Tips & tricks
How to: prepare mussels
There’s no greater feast than eating mussels! Piet Devriendt, mussel chef at Oesterput restaurant, is your go-to guy when it comes to preparing the ultimate mussels. Get that pan on the heat!
door Sharon van Lokhorst
Mussel business
Of course, you know that mussels that don’t open, even after a firm tap, should be discarded immediately. Because good grief, a bad mussel can make you seriously ill. And if you also follow Piet’s ten commandments, you’ll have a pot of mussels to send you into ecstasy.
Preparing mussels: the ten commandments
- Always provide a separate mussel pot per person
- Season the mussels generously with pepper
- Cut the mussel vegetables finely enough so they are cooked at the same time as the mussels
- Always moisten the mussels with a little water or white wine
- Never throw away the mussel juices; they can be a perfect substitute for fish fumet
- When filling a mussel pot, always follow this order: first the mussels in the pot, then the vegetables on top, followed by the pepper and finally, if desired, garlic butter
- Cook over high heat
- Always cook with the lid on
- Shake the mussels well during cooking so the vegetables and mussels are nicely mixed
- If you want to fry mussels, let them cool first after cooking. This way, they remain beautifully intact.
Recipe: mussels in white wine
What you need (serves 4)
4 kg jumbo mussels
1 bunch of celery
2 large onions
a splash of water
4 tbsp garlic butter
4 tsp ground white pepper
75 cl white cooking wine
How to make mussels in white wine
- Rinse the mussels, clean the celery, and finely chop the stalks and onions into equal-sized pieces.
- Divide the mussels and vegetables among 4 mussel pots.
- Add a splash of water, 1 tablespoon of garlic butter and 1 teaspoon of pepper to each pot.
- Cook the mussels over high heat with the lid on. After about 3 minutes, shake the mussels so the mussels and vegetables are well mixed. Continue cooking for another 3 minutes over high heat.
- As soon as all the shells open, leave the mussels on the heat for 1 more minute. Shake before serving and finish with the wine.
You’ll find more delicious mussel recipes in:
Mussels | Piet and Robbe Devriendt | € 24.99 | Carrera Culinair
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