed when I went to Spain for my first time and tried fresh mussels on paella where I learned that properly cooked, mussels were tender, juicy, and incredibly flavourful.
When preparing mussels, do NOT use frozen mussels. For the best result, they must be fresh and alive. It's very important to make sure that all the mussels you use are live when they go into the pot. The way to tell is they must be tightly closed. If they are not, give them a few firm taps on the counter top. If they close up, they are alive and useable. If they remain open, the mussel is dead and must be discarded.
If you can, use farmed mussels. I get mine from PEI. They are sustainable and bred on ropes so you won't have any issue with having to purge sand out of them. All you need to do is de-beard them. The method for doing so can be found in many instructional YouTube videos and it's quite simple.
Zesty Steamed Mussels
For the longest time, I thought I didn't like mussels. They always seemed to be a bit gritty, rubbery, and weirdly flavoured. That all changed when I went to Spain for my first time and tried fresh mussels on paella where I learned that properly cooked, mussels were tender, juicy, and incredibly flavourful.
When preparing mussels, do NOT use frozen mussels. For the best result, they must be fresh and alive. It's very important to make sure that all the mussels you use are live when they go into the pot. The way to tell is they must be tightly closed. If they are not, give them a few firm taps on the counter top. If they close up, they are alive and useable. If they remain open, the mussel is dead and must be discarded.
If you can, use farmed mussels. I get mine from PEI. They are sustainable and bred on ropes so you won't have any issue with having to purge sand out of them. All you need to do is de-beard them. The method for doing so can be found in many instructional YouTube videos and it's quite simple.
Cooking Instructions
- 1
Prepare the mussels for cooking as described in the recipe description above. To reiterate: it is VERY important to ensure that all of your mussels are alive before cooking. Any dead mussels should be discarded.
- 2
Place the diced bacon into a cold, large pot and turn on the heat to medium. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Starting the pan cold and adding the drizzle of olive oil will help the bacon render its fat and become crispy. Fry the bacon until it is about halfway cooked.
- 3
Before the bacon gets crispy, add the shallot and garlic and stir in well. You don't want to add these any sooner or they will burn.
- 4
Once the bacon is well and truly crispy, add in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.
- 5
Once combined, pour the mussels into the pot and ensure they are spread as evenly across the pot as possible. Pour the white wine over the mussels. The wine should touch every mussel in the pot though they do not need to actually be covered. You're steaming them; not boiling them.
- 6
Cover the pot tightly with the lid and allow to cook for about a minute to a minute and a half until all of the mussels have popped open. If there are any mussels which have not opened, these should be discarded but make sure you at least give them the chance. The mussels are cooked as soon as they open. Continuing to cook once they've opened will result in rubbery mussels.
- 7
Give the mussels a quick but gentle stir to make sure that they're all coated in the broth. Pour into a serving bowl with all the broth and top with grated parmesan. Serve immediately with bread to use for mopping up the broth.
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