How to cook mussels in the sink. How to cook mussels - recipes for mussel dishes. How to cook fresh mussels at home

Mussels are relatively inexpensive but very healthy shellfish. Despite the fact that they are called “poor man’s oysters,” the dishes they make are very tasty. Today you can buy shellfish both peeled and in shells. Many people prefer the second option, since during the process of preparing shellfish in the shells, it is easy to find and discard all the stale ones. Of course, in this case you need to know how to cook mussels in shells correctly. Today, the intricacies of this technology are familiar not only to chefs of elite restaurants. Many housewives easily cope with the task at home.

Features of selection and preparation

In order for a dish of mussels in shells to be tasty, healthy and safe, you need to know the basic rules for their selection and preparation.

When choosing fresh or frozen mussels in shells, preference should be given to large ones, since small ones will have very little valuable meat - about the size of a bean seed.
Look carefully at mussels when purchasing. You can only take shellfish whose shells are intact and closed. Damaged shells usually occur if the product has been repeatedly frozen and defrosted. Open shells indicate that the mollusk is sick, dead, or simply very stale. If you buy fresh mussels, you can try knocking on the shell - if it closes, then everything is in order, the mussel is alive, and you can safely take it and cook it.
If you are going to cook frozen mussels in their shells, you will need to defrost them first. It is best to let them thaw in the refrigerator. This way the shellfish will better retain their beneficial properties.
The mussel shells must be peeled until smooth before cooking. This can be done using a dull knife, which should be used to scrape the shells well.
Before washing, mussels can be immersed in cold water for a couple of hours. In this case, it will be easier to wash them from sand. In addition, this procedure will help to immediately get rid of dead mollusks: the living ones will sink to the bottom, and the dead ones will remain on the surface.
Mussels in shells can be boiled, stewed, or baked in the oven. Regardless of the cooking method, it is important to select and discard any mussels whose shells have not opened after 5-7 minutes of cooking. This indicates that the product is not fresh, and it is easy to get poisoned by missing mussels.
To improve the taste of mussels, you can boil and stew them with the addition of wine, lemon juice, tomatoes, milk, garlic sauce, dill, pepper, and celery. The choice of one or more of these ingredients depends on the recipe.
Serve the mussels with the top part of the shell removed. You can remove the clam from the bottom of the shell using a fork. In some restaurants, when serving mussels, the table is served with tongs. They are needed in order to grab the removed part of the shell and use it to extract the shellfish meat from the remaining part.

Mussel meat goes well with white wine. If you offer these shellfish to your guests, it doesn’t hurt to put a bottle of white wine on the table.

How to cook boiled mussels in shells

mussels in shells – 2 kg;
water – 1 l;
lemon – 1 pc.;
salt – 20 g;
ground black pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

Immerse the mussels in cool water for half an hour, remove, brush on all sides with a brush, scrape with a knife and rinse in running water.
Wash the lemon, cut it in half, squeeze the juice out of it. Remove any seeds that have gotten into the juice. Pour the juice into a thick-walled saucepan.
Pour a liter of cold water into the pan, add salt and pepper, stir.
Place clean mussels in their shells into the pan. Place the pan over medium heat, covering it with a lid.
When the water boils, wait 5 minutes and check the mussels. Remove the shellfish whose shells have already opened from the pan.
Check the readiness of the mussels again after 2-3 minutes. Remove the opened ones from the pan, discard the unopened ones.

Serve boiled mussels immediately after cooking. Apart from white wine, beer will be a good choice for drinks.

You can cook mussels in water mixed with dry white wine. The optimal ratio of these components is 1: 1. The taste of the finished mussels in this case will be completely different, more delicate and refined.

There is no need to ensure that the liquid completely covers the shellfish during cooking. Mussel shells open when exposed to steam.

You can cook any mussels according to the given recipe: frozen or fresh. They can be eaten immediately, but other dishes are often prepared using them. Including salads.

How to cook stewed mussels in shells

garlic – 5 cloves;
water – 1 l;
lemon – 1 pc.;
fresh parsley – 50 g;
ground black pepper - to taste;
salt - to taste;
butter – 50 g;
drinking cream – 150 ml.

Cooking method:

Clean and rinse the mussels well. Place them in a saucepan.
Fill with water, first squeezing the juice of one lemon into it, adding a little pepper and salt.
Place the pan over high heat and wait until the mussels begin to open. Take them out as soon as the shell opens. Instances that do not have time to open within 7 minutes will have to be thrown away.
Remove the top of the shell from each mussel.
Place the shellfish in a frying pan after melting the butter in it.
Pass a clove of garlic through a press, pour in cream and stir.
Pour the garlic and cream sauce into the pan with the mussels. Place it on medium heat. Simmer the clams for 5 minutes.
Remove the mussels from the sauce and place on a platter.
Wash, dry, finely chop the parsley with a knife, add to the creamy garlic sauce. You can add pepper and salt. Stir.
Pour the prepared sauce over the mussels.

You can serve mussels stewed in creamy garlic sauce in portions.

Fresh mussels baked in shells

fresh mussels in shells – 1 kg;
fresh tomatoes – 0.3 kg;
stale bread – 40 g;
olive oil – 20 ml;
garlic – 2 cloves;
parsley - 1 sprig;
cloves – 1 pc.;
salt, pepper - to taste;
water – 0.5 l.

