Do you want to know what my favorite mussel recipe ever is? Well here it is: these plain and simple mussels with celery, onion, garlic and white wine are amazing… Classic and delicious!
Hi there!
Hey how about we talk about mussels with celery today!
Do you like fresh mussels?
Have you ever cooked live mussels?
Yes indeed, fresh mussels are the best. How I dread frozen mussels!
So what is your favorite mussel recipe after all?
Classic Moules Frites
I have eaten many versions of these classic mussels with celery before.
With a bunch of different flavors and ingredients. Some were very creative, others a tad wacko. But I have to admit that in the end I must say that I still like the plain and simple classic mussels with celery recipe.
That one is just the best.
So for the record: give me plain and simple fresh mussels with celery, onion, garlic and a splash of white wine. Season the whole lot with a good dash of freshly cracked pepper and salt.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Classic Mussels with Celery & Onion
And there you go: my favorite mussels with celery!
I love it.
Just in case you didn’t know it yet: I come from Belgium.
And of course mussels or ‘mosselen met frietjes’ in Belgium is a national dish. A must if you pay us a visit! Mussels with Belgian fries in other words, and I am sure you must have heard of ‘moules frites’ right?! Anyway, as long as it comes with fries, I will eat it.
Moules Frites
How much does a portion of mussels cost at a restaurant?
Portions are normally a generous 2 lbs (1 kg) to a small 3 lbs (1,2 kg). The prices for simple mussels in celery like mine will cost about 26 to 30 dollars (22 to 26 euros) in total.
And that is totally reasonable, knowing that a pot of mussels always comes with a salad and portion of fries on the side.
Bouchot Mussels
Did you know that there are many kinds of mussels?
It is just like with oysters.
Most mussel here carry the name Goudmerk, Jumbo, Imperial, Super or Extra. And that tells you more about their size.
In my opinion: the smaller the mussels, the better. And if I have to name a specific kind of mussel I love the most, then I would definitely pick the French bouchot mussels. Bouchot mussels are the best ever. Period.
I am not saying that the fattier plump ones aren’t any good, on the contrary.
But I like my mussels like my oysters: small, meaty and rich.
AOP
In France, bouchot mussels are protected by AOP status, which means that they have to originate from the bay of Mont Saint-Michel in France to carry that name.
So what makes them taste so good then?
Well bouchot mussels are grown on ropes strung from wooden poles in the sea. By doing that the mussels stay grit and barnacle-free which makes the mussel extra meaty and very delicate in flavor.
Easy Mussels with Celery & Onion
I sometimes add a little bit of freshly chopped red chili to these mussels with celery below instead of freshly ground black pepper.
And I even like a handful of fresh cilantro in it as well if I have some in my fridge. Just to spice things up a bit. Enjoy these mussels with celery, fresh thyme and white wine!
Bon appétit…
Enjoy!
Easy Mussels with Celery & Onion Recipe
My favorite then? Simple mussels with celery, onion, garlic and white wine... classic!
- 4 lbs fresh mussels (1,8 kg), cleaned
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 stalks fresh celery with leaves
- 2 large garlic cloves chopped
- 1 large glass dry white wine
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- pepper
- salt
Pour the olive oil in a large and high pan and place it over medium-high heat until hot. Then add the chopped onion and garlic.
Quickly stir fry the onion and garlic for 4 to 5 minutes. Chop the fresh celery and leaves up. Then also add them to the pan together with the fresh thyme and bay leaves. Season with a dash of pepper and salt.
Stir well. Let the vegetables cook for 3 more minutes. Then add the rinsed and drained fresh mussels to the pan.
Cover the pan. Cook the mussels for 6 minutes. Shake the pan a couple of times to make sure the mussels and the vegetables are mixed well. Then add the white wine.
Stir the mussels well using a slotted spoon. Then cover the pan again and let the mussels cook for 5 more minutes until the mussels are open. Check the seasoning and add extra pepper or salt to taste. Then scoop the cooked mussels into large bowls and top with the remaining onion, celery and wine. Serve with golden fries.
Mussels with Celery & Onion and more…
This mussels with celery recipe is my all time favorite like I already said.
Below you can find 2 more recipes with fresh mussels.
But if you love cooking mussels at home, then you should also take a look at a couple of other mussel recipes that I prepared before. And you can also find them on my food blog of course!
- mussels in beer and blue cheese sauce
- cold mussels with tomato vinaigrette (a super fresh summer appetizer bite)
- mussels with tomatoes (mussels provencal)
- Vietnamese BBQ mussels with fish sauce and peanuts
How To Clean Fresh Mussels
Are the fresh mussels that you bought full of barnacles?
