Mussels on the Grill

Farmed mussels are sustainable, clean, sweet and inexpensive. I think it's the best cheap dinner you can prepare!. This can be a great starter for a meal or the meal itself. Our recipe is for a meal. You can use heavy duty foil to make a pouch or as I found, it's easier to use a foil pan and cover that with foil. Mussel should be hand picked when buying (don't buy them pre bagged), kept cold, and are best used the day you buy them. Open mussels should be discarded. Sometimes mussels will open up if left alone for some time, but squeeze each open one first and you will see them close which means that they are alive and healthy. A quick rinse and you are ready to cook them.

  • When cooking mussels, leave enough room in your cooking vessel for them to open and expand. If they are tightly packed they will not open.

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds live mussels, rinsed

  • 1 1/2 cups dry white wine

  • 2 cups red pepper, julienned

  • 2 cups yellow pepper, julienned

  • 1 cup shallots, thinly sliced

  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme

  • 4 tablespoons fresh garlic, finely chopped

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 2 teaspoons black pepper(or crushed red pepper flakes for spicy)

  • one large foil pan, heavy foil to cover 

Directions

  • Combine all ingredients in large bowl, toss and mix well. Add all to foil pan, cover with heavy duty foil and poke a couple of holes in top to vent.

  • Cook over medium heat for 14 to 16 minutes, shaking a couple of time to stir ingredients. Remove lid carefully and check to be sure they are open. if not cover and cook a couple more minutes.

  • Serve directly from the pan with some crusty bread for sopping up the juice.

  • Serves four people. Enjoy!

SHELLFISH, APPETIZERSDirk FucikMUSSELS, Small Plates