Cooking method:

Pour water into the pan. Place the peeled and washed mussels in their shells into it.
Place the pan over high heat. Wait for the shells to open. Remove the tops by removing the mussels from the pan and letting them cool slightly.
Crush the garlic.
Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and remove the skins. Grate the tomato pulp, chop with a blender or rub through a sieve. Mix with garlic.
Grind salt, pepper and cloves in a mortar.
Grate stale bread and add to tomato puree.
Put the spicy mixture there.
Add olive oil, stir.
Place the mussels, shell side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Place tomato mixture on top of each mussel.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and place a baking sheet in it.

After 10 minutes, the mussels baked in tomato sauce are ready. This recipe is most often used to prepare fresh mussels, but it can also be used for frozen shellfish.

Mussels baked in shells with cheese

large frozen or fresh mussels – 1 kg;
hard cheese – 120 g;
mayonnaise or sour cream – 100 ml;
lemon – 0.25 pcs.;
garlic – 2 cloves;
water – 0.5 l.

Cooking method:

Wash and peel the mussels thoroughly, cover with cold water and place over high heat.
Cook for 7–8 minutes. Discard any unopened shells. Cool the rest.
Remove the mussel meat and cut each into 3-4 pieces.
Place mussel meat in a bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over them.
Add garlic, sour cream or mayonnaise passed through a press to the mussels, stir.
Fill the shells with the mixture.
Finely grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the shells.
Place the shells on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 degrees.

A dish prepared according to this recipe can be called exquisite. It will perfectly decorate the holiday table.

Don't be afraid to buy mussels in their shells. It's easy to prepare them at home. At the same time, the appearance of the finished dish and its taste will almost certainly impress your guests.

Many of us, especially those who love seafood, have probably thought about how to cook mussels. Among products that are both tasty and healthy, mussels have a special place. There are many ways to cook mussels. Mussels have tender and dense meat, which has a unique, exquisite taste, hence the reason for such a variety of cooking methods. Mussels can be boiled, stewed, fried, marinated and baked in sauce. Be sure to cook mussels at home. We assure you that everyone will probably be happy. Before we tell you a few recipes on how to cook mussels, let's find out some information about this product, popular all over the world.

A little about mussels

Mussels are rich in beneficial immunostimulating substances and various microelements. Like any other seafood, mussels are considered a dietary product. Mussels are a huge reservoir of protein. Let me note that frozen mussels, naturally, are not as healthy as fresh mussels, hence the method of preparing them is different. But, nevertheless, such mollusks are an excellent source for obtaining acids, iron and phosphorus that are useful to humans. Mussel meat is a very low-calorie product, which is recommended even by nutritionists for losing excess weight. When preparing mussels, you don’t have to think too much about the combination of products, since they go well with almost everything! Of course, when preparing any mussels, in any case, it is worth considering the place where they grew and lived. But don’t forget, the fresher the mussels, the tastier they are - this should always be remembered!

It is generally accepted that the most delicious mussels are from July to October. When purchasing, you also need to check them for weight, appearance and smell. In order to cook mussels, and cook them deliciously, they need to be stored so that the shellfish remain alive. In this case, the mussels should be kept in the refrigerator, under a damp towel. Remember that mussels should not be stored for more than three days.

You might be asking, what type of mussels is best for cooking? The most common types of mussels are those with a green shell (large) or those with a blue-black shell (small). An interesting point: with all the positive qualities of mussels, we should not forget that they are water purifiers in life. Drawing the appropriate conclusions, it becomes clear that they should not be consumed in large quantities.

How to cook frozen mussels

Unfortunately, we can only buy frozen seafood in stores. Therefore, it is worth talking separately about how to properly cook frozen mussels. First, you need to remember a few rules on this topic.

The first rule is related to defrosting. You must remember that mussels can only be thawed once, since mussels are a perishable product. When purchasing, keep an eye on

so that they do not stick together.

The second rule is directly related to the preparation of frozen mussels. Fresh frozen mussels are easiest to simply cook. Frozen mussels are cooked for five to twenty minutes. Pour water into a saucepan and add shellfish. Wait until they boil and become foamy. Make sure that the mussel meat is not overcooked, otherwise it will become like rubber. You can probably finish cooking frozen mussels here, just add spices to taste.

So, how to cook mussels, or rather, even how to cook mussels at home

As an example, the three simplest recipes for preparing mussels are perfect:

1. Throw the mussels into salted water, which has boiled for some time, and cook for 10-15 minutes. Then drain the water. Place the mussels on a plate as you like, pour in lemon juice, garnish with herbs and lemon slices. Boiled white rice is perfect as a side dish. Cooking the mussels is finished.

2. You can also make a salad from mussels at home. You will need: mussels, bell peppers, pickled cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, lemon juice. Spices: olive oil, garlic, pepper, salt and Tabasco sauce.

Cooking mussels begins by boiling them in salted water for about 15 minutes. Then, the mussels are laid out on a plate. Add diced sweet peppers and cucumbers to them. Then, cut the cabbage into strips and add to the salad. Mix the general consistency and add oil. Prepare the mussel salad by adding salt, pepper, garlic, lemon juice and Tabasco sauce. I tried this recipe myself and really liked it. Lively, uncomplicated and tasteful!