Do you see any hairy bits protruding from the inside then? Let me show you how to clean fresh mussels before cooking them because here is how I get to work at home when I just bought fresh mussels.
Here we go!
How To Clean Fresh Mussels: The Method
Here's how I get to work at home when I bought fresh mussels.
- fresh mussels
- salt
1. Put the mussels in a large bowl or pan, sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and add tap water until the mussels are fully submerged. If you aren't going to cook them right away, put the mussels in the fridge. Remove the mussels from the fridge one hour before you intend to cook them. Let them rest at room temperature. You'll see that in the end there will be a fine layer of sand on the bottom of the bowl or pan.
2. Here's why. Fresh mussels are (by lack of another word) comatose because they've been kept in refrigerators for a couple of hours before they finally made it into your kitchen. And the mussels are dehydrated because they are not kept in water. So adding them back to water (especially salty water) will revive them. Give the mussels some time to wake up. They will start spitting out sand that is still in their shells, which is a normal cleaning process.
3. All this is to our advantage. First of all it'll be much easier for you to spot a dead mussel. So if an open mussel that has soaked for a while in water still doesn't close when you press both shells shut, it's probably dead. If you're not sure, check the smell. If the mussel smells bad, you definitely have to get rid of it. Also remove all the mussels with broken shells. Secondly, the mussels will be less gritty if they've had time to spit out sand.
4. Strain the mussels and discard the salty sandy water. Rinse the mussels well. With the back of a knife blade remove any barnacles or other impurities on the shells. It should all come off easily. This goes best under running tap water. Also remove any hairy bits coming from inside. Just rip them off. They are inedible and unpleasantly chewy.
5. Once the mussels are all cleaned, transfer them to a large sieve and then rinse them again. The mussels are ready to be cooked now!
Mussels with White Wine
Here is another recipe for mussels in white wine, I guess it will not get any easier than that.
To crank the flavors up a little more I just add some sliced garlic, onion and a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley in the end. That is it. That is all these gorgeous fatty mussels need.
This is not my only mussel recipe: also try my mussels provencal or how about some blue cheese and beer mussels?
Mussels & Fries
So what are some great side dishes that would go well with these fresh mussels then?
I would go for simple slices of grilled bread. But I am from Belgium. I don’t know about you but I can never say no to a portion of homemade freshly deep fried golden fries.
And with mayo of course.
Loads of them!
Enjoy!
Mussels with White Wine Recipe
Here is another recipe for mussels in white wine!
- 4 lbs fresh mussels (1,8 kg), cleaned
- 1 cup dry white wine (240 ml)
- a handful fresh parsley chopped finely
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 1 small red onion
- olive oil
- pepper
- salt
1. Peel the red onion and the garlic cloves. Then slice the onion finely and chop up the garlic in small bits. In a large and high pan pour a little olive oil and place it over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic and onion. Season with a pinch of pepper and salt.
2. Stir and gently cook the onion and garlic for 4 minutes. Then add the drained mussels to the pan.
3. Give the mussels a very good stir using a slotted spoon and cook them for 3 minutes. Then pour in the dry white wine.
4. Stir the mussels well again and cover the pan. Cook the mussels for another 6 to 8 minutes or until they are all open and cooked in the end. Shake the pan regularly. Once the mussels are cooked, add the freshly chopped parsley to the pan.
5. Check the seasoning and add extra pepper or salt to taste if necessary. Stir one last time. Then scoop the cooked mussels and onion in large bowls and drizzle with the remaining white wine and mussel juice. Serve the mussels hot.
Thai Green Curry Mussels
I love shellfish so much!
How about you, do you like fresh mussels?
Here is another recipe that has nothing to see with my classic mussels with celery.
Have you ever tasted or even prepared a spicy Thai green curry with mussels? The very first time that I made this curry recipe, the hubs was so impressed by the combination.
True, if you expect a classic mussel recipe like the mussels with celery or white wine and garlic versions that you just read about above… Then you will be amazed. Because you are in for a real surprise here.
Asian Style Mussels
Who would have thought that mussels go so extremely well with Asian flavors!
I served this green mussel curry or soup (whatever you like, both sound good and taste the same) as a starter. No need to say you can double the portion and make it a main dish.
Enjoy!
Thai Green Curry Mussels Recipe
Who would have thought that mussels go so extremely well with Asian flavors!
