Prepare mussels properly – the classic in white wine sauce

Fresh mussels are a wonderful delicacy and a great source of protein, but only as long as they’re prepared properly. Here you can find out how long you have to cook mussels, how many mussels you need per person and why you should not eat closed mussels.

Peak mussel season is from September to February. This is easy to remember – always in the months whose names contain the letter “R”. During this time you can almost always be sure to find fresh mussels in your trusted fish shop or in the supermarket. By the way: the smell of seawater and algae is a great indicator of fresh mussels.

Table of contents:

• Fresh mussels in a vegetable and white wine sauce
• How long do I have to soak mussels?
• How long to cook mussels?
• How do you recognize bad mussels?
• When not to eat mussels?
• How healthy are mussels?
• How many kg of mussels per person?
• Would you have known that about mussels?
• Prepare mussels properly – the classic in white wine sauce in German
• Now it's your turn, your support is needed

Fresh mussels in a vegetable and white wine sauce

Mussels are traditionally cooked in a broth of vegetables and white wine for about 8-10 minutes. Mussels that have not opened should not be eaten and should be disposed of – they are inedible. Incidentally, many people have the idea that they have to boil the mussels in several liters of water. Exactly the opposite is the case. Half a liter of liquid, which at least covers the bottom of the saucepan, is usually sufficient.

You should have the following at home:

2 kg of fresh mussels (enough for 2-3 hungry people)
1 bunch of soup vegetables (leek, celery and carrots)
1 onion[/ingredient]
1 clove of garlic, fresh
3 tablespoons good olive oil
0.5 L dry white wine
fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 chili
salt
pepper

It is prepared as follows:

Rinse and wash the mussels thoroughly. If individual mussels are already open or do NOT close by themselves when watered and washed, you should dispose of them. Wash the soup vegetables, peel and cut into tender (5×5 mm) cubes. Peel and finely chop onions and garlic. Now heat some good olive oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the chopped soup vegetables with the onions and garlic.

Now deglaze with half a liter of white wine, lightly pepper and salt (if you like, you can add the chili at this point), bring to the boil and add the mussels. Now cook on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes.

After the cooking time you can take them out of the pot with a slotted spoon and sort out those mussels that have not opened. Sprinkle with flat-leaf parsley and serve with fresh ciabatta or homemade bread. Serve with a chilled, good white wine, of course. Bon appetit!

In short – after a good 30 minutes you have conjured up delicious mussels in a vegetable and white wine sauce on the table.

How long do I have to soak mussels?

I soak fresh mussels in cold, salty water for about half an hour before cooking. Feel free to change the water from time to time. Then put it in a colander and drain well.

How long to cook mussels?

Mussels should be cooked for about eight to ten minutes. They already open after the first few minutes. During the cooking time you should stir them several times so that the ones on top also get down into the cooking brew. Mussels that have not opened during preparation should not be eaten and should be discarded.

How do you recognize bad mussels?

Mussels are usually processed live. Mussels should therefore still be closed when you buy them. If some are already open and do NOT close by themselves when you wash them and tap them, you should dispose of them. Conversely, those that do NOT open during cooking should also be discarded.

When not to eat mussels?

In the summer months, mussels are usually of lower quality. The reason for this is that the mussels spawn in the summer months and are correspondingly leaner. This also has a negative effect on the taste.

How healthy are mussels?

Mussels contain many nutrients, vitamins and trace elements. However, consumption is not always risk-free. In this way, they can accumulate toxic substances which, in increased concentrations, can possibly lead to poisoning in one or the other. By the way: since mussels are 80 percent water, they only have a low calorie content of around 60 kilocalories per 100 grams.

How many kg of mussels per person?

If you really want to eat your fill of mussels, you should count on at least 1 kilogram per person. This ultimately results in about 150 grams of mussel meat. When I cook mussels, 1.5 kilograms are usually enough for 3 people.

Would you have known that about mussels?

Where mussels live, there is usually a strong current. In order to be able to survive in such places and not be washed out into the sea, mussels have a kind of “super glue”. With the help of this “super glue” they can stick to almost any surface. Science has also been interested in this for a long time. Such an adhesive is therefore interesting for science because it z. B. can be used under water. The oldest mussels (Mytilidae), also called pile mussels, are known from the Devonian. Incidentally, the Devonian Age began about 419.2 million years ago and ended about 358.9 million years ago. Some types of mussels can get very old. An age of up to 126 years has been proven for Crenomytilus grayanus.

Prepare mussels properly – the classic in white wine sauce in German

You can find this article in German at www.rolfkocht.de as “Miesmuscheln richtig zubereiten – der Klassiker in Weißwein”

Now it's your turn, your support is needed.

Did you like the post "Prepare mussels properly – the classic in white wine sauce"?

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Loading...

Simply select the number of stars and click. Thank you very much for your review

---

I would be very happy about a donation. Thank you very much ;)

With your donation you help to finance the technically necessary requirements for the ROLF.cooking food blog. Thank you very much for your donation

---

You don't want to miss anything? Then follow me!