3. The most sophisticated way to prepare mussels at home is probably pilaf. The main thing is not to forget that this is pilaf, and the dish should still be dominated by rice, not mussels. In order to prepare mussel pilaf, you will need: 700 grams of mussels, a glass of rice, 40 grams of butter, carrots, onions, 20 grams of tomato paste. When choosing spices, take: salt, bay leaf, pepper, at your discretion.

Cooking pilaf begins with boiling mussels. While the mussels are cooking, fry the grated carrots and onions in butter. After they acquire a golden hue, add rice to them. Add 2 cups of water in which the mussels were cooked to the resulting consistency, stir, add tomato paste and spices. A few minutes before the end of cooking, add the mussels. Such pilaf turns out to be very tasty, satisfying and healthy. And every time you try such a dish, your family and friends will praise you. From here we can conclude that it is better to cook mussels yourself, so as not to confuse the composition and amount of spices, because each person has his own taste.

If you want to cook something savory, then cook mussels with vegetables or Korean mussels. You can also cook mussels in sour cream. These recipes can be easily implemented at home. We'll talk about this below.

How to cook mussels with vegetables recipe

To prepare mussels with vegetables you will need: mussels, seafood to taste, lemon, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, garlic and dill.

Finely chop the onion and fry it until golden brown. Then, add mussels, chopped tomatoes and bell peppers to it. Simmer the mussel meat for 10-15 minutes. When the juices begin to release from the mussels, remove the dish from the heat. Cooking mussels with vegetables is finished! Next, transfer the mussels to a salad bowl, season with lemon juice and dill. Can be served both hot and cold. If you take frozen mussels to prepare the dish, then the meat will end up being more elastic, but if you take fresh ones, it will taste like chicken. Who likes what more? Please note that when preparing mussels with vegetables, the dish is not salted!

How to cook mussels in Korean

Mussels cooked in Korean have an exotic, sweetish taste. To prepare mussels in Korean you will need: (ingredients) 3 onions, mussels. Dressing: soy sauce, lemon juice, salt, 10 grams of honey, black pepper, coriander and nutmeg.

Let's start cooking mussels in Korean by boiling them in boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes. Afterwards, pour them into a sieve and let the liquid drain. Then, remove the small green layer under the black tongue. Chop the onions and sprinkle them with lemon juice. Mix it with mussels.

The second step in cooking mussels in Korean is dressing. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing and heat over low heat. Then mix them with mussels and onions, and then leave to infuse at room temperature.

The third step in preparing mussels is, oddly enough, the marinade. Place the resulting mixture in the refrigerator overnight. It is advisable to stir every few hours so that the meat marinates evenly. This will make the taste of the mussels much richer and brighter.

How to cook mussels in sour cream

You will need: 500 grams of mussels, 2-3 onions and 250 grams of sour cream.

Defrost the mussels, but not completely. Meanwhile, while the mussels are defrosting, cut the onion and fry it. Next, add the mussels to the onion and simmer for about 10 minutes. Considering that we are cooking mussels in sour cream, then pour the sour cream into the frying pan and simmer everything together for another 5 minutes. Then add salt and pepper.

Spaghetti works well as a side dish for mussels in sour cream. If you want, you can squeeze 1 clove of garlic into the dish, to taste. Bon appetit!

How to cook mussels for beer

Many of you have probably noticed that men often use mussels as a beer snack. Let's tell them how to cook mussels for beer deliciously?

A great way to prepare mussels for beer is mussels in garlic sauce

To do this, you will need 0.5 kilograms of mussels, 20 grams of butter and flour, a few cloves of garlic, at your discretion, 1 chicken egg yolk, lemon juice and parsley.

The first step in preparing mussels for beer is this. First, wash the mussels, put them in a saucepan and fill with cold water. We begin to heat the mussels over low heat until the meat is soft. Next, take out the mussels and place them on a pre-warmed plate.

The second step in preparing mussels for beer is the sauce. Fry the flour and butter, then dilute them with the water in which the mussels were boiled. Next, add finely chopped garlic and stir well. Remove from heat and season the sauce with lemon juice and egg yolk. Your mussels are ready for beer!

Mussels with mayonnaise and mustard also go well with beer.

Take mussels, about 100 grams of mayonnaise, mustard, pickled bell pepper, black pepper and salt. Next, cook the mussels, remove and cool. Then add salt and pepper, add mayonnaise and mustard, and stir. Place pickled bell peppers on top. The process of preparing mussels for beer is over!

The last recipe for preparing mussels for beer is mussel soup

You will need: 10 milliliters of lemon juice, parsley, mussels, garlic and salt to taste, bread crumbs (75 grams), 1 onion, butter (12 grams), cream and white wine (100 grams).

The first step in preparing mussel soup for beer is to boil the mussels for about three minutes. Next, strain the water over high heat and wait until it boils down to 1 liter. Discard any parts of the mussel that do not open.

The second step in preparing mussel soup is cooking the garlic and onions in butter. Add the broth left over from the mussels, bread, lemon juice and white wine. Bring the soup to a boil and only then add the mussels and reduce the heat. Next, pour in the cream and add the herbs, but do not let the soup boil so that the cream does not curdle.

The third step in preparing mussels for beer is serving the dish. Place the mussels on plates and pour the broth over them.

A very nice feature of this beer mussel appetizer is that it can be frozen and used several times. Although it is believed that an appetizer should be light, but this soup is more like a whole main course. Of course, it can be used that way, but as a snack it’s still too filling.

How to cook mussels over a fire

Many of you have probably been to the sea and tried to cook mussels over a fire. Here is one of the basic recipes for preparing mussels this way.

For this you will need a little. Base: frozen mussels, butter (20 grams/one kg of meat), garlic (to taste) and lemon juice. Spices: herbs, hot pepper (ground) and salt.

The process of cooking mussels does not take place over a fire, but at home. Defrost the mussels. While they are defrosting, melt the butter and squeeze out the garlic. Next, pour the already thawed mussels with the resulting mixture, salt and pepper, add herbs and lemon juice. After this, we leave the meat to marinate for one or two hours.

Enjoy new recipes, experiment, and your life will become brighter. Bon appetit!

Once upon a time, it was believed that mussels were a poor people's food, since they cost less than their “sisters” oysters, but in modern times they are a highly prized delicacy. Many different dishes are made from this seafood - you can try them in restaurants or cook them yourself at home. In every shopping center you should be able to find fresh or frozen mussels without any problems.

A little information

Mussels, like oysters, belong to the family of bivalve mollusks. They are especially common in shallow coastal ocean waters, where these mollusks grow attached to rocks. A necessary condition for the life of mussels is clean and not stagnant water. Nowadays, mussels are grown on special “farms”. This, of course, is not like a traditional farm: poles are dug into the coastal zone of the sea, to which ropes are tied. It is on these ropes, at a depth of 2-5 meters, that the mussels grow. But as mentioned above, you can’t dig these pillars anywhere - mussels need clean, not stagnant water, which contains a lot of plankton, which the mussels feed on by filtering the water.

This interesting and simple process, according to some sources, was invented by Irish sailors in 1234, and according to others, by the French. People engaged in artificial cultivation of mussels are not located in any one region - they are scattered throughout the world. True, most mussels are grown by the Spaniards, and New Zealand also exports a large amount of this seafood. Currently, about 1.4 million tons of mussels are grown worldwide each year.

In order for mussels to reach the desired size and become suitable for human consumption, they must grow for about 18 months, so the process is not very fast. Mussel shells come in a variety of colors, from deep blue to golden green. But on special farms, only dark blue or black mussels are usually grown, since they have a delicate taste, they are moderately salty and sweet. The best mussels are harvested from mid-June to the end of February, but those collected in April and May are not fat enough and therefore not as tasty.

Useful properties of mussels

Mussels are not only famous for their delicate taste, but also for their beneficial substances. They contain a lot of proteins, mineral salts, phosphorus, iron and vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C. According to nutritionists, there is even more protein in mussel meat than in veal or fish meat. In addition, despite the fact that mussel meat contains so many different useful substances, it is low in calories, so these seafood can also be enjoyed by those who watch their body lines. Mussel meat, as a dietary product, is recommended for those who complain of atherosclerosis, diabetes, anemia, as well as for the elderly.

Mussels are most often sold fresh or processed - peeled, cooked, frozen or canned. If you bought live, unpeeled mussels, first wash them thoroughly in running water, using a sharp knife to clean the shells from adhering dirt, remains of aquatic plants, etc. Still, mussels grow for 18 months and during this time the shells become covered with sand and silt. It will be unpleasant to feel the creak of sand on your teeth after cooking this delicacy. By the way, you can also use a toothbrush to clean sinks. It is also necessary to tear off the so-called “beards” located at the connection of the valves.

Another important point is that you must check whether the mussels are alive. It is done this way. You need to immerse the mussels in cold water and hold for 20 minutes. Good, that is, living, mussels should drown. If they float on the surface, then something is wrong with them, it is better to throw them away. Another feature is that good mussels should have closed shells. If the shells are open, you can knock on them, and they should immediately close. If they don’t close, you can safely throw these mussels away too. After all the mussels have been washed and selected, you can begin to cook them. By the way, seafood does not like to wait long; it must be cooked as quickly as possible while it is fresh (best on the day of purchase). You can still eat them the next day, but the day after tomorrow you will have to throw them away. Until the time of cooking, mussels should be kept in the refrigerator.

Mussels are served in different ways. They can be peeled (without shells) - only meat is served, especially if the mussels are combined with other products or prepared as a sauce. It is very popular to serve mussels as they are, without changes - in shells. Then everyone takes them with their hands, holds the shell with one hand, and scoops out the meat with the other hand using a fork. Mussels in shells are also added to soups - they improve the taste of the broth.

Preparing mussels is easy and simple. The most popular way is to simmer in water or white wine with seasonings (garlic, lemon, parsley, bay leaf). There is no need to pour a lot of water or wine into the pan, just to the very bottom, because the shells contain quite a lot of water, which is released during cooking. The mussels do not take long to cook - over high heat it only takes a couple of minutes for the shells to open (this means that the mussels are ready). By the way, if some shells did not open during cooking, they should not be eaten either.

Fresh mussels, like oysters, can be eaten unboiled by adding lemon juice. But it’s better to leave this method of consuming this wonderful seafood to gourmets; we still recommend boiling them. Or grill it. It's also very tasty. The principle is the same - fry until the shells open.

If you bought frozen mussels, then all you need to do is defrost them at room temperature or in warm water, rinse them under running water and that’s it. After this you can prepare your dish. Most likely, your frozen mussels will already be cooked, so you don't need to do anything.

Combinations with other products

Mussels are often used to prepare various soups, which can be based on a broth made from these shellfish. When you are going to prepare snacks, salads or main courses from mussels, some chefs recommend keeping them for 15-20 minutes in a closed saucepan, into which you need to pour a little water and milk along with chopped onions, allspice and bay leaves. Professional chefs are happy that the meat of these seafood goes well with other products, vegetables, and low-fat mayonnaise.

By frying mussels with various additives, for example, vegetables, various grains - rice, couscous, seasonings, tomato sauce, etc., you can prepare many dishes - from the simplest to the most intricate. For example, the Spaniards, when preparing their famous paella, very rarely do without mussels. Sometimes in a ready-made dish, mussels are served with shells - in this way adding more exoticism to the dish, and sometimes only the meat itself is used.

A couple more interesting facts:

100 grams of mussels contain 9.48 mg of protein. More than veal or fish meat.
The calorie content of mussels is 51.42 calories per 100 grams.
From 1 kilogram of mussels you will get 180 grams of pure meat.

And now we offer you a couple of excellent recipes for cooking mussels that you can easily use at home.

Ingredients:

Pack of spaghetti
0.5 kg fresh mussels
Glass of dry white wine
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves of garlic
Spoon of pesto sauce with basils
Spoon of chopped greens
A jar of tomatoes canned in their own juice
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
A handful of grated Parmesan.

It is very important that the mussels are fresh. As mentioned in this article, all sinks should be closed, and if they are open, they should close immediately when you knock on them. Place the already peeled and washed mussels in a saucepan with wine (as mentioned above).

Close the pan and keep it on the fire for a while until the mussel shells open. After this, remove the mussels from the pan, and leave the mussel juice that was released during heating and heat it again until it thickens. Then pour this liquid into a bowl and mix with pesto sauce, grated Parmesan, chopped garlic and herbs to form a thick mass.

Place the cooked spaghetti in heat-resistant bowls and top with a spoonful of butter and canned tomatoes along with the mussel shells. Inside each shell, add the thick mass that we prepared before, and place the entire bowl in a hot oven for a couple of minutes. Serve with lemon.

You can, of course, cook pasta with mussels without shells, using only meat, as in this video. Bon appetit!

Another pasta option or how to cook frozen and peeled mussels

You probably noticed that this entire article and our first recipe are devoted to cooking live mussels, but many do not have the opportunity to purchase live seafood and they have a question, how to cook frozen mussels? Everything is extremely simple. We offer you an excellent pasta recipe.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti or any other pasta of your choice
About 200 grams of frozen and peeled mussels
200 grams sweet cream
2 cloves of garlic
Small piece of butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Ground pepper
Thyme

Take spaghetti or other pasta of your choice and cook in salted water. While the pasta is cooking, wash the previously defrosted mussels, dry them and fry them in oil with garlic juice. When the pasta is cooked, add it to the pan with the mussels, pour cream over everything, sprinkle with thyme and add soy sauce. Simmer the whole mixture over low heat until the cream begins to thicken. Taste for seasoning and sprinkle with pepper before serving. That's all. Bon appetit!

Ingredients (for 2 people):

1.5 kilograms of fresh mussels
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 glass of white wine
A can of canned tomatoes in its juice
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
A pinch of freshly ground pepper

Again, the mussels need to be cleaned and washed. We have already described how to do this above. Take a deep saucepan with a thick bottom and fry chopped garlic in olive oil. After this, add canned tomatoes, paprika, and simmer it all for a couple of minutes. Then add wine, pepper and simmer for another couple of minutes. When the sauce begins to thicken, add the peeled mussels, cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes until the mussel shells open.

When the mussels are ready, place them on a plate. As for the sauce, if it remains liquid (this depends on how much liquid was in the mussels), you can evaporate the water over high heat until the sauce becomes thick. By the way, we recommend trying the sauce and deciding whether to add salt to it, since there is often enough salt in the liquid that the mussels secrete. Pour the prepared sauce over the mussels and serve with a slice of lemon or French loaf.

For two servings you will need:

1 kilogram of fresh or frozen mussels
3 cloves of garlic
Half an onion
1 celery root
Half a pepper
1 tomato
60 grams butter
150 ml dry white wine
Juice from half a lemon
Salt, pepper, chili pepper
French loaf

Cooking time: half an hour.

First we prepare fresh vegetables. Cut the garlic, onion, fresh pepper, celery and tomato into as small cubes as possible. Before cutting the garlic, crush it with a knife - this way you will get a stronger flavor.

Fry the prepared vegetables in a saucepan. To make it tastier, we use butter for frying. When it melts, add the chopped vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you like it spicy, we recommend adding a little chili pepper.

When the vegetables have softened, add white wine and squeeze the juice from half a lemon. While the sauce simmers, the alcohol evaporates and only the taste of the wine remains.

In the end, we put the thawed mussels in the pan and simmer a little more until the water that comes out of the mussels evaporates and the vegetables soften, but do not disintegrate.

If you are using fresh mussels, simmer until the mussels open, and then for another 5-6 minutes. If your mussels are frozen, then you need to simmer for a total of 5 minutes. The most important thing is not to simmer for too long, as the mussels will begin to fall out of the shells.

Place the cooked mussels in a bowl or deep plate and pour over the wine and vegetable sauce. You can dip French loaf in it.

Parsley is very suitable for decoration, but if you don’t have it, you can use green onions or other greens. Chilled white wine goes well with this dish.

Features of selection and preparation

In order for a dish of mussels in shells to be tasty, healthy and safe, you need to know the basic rules for their selection and preparation.

When choosing fresh or frozen mussels in shells, preference should be given to large ones, since small ones will have very little valuable meat - about the size of a bean seed.
Look carefully at mussels when purchasing. You can only take shellfish whose shells are intact and closed. Damaged shells usually occur if the product has been repeatedly frozen and defrosted. Open shells indicate that the mollusk is sick, dead, or simply very stale. If you buy fresh mussels, you can try knocking on the shell - if it closes, then everything is in order, the mussel is alive, and you can safely take it and cook it.
If you are going to cook frozen mussels in their shells, you will need to defrost them first. It is best to let them thaw in the refrigerator. This way the shellfish will better retain their beneficial properties.
The mussel shells must be peeled until smooth before cooking. This can be done using a dull knife, which should be used to scrape the shells well.
Before washing, mussels can be immersed in cold water for a couple of hours. In this case, it will be easier to wash them from sand. In addition, this procedure will help to immediately get rid of dead mollusks: the living ones will sink to the bottom, and the dead ones will remain on the surface.
Mussels in shells can be boiled, stewed, or baked in the oven. Regardless of the cooking method, it is important to select and discard any mussels whose shells have not opened after 5-7 minutes of cooking. This indicates that the product is not fresh, and it is easy to get poisoned by missing mussels.
To improve the taste of mussels, you can boil and stew them with the addition of wine, lemon juice, tomatoes, milk, garlic sauce, dill, pepper, and celery. The choice of one or more of these ingredients depends on the recipe.
Serve the mussels with the top part of the shell removed. You can remove the clam from the bottom of the shell using a fork. In some restaurants, when serving mussels, the table is served with tongs. They are needed in order to grab the removed part of the shell and use it to extract the shellfish meat from the remaining part.

Mussel meat goes well with white wine. If you offer these shellfish to your guests, it doesn’t hurt to put a bottle of white wine on the table.

How to cook boiled mussels in shells

mussels in shells – 2 kg;
water – 1 l;
lemon – 1 pc.;
salt – 20 g;
ground black pepper - to taste.

Immerse the mussels in cool water for half an hour, remove, brush on all sides with a brush, scrape with a knife and rinse in running water.
Wash the lemon, cut it in half, squeeze the juice out of it. Remove any seeds that have gotten into the juice. Pour the juice into a thick-walled saucepan.
Pour a liter of cold water into the pan, add salt and pepper, stir.
Place clean mussels in their shells into the pan. Place the pan over medium heat, covering it with a lid.
When the water boils, wait 5 minutes and check the mussels. Remove the shellfish whose shells have already opened from the pan.
Check the readiness of the mussels again after 2-3 minutes. Remove the opened ones from the pan, discard the unopened ones.

Serve boiled mussels immediately after cooking. Apart from white wine, beer will be a good choice for drinks.

There is no need to ensure that the liquid completely covers the shellfish during cooking. Mussel shells open when exposed to steam.

You can cook any mussels according to the given recipe: frozen or fresh. They can be eaten immediately, but other dishes are often prepared using them. Including salads.

How to cook stewed mussels in shells

garlic – 5 cloves;
water – 1 l;
lemon – 1 pc.;
fresh parsley – 50 g;
ground black pepper - to taste;
salt - to taste;
butter – 50 g;
drinking cream – 150 ml.

Clean and rinse the mussels well. Place them in a saucepan.
Fill with water, first squeezing the juice of one lemon into it, adding a little pepper and salt.
Place the pan over high heat and wait until the mussels begin to open. Take them out as soon as the shell opens. Instances that do not have time to open within 7 minutes will have to be thrown away.
Remove the top of the shell from each mussel.
Place the shellfish in a frying pan after melting the butter in it.
Pass a clove of garlic through a press, pour in cream and stir.
Pour the garlic and cream sauce into the pan with the mussels. Place it on medium heat. Simmer the clams for 5 minutes.
Remove the mussels from the sauce and place on a platter.
Wash, dry, finely chop the parsley with a knife, add to the creamy garlic sauce. You can add pepper and salt. Stir.
Pour the prepared sauce over the mussels.

You can serve mussels stewed in creamy garlic sauce in portions.

Fresh mussels baked in shells

fresh mussels in shells – 1 kg;
fresh tomatoes – 0.3 kg;
stale bread – 40 g;
olive oil – 20 ml;
garlic – 2 cloves;
parsley - 1 sprig;
cloves – 1 pc.;
salt, pepper - to taste;
water – 0.5 l.

Pour water into the pan. Place the peeled and washed mussels in their shells into it.
Place the pan over high heat. Wait for the shells to open. Remove the tops by removing the mussels from the pan and letting them cool slightly.
Crush the garlic.
Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and remove the skins. Grate the tomato pulp, chop with a blender or rub through a sieve. Mix with garlic.
Grind salt, pepper and cloves in a mortar.
Grate stale bread and add to tomato puree.
Put the spicy mixture there.
Add olive oil, stir.
Place the mussels, shell side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Place tomato mixture on top of each mussel.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and place a baking sheet in it.

After 10 minutes, the mussels baked in tomato sauce are ready. This recipe is most often used to prepare fresh mussels, but it can also be used for frozen shellfish.

Mussels baked in shells with cheese

large frozen or fresh mussels – 1 kg;
hard cheese – 120 g;
mayonnaise or sour cream – 100 ml;
lemon – 0.25 pcs.;
garlic – 2 cloves;
water – 0.5 l.

Wash and peel the mussels thoroughly, cover with cold water and place over high heat.
Cook for 7–8 minutes. Discard any unopened shells. Cool the rest.
Remove the mussel meat and cut each into 3-4 pieces.
Place mussel meat in a bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over them.
Add garlic, sour cream or mayonnaise passed through a press to the mussels, stir.
Fill the shells with the mixture.
Finely grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the shells.
Place the shells on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 degrees.

A dish prepared according to this recipe can be called exquisite. It will perfectly decorate the holiday table.

Don't be afraid to buy mussels in their shells. It's easy to prepare them at home. At the same time, the appearance of the finished dish and its taste will almost certainly impress your guests.

Not everyone knows how to cook frozen mussels. Moreover, after trying such a product, few remain its eternal fans. This is due, first of all, to the fact that the mentioned shellfish is not always prepared correctly. After all, in order to amaze your guests with a delicious exotic dish, it needs to be subjected to special heat treatment.

So, let's figure out together how to cook frozen mussels so that their taste becomes delicious and unforgettable.

Choosing the right product

Before you cook peeled frozen mussels, you need to find out how to choose them correctly:

There should be no frost on the frozen product, as well as cracks in the glaze of the ice. If such defects do exist, then, most likely, the shellfish have already been thawed, and during the next thawing they will almost completely lose their beneficial properties.
Frozen peeled mussels should be light in color.
It is recommended to purchase only the largest shellfish. After all, they are considered the most delicious and juicy. As a rule, on packages with this product two numbers are always indicated, which indicate the number of pieces per kilogram (55/1 or 40/1). Thus, the lower the first number, the larger the mussels will be.
Mussels are a natural filter of the aquatic environment. According to experts, they filter about 700 liters of liquid per day. And if shellfish are grown in an ecologically polluted region, they can accumulate a lot of harmful substances. It is better not to eat such a product, as there is a high risk of poisoning.
It should be noted that from 1 kg of unpeeled mussels, about 100 g of peeled mussels come out.

Defrosting the product and cleaning it properly

Before cooking frozen mussels, they must be thawed. To do this, the glazed clams must be removed from the bag, and then placed in a deep bowl and placed in the refrigerator. After the ice has completely melted, the product must be placed in a colander and then rinsed thoroughly under strong pressure of cool water. This procedure will help you get rid of sand, which often remains in shellfish after they are cleaned.

It should be noted that very often housewives purchase such a product in shells. And here the question arises not only about cooking this ingredient, but also about how to clean frozen mussels. This is quite easy to do. It is necessary to defrost the product by placing it in cold water, and then wash it thoroughly with a brush. Next, the shells need to be boiled (for 15-17 minutes), cooled and the shellfish removed from the opened shells.

In order to save time and money, we recommend that you purchase already peeled mussels. After all, you often find spoiled shellfish in shells that are unsuitable for consumption.

Frozen peeled mussels: recipes for preparing various dishes

Mussels can be cooked in completely different ways: in a slow cooker, steamed, in the microwave, and on the stove. Thawed shellfish are fried, boiled, baked and even pickled. This seafood is used to prepare not only soups and salads, but also appetizers and hot dishes. It should be thermally treated for only about 3-5 minutes.

Before cooking peeled frozen mussels, you should remember that such shellfish can have a rather strong aroma and taste of fish or mud. In order to get rid of them, experts recommend sprinkling the thawed and clean product with freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Fried mussels with onion and garlic

How to cook frozen mussels in a frying pan? For this savory dish we will need:

large onions - 2 pcs.;
fresh butter - 70 g;
salt and black pepper - to taste;
frozen large mussels - 800 g;
fresh garlic - a couple of cloves.

Cooking process

This dish turns out very tasty and nutritious. It can be consumed just like that, or served at the table along with some side dish.

So, before you deliciously cook frozen mussels, they should be thoroughly thawed, washed, and then completely dried by shaking vigorously in a colander or keeping them on paper towels. Next, you need to place the shellfish in a saucepan, add butter there and heat everything up as much as possible. After this, place finely chopped onions in the same bowl and mix everything thoroughly. As a result of this processing, you should get tasty and very juicy mussel meat. After they are well fried, add allspice, grated garlic and salt. After mixing the ingredients well, they need to be removed from the heat, covered with a lid and kept in this position for about three minutes.

Cooking shellfish in Belgian style

Only experienced cooks know how to boil frozen mussels in wine. But so that you can surprise your guests with such an exotic dish, we will reveal this secret right now.

So, to prepare mussels in Belgian style we will need:

Process of preparing shellfish

How to cook frozen mussels in white semi-sweet wine? To do this, you need to pour the alcoholic drink into the pan, and then put it on low heat and let it boil for about one minute. Next, add some Provençal herbs to the wine and add 400 grams of thawed mussels. It is recommended to simmer the shellfish over low heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring regularly with a large spoon.