- 16 fresh mussels cleaned
- 1 tbsp Thai green curry paste
- 1 cup coconut milk (240 ml)
- 3 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 1 small red chili
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- a handful fresh cilantro chopped
- ½ tsp caster sugar or palm sugar
- 1 fresh lime
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
1. In a large non-stick pan pour the vegetable oil and place it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the green curry paste.
2. Stir well and gently stir fry the curry paste for about 2 minutes. Then pour in the coconut milk.
3. Stir well until the paste is more or less dissolved. Crush the lemongrass stalk under the blade of you knife and add it to the coconut milk together with the lime, the palm sugar (or caster sugar), fish sauce and the dried red chili pepper.
4. Simmer the curry sauce for 5 more minutes. Then add the cleaned mussels.
5. Shake the pan a little. Put a lid on the pan, turn the heat to medium and cook the mussels in the curry sauce for a good 6 to 8 minutes until the shells are all opened.
6. Check the seasoning and add extra fish sauce or sugar to taste if necessary. Take the pan off the heat. Divide the cooked mussels evenly over deep plates and drizzle with the remaining green curry sauce. Finish with some fresh cilantro. Serve immediately.
How To Cook Mussels Best
So I think that by now you know how to cook mussels, right?
Have you ever cooked mussels before?
It is not as hard as it might look.
Here in our family we love mussels. The fresh live mussels that we can get at our local supermarket are also of an outstanding quality. And they are not all that expensive either really.
Well that helps as well!
But to avoid any funny business later on, the most important thing with fresh mussels is to know the good ones from the bad. And it happens, that there is a bad dead mussel amongst the fresh ones.
How To Spot Bad Mussels
Here at home we use this rule of thumb.
Is the mussel shell broken? Then there is a fair chance that it has pierced the mussel inside. Get rid of it.
Foul odor? Same. However don’t mistake the salty sea smell as an indication that the mussels have gone off.
People also say that if the mussels are a tad open, and they don’t close properly when you push on them, then they are dead.
That is not always true. They might just be a little slow and sleepy after having been in a fridge for so long.
How To Cook Mussels
The best thing that you can do to avoid buying dead or old mussels is to get them as fresh as possible. And prepare them the very same day that you buy them, at the most the day after.
Here is what I always do.
I remove the plastic wrapping and store the mussels in the fridge in a large bowl filled with tap water and a little pinch of salt. Then an hour before I intend to cook them, I take the bowl out of the fridge and let the mussels wake up a little.
You will see that lots of mussels that were a tiny bit open, have closed perfectly by then.
Frozen Mussels?
Do I ever cook with frozen mussels?
No.
Just because I find them too dry and hard as bullets. At least if you compare them to freshly cooked live mussels. Frozen mussels are precooked which means that if you reheat them, that mussel is basically cooked twice.
I will pass.
Moules Frites
Today I gladly present you my most favorite mussel recipe with bacon and beer. No need to say that a bowl of Belgian fries, a green salad and gallons of beer are the perfect match…
Do you love mussels?
Then you should also try my mussels in blue cheese and beer sauce!
Here is how to cook mussels in yet another way! Let me show you how to make mussels with bacon and beer… No mussels with celery this time!
Enjoy!
Mussels with Beer & Bacon Recipe
Mussels with bacon and beer... Enough said!
- 3 ½ lbs fresh mussels (1,5 kg)
- 3,5 oz salted bacon (100 g ), diced
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic chopped
- 1 cup pilsner beer (240 ml)
- a handful fresh parsley chopped
- pepper
- salt
1) Clean the mussels one by one using a sharp knife. Remove any barnacles, dirt or beards: the tough threads that sometimes stick out of the shell. Pull them out using your fingers.
2) Remove any broken or open mussels. If you’re not sure, tap on the opened shell. It should close immediately. If it stays open, the mussel inside is dead. Discard. Then rinse the cleaned mussels under cold running tap water and drain. They might make ’clicking’ noises, that’s normal.
3) In a very large pan add the chopped onion and garlic. Then pour in some olive oil and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat.
4) Add the diced bacon and stir well. Cook for another 5 minutes until the bacon is cooked through.
5) Then add the drained mussels to the pan and season with a generous sprinkle of pepper.
6) Put a lid on the pan and shake the mussels well. Then turn the heat very high and pour in the beer.
7) Put the lid back on the pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until all the mussels are all open. Give the pan another good toss so all the ingredients are mixed well.
8) Then check the seasoning and add extra pepper or salt to taste if necessary. Transfer the mussels and the remaining mussel juice to large bowls and sprinkle with the freshly chopped herbs.
