Fresh mussels are a delicious and inexpensive restaurant-quality meal you can easily make at home.
Mussels should smell like the ocean and sea air: briny and fresh. When purchasing them, choose the ones that look fresh and alive with wet and shiny shells. It’s okay to select them one by one and if there’s a line of customers forming behind you, just ignore them. We never use the scoop as you don’t want to waste your money on the ones with cracked or chipped shells.
As soon as you get home, unwrap the mussels. Take 2 bowls and fill the larger one 1/3 of the way with ice. Place the mussels in the smaller bowl and nestle it in the ice. Now take a small dishcloth and place that on top the mussels. Place bowl in the fridge until you’re ready to cook. This is the best way to keep the mussels alive and cold.
Mussels are best eaten on the day of purchase but you can leave them overnight in the refrigerator on ice as described above if that’s more convenient for you.
Ready to start cooking? Inspect the mussels again, one by one. Scrub them under cool running water and ‘de-beard’ them by tugging the stringy stuff towards the hinge. All the mussels should be closed. If they are opened slightly, squeeze the shell closed and let go. If it doesn’t stay closed, chuck it out as it means the mussel is dead.
Cedar Planked Mussels – Serves 4 (as an appetizer)
- 1 kg fresh mussels
- 1 large or 2 medium-sized cedar planks
- a bunch of fresh thyme
- good quality sea salt
- 2 lemons cut into wedges
Step 1:
2+ hours prior to cooking, submerge and soak the plank in water. You can use a baking sheet and weigh down the plank with a bowl. 15 minutes prior to cooking, pre-heat your grill on high heat.
Step 2:
When the grill is hot and ready, lay the soaked plank directly on the grill grates. Let the planks pre-heat for 5 minutes.
Step 3: After cleaning and de-bearding the mussels, use long tongs or a spoon to carefully lay them on the heated planks. Scatter fresh thyme on top, then close the lid and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 4:
You can serve the mussels on the plank at the table. Discard any that have not opened. Pry open the shell, sprinkle just a bit of sea salt on the mussel and give it a quick squeeze of lemon juice.
All mussels really need is sea salt and lemon, but you could also melt some butter to serve as a warm dipping. When eaten as a main, you can pair your juicy mussels with a flavourful side dish. Some classic ideas are French fries, garlic bread, kumara wedges, roasted broccoli or crunchy roasted asparagus.