Making creamy sauce

To make a delicious and aromatic sauce for mussels, you should take a small saucepan, pour low-fat cream into it, and then add a large spoonful of Dijon mustard and finely chopped leeks. Sometimes some cooks add a small amount of capers along with the herbs. Finally, add blue cheese, pre-cut into small cubes, to the cream. Next, the sauce must be seasoned with white pepper and brought to the state of thick sour cream.

How to serve it at the dinner table?

After the mussels are boiled in wine, they should be drained in a colander, shaken thoroughly, and then placed on a plate and poured with creamy sauce. In addition to this dish, you can serve some vegetables.

Baked clams in the oven

Surprisingly, this product turns out very tasty not only when boiled or fried, but also when baked. For this we need:

Preparing the shellfish

How should you bake frozen mussel meat? We will tell you how to prepare such a dish right now. To do this, you need to take a saucepan, pour water into it, add salt and bring to a boil. Next, you need to pour the thawed mussels into the dishes and boil them for about 3 minutes. After this, the products must be discarded in a colander and the liquid should be allowed to drain as much as possible.

Preparing a flavorful sauce for a dish

What needs to be done to ensure that you get very tasty frozen mussel meat? We will tell you how to prepare a creamy sauce for such a baked dish right now. To do this, you need to mash two processed cheeses with a fork, add chicken yolk, wheat flour, potato starch and squeezed garlic cloves. All ingredients should be mixed well. Next, you need to add about 300 ml of heavy cream to the resulting mass. After salting and peppering all the ingredients, mix them thoroughly again.

Forming and baking dishes in the oven

After the mussels are boiled and the sauce is completely ready, you can safely start baking the dish. To do this, you need to take a deep mold, line its surface with cooking foil or grease it with butter. Next, you need to place all the boiled shellfish in the bowl, and then pour in the creamy sauce and sprinkle with grated hard cheese.

Finally, the formed dish should be placed in an oven preheated to 200 degrees and baked until a golden brown and appetizing crust appears. Before serving, shellfish need to be sprinkled with grated cheese again.

Tasty and quick marinating of mussels in oil

How to marinate frozen mussels so you can enjoy them for several weeks? To do this, you need to prepare the following:

drinking water - 1 l;
sweet onion - 1 pc.;
hot red pepper - 1 pc.;
medium-sized table salt - ½ tablespoon;
liquid smoke - dessert spoon;
peeled and thawed mussels - 500 g;
garlic - 1 head;
any spices (dry dill, potted pepper, etc.) - add to taste;
vegetable oil - 200 ml.

Preparing Ingredients

In order to marinate such a product, you should boil it in advance. To do this, you need to pour 1 liter of water into a saucepan, boil it, and then throw in the peeled onion, red hot pepper and add salt. It is recommended to cook the broth for about a quarter of an hour. Next, add a dessert spoon of liquid smoke and 500 g of peeled and thawed mussels. It is advisable to cook the ingredients in this composition for about three minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix the chopped head of garlic and spices to taste (for example, dry dill, black peppercorns, etc.).

Forming the workpiece

After the mussels are ready, you should prepare the jars and lids, and then put the garlic with spices and boiled shellfish in them. All ingredients should be poured with vegetable oil, tightly closed and stored in a cool room. After about 12 hours, the marinated mussels will be completely ready to eat. It is recommended to store them in the refrigerator for no more than 2-3 weeks. This aromatic preparation should be served at the holiday table as an appetizer, or you can use it to prepare other dishes.

Cooking mussels in a slow cooker

You already know how to cook mussel dishes (frozen, peeled) on the stove and in the oven. That is why now we want to tell you how you can make delicious goulash from shellfish in a kitchen device such as a slow cooker. For this we need:

Cooking process

Frozen mussels, the preparation of which involves the use of a multicooker, turn out especially tasty if you add aromatic spices and garlic to them. But first things first.

Cleaned and melted shellfish should be placed in the bowl of the device, pour in olive oil and fry in baking mode for 10 minutes. Next, you need to add fresh tomatoes chopped in a blender and low-fat cream to the product. Having seasoned the dish with aromatic spices, salt and herbs, it should be cooked on the same program for about 10 minutes. After the excess liquid has evaporated and the shellfish have acquired a pleasant creamy tomato taste, add grated garlic to them and immediately distribute among plates. It should be noted that this dish is served only with a side dish.

Delicious and satisfying pasta with shellfish

Spaghetti and pasta lovers will definitely appreciate this simple recipe. Moreover, such a dish has every chance of becoming one of the most beloved. To prepare it we will need:

peeled and thawed mussels - 200 g;
peeled shrimp - 200 g;
peeled squid - 200 g;
butter - 90 g;
garlic cloves - 4 pcs.;
pasta or spaghetti - 500 g;
pepper and salt - add to taste;
low-fat cream - 150 ml;
wheat flour - 2 large spoons;
fresh parsley sprigs - to decorate the finished dish.

Cooking process

To prepare a tasty and satisfying pasta with mussels, you must follow the following sequence of actions:

Proper serving of food at the dinner table

Place the finished seafood pasta on a large plate and then generously pour the creamy sauce over it. It is advisable to serve this dish hot for lunch, garnishing it with several sprigs of fresh parsley. Bon appetit!