French Steamed Mussels in a delicious white wine and garlic cream broth is a versatile seafood dish filled with flavour. Moules Marinières — a delicious piece of France.
Infused with rich flavours of a perfect, buttery broth with a hint of garlic, wine and parsley, French steamed mussels are ready in less than 20 minutes. Easy to make, mussels can be served as a meal with pasta and a simple side salad, OR as an appetizer with fresh or crusty bread. A modern twist on a classic recipe!
MUSSELS
A Provençal style of cooking, steamed mussels gives you tender mussels simmered in white wine, butter and garlic cream broth. A classy touch, perfect for special gatherings or dinner parties, the quality of the ingredients you’re using makes a big difference.
- Buy the best mussels (1 pound or 500g of mussels per person for a main meal, or half that as an appetizer).
- Good quality butter.
- A dry white wine you would drink yourself (our favourite wines to use are a Pinot Grigio/Gris, Suave Blanc or Chardonnay).
- Fresh parsley, onions and garlic.
Steamed Mussels are a true seafood delicacy! Much like Shrimp Scampi, or Lobster Tails.
BUYING MUSSELS:
Make sure you buy live mussels from a reputable seafood store. They should have a light sea fragrance, but not smell too fishy. Take them out of their packaging when you get them home and store them in a bowl. Drain any excess liquid from the bottom of the bowl and cover with a damp paper towel. Do not add any extra water to mussels as it can kill them.
HOW TO CLEAN MUSSELS
The most important step to preparing mussels is to clean them just before cooking:
LIGHTLY RINSE each mussel under running water, using your fingers to clean them of any excess dirt .
SCRAPE shells LIGHTLY with a knife, or use a brush to scrub them (if you have one).
PULL the fibrous brown string (beard/byssal thread) coming out from the side of the shell towards the hinge and out of the shell. Some mussels may already be cleaned in the batch.
Note: Mussels with only be alive for a short period of time once the byssal thread is removed. Cook immediately after cleaning.
HOW TO COOK STEAMED MUSSELS
Steaming mussels is one of the easiest and fastest ways to cook shellfish. Save some money and make this restaurant quality dish at home!
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until softened, (about 5 minutes).
Add the mussels, wine, cream, butter, and parsley, salt and pepper.
Mix well, cover pot with a lid and cook until mussels are cooked through and opened, about 10 minutes. The cooked mussels add their own flavour to the broth while steaming.
Serve steamed mussels along with the juices in the pan to dip bread or garlic bread.
You could also add in red chili flakes or Cayenne pepper for a heat kick.
TIPS FOR STEAMED MUSSELS
- Check your steamed mussels about 5-6 minutes into cooking, stirring to distribute the ingredients and then cover again to cook for a few more minutes. Once the mussels open they are ready to eat.
- Do not overcook as they become tough.
- Unopened shells can be removed before serving.
MORE SEAFOOD RECIPES
Creamy Shrimp Alfredo with Bacon
Butter Seared Lobster Tails
Firecracker Salmon
Pan Seared Fish With Tomatoes & Olives
Lobster Bisque
Tuscan Shrimp
French Mussels
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 pounds 1kg mussels, cleaned
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- Salt and cracked black pepper to season
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until softened, (about 5 minutes).
- Add the mussels, wine, cream, butter, and parsley. Season well with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Mix well, cover pot with a lid and cook until mussels are cooked through and opened, about 12-15 minutes.
- Serve mussels along with the juices in the pan with crusty or garlic bread.
Jay says
WOW, this was incredible! I made the recipe exactly as is, except for grating a little parmesan on top before serving. This was my first time making mussels and it was so easy, but tasted restaurant quality!!
Craig says
Out of the ballpark with this one Karina! Absolutely decadent. I’ve had fresh mussels in excellent restaurants on both the east and west coast and Greece to boot. Never had better than this.
Used frozen mussels (this is Phoenix and fresh shellfish is a little tough to come by). Happened to have some in the freezer and was looking for something different to do with them. As I do regularly, checked your site to see if you had something to try. Fortunately. Used a loaf of home made Cibatta as a sponge to soak up the juices.
Don’t know what else I can say. Just plain wow! Thank you for another triumph.