When I first began cooking professionally mussels arrived in the kitchen stuck together, a mass of nasty, knuckle-bashing barnacles and other sea debris that needed to be scraped off. Next came purging to remove the grit inside each mussel. Then the beards (the clump of threads that attach the mussels to what they grow on). These needed to be ripped from each shell, then each tapped to be sure it was still alive. If the shells began to move and close up tight they were good. Finally, you had to push the two shells on each mussel in opposite directions. If they held together all could proceed; if they fell apart in your hand and thick, dark mud came spurting out, smelling of rotting death, those had to go. Only with all these stages of preparation complete could cooking commence.
I cleaned bushels and bushels of the little darlings and I hated every moment.
Later, when I realized I could buy aquacultured mussels grown on ropes attached to the ocean floor, far away from the nasty stuff that made prepping them such a painful process, I was first in line.
Mussels these days are a snap. Rarely do you need to do more than a quick wash and beard removal. Alas, the farmed mussels do not have the exact taste of the wild, but they are quite briny, sweet, and flavorful. The other thing that is cool about farmed mussels is that they act as filters as they feed, improving water quality, so they are actually good for the environment.
Consumed wild for thousands of years, mussels have been farmed since the 19th century. The ones we eat in the Northeast are blue mussels, but many more varieties grow across the globe. Blue mussels range in color from light brown to dark purple. Most in our markets are farmed in Prince Edward Island, Canada, or Maine (the first mussel aquaculture operation in the US was established there, along the Damariscotta River after 1973). Because of their healthy, high-protein qualities, their positive impact on the environment, and their relative low cost, mussels are thought to be a viable food crop for future farming development.
The cynical and amusing TV personality chef Anthony Bourdain once wrote that he would never eat mussels in a restaurant because of the way chefs store them. While I have more faith than Bourdain in today’s chefs, I agree that correct storage is essential. Place mussels in a footed colander set in a bowl and cover with a damp towel to keep them moist. Don’t wash them or de-beard them until ready to cook. That will keep them alive.
My introduction to mussels was in France, where they are often served simply with shallots, herbs, and butter. With a side of toasted baguette (fries are served with Belgium-style mussels), a bowl of steamed tiny black bivalves are a favorite inexpensive, casual dinner. If you use one side of the shell as a spoon for broth and another intact shell as a tiny pair of tongs to extract meat from the others, no silverware is needed, or, even in polite French company, expected. But there are a million other ways to cook mussels: fried, roasted, broiled, or smoked are a few. Their juices become super-flavorful soups or sauces.
The way to begin is by sweating leeks, fennel, tomatoes, and garlic in olive oil in a large saute pan with sides about 2 inches high (you’ll need to get all the mussels into the pan). Add fennel seeds to complement the fresh fennel, crushed red pepper for a spicy kick, and chopped tarragon and scallions to round it all out. Let all those flavors develop and then gently tip in the mussels (allow 1 pound per person), add a splash of dry vermouth, and cover the pan. Give it a shake every couple of minutes to help open the shells. They will be ready in less than 5 minutes. Lift the mussels out of the pan with a slotted spoon, discarding any shells that do not open, and place them in serving bowls while you finish the broth.
Bring the juices to a rolling boil and let them cook down until the broth is highly flavored. Finally, add a knob of butter to enrich it and give it a velvety consistency. Just before you’re ready to eat, pour the sauce over the shells. Fries or baguette is up to you.
Perhaps what is most appealing about mussels is the ease and speed with which dinner can be ready. Hey, great food for four people in 15 minutes, start to finish? Can’t beat that. Toss spent shells in a bowl in the center of the table. And don’t be surprised if slurping sounds replace conversation.
A Taste of Summer
Gordon Hamersley can be reached at cookingwithgordonhamersley@ gmail.com.
