# Sauce for steamed mussels? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801 "2011-05-22T19:02:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801/21 "2011-05-23T01:36:22Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > Some curry powder and ginger are a nice addtion to this broth. Kaffer lime leaves add to this as well. > > emacknight’s sauce with some diced tomatoes is good as well. > > Alton Brown suggests taking the meat from two or three of the mussels and using a hand blender to puree them into the broth to thicken it. I haven’t had great luck with this method myself. No question there are tons of variations. Like you said, using garlic and ginger, a touch of Thai curry paste, and finishing it with coconut milk is my favourite. Great over rice. I also love adding a bunch of red chili flakes, using beer instead of wine, or adding simple marinara sauce instead of cream. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801/22 "2011-05-23T02:09:41Z")
Just for the hell of it, here’s my recipe for mussels provencale: 2 1/4 lbs mussels, cleaned 1 cup dry white wine 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 onions, chopped 1 celery stalk, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 TBSP chopped fresh basil, plus extra to garnish bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf) 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 lb. ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 14-oz can chopped tomatoes salt and pepper 1 teaspoon sugar Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onions, celery, garlic, basil and bouquet garni, and cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until softened but not browned. Mix in the tomato paste and tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar, and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Put the mussels in a pot with the wine, over high heat, and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes only, until the mussels have opened. Remove the mussels from the cooking liquid and add the liquid to the prepared vegetables. Heat thoroughly and ladle into deep bowls. Top with cooked mussels and garnish with basil. Serve with crostini. Makes two hefty servings. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801/23 "2011-05-23T02:20:51Z")
> [@moorland reiver](#): > > I was having a conversation with a close friend about seafood. He mentioned that back in the 80’s he had steamed mussels with a white (milky) “kinda garlicky” sauce in Venice, Ca.? Although, I’m sure the first couple of replies pretty much covered it… there is such a thing as [Steamed Mussels with Aioli](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/wine-steamed-mussels-with-aioli-10000001598638/) (Garlic Mayo), and along with an order of proper skin on blanched and crisp fried belgian style french fries, you just might surpass his memory. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801/24 "2011-05-23T02:35:23Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > No question there are tons of variations. Like you said, using garlic and ginger, a touch of Thai curry paste, and finishing it with coconut milk is my favourite. Great over rice. > > I also love adding a bunch of red chili flakes, using beer instead of wine, or adding simple marinara sauce instead of cream. Yeah, I do a version of mussels with Thai red curry paste and coconut milk that seems to be a crowd pleaser. That said, when it comes to mussles, or at least _good_ mussels, my favorite preparation is the simple one: white wine (or gueuze), garlic, butter, a sprinkling of your favorite herbs, and that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801/25 "2011-05-23T02:52:18Z")
Great. Now I’m fucking hungry and due to extreme overtime at work because of computer issues my planned trip to the store is indefinitely on hold. Thanks a lot, Dope! :mad: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801/26 "2011-05-23T09:35:52Z")
Several times recently I have seen or heard people discounting the myth of unopened mussles. [Here is Dr Karl](http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/10/29/2404364.htm), Australia’s Cecil Adams on the subject. \*Look at the influential cookery books of the 1960s, such as Larousse Gastronomique in 1965 and Italian Food by Elizabeth David in 1966. These books made absolutely no mention of discarding unopened mussels. The myth seems to have been started by the English food writer, Jane Grigson in her 1973 publication, Fish Book. The exact quote is: Throw away any mussels that refuse to open. According to Nick Ruello, the mussel expert and fisheries biologist, this advice stuck as tightly as a barnacle. By the 1970s, some 13 per cent of cookery books were agreeing with Jane Grigson; and by the 1980s, this had risen to 31 per cent. By the 1990s, there was almost universal agreement among the cookbook writers — none of whom were fisheries biologists. Indeed, Nick Ruello personally contacted two prominent Australian cookbook writers and asked them why they wrote this. Their replies were that the information: came from their young research assistants who did much of the work in preparing the latest book. It was as though once the advice had been written down, it kept on spreading because other writers quoted it, without checking if it was correct or not. And it was not.\* ---
**Author:** ![petalpusher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9e8a1a/32.png) [@petalpusher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/petalpusher)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801/27 "2011-05-23T12:55:54Z")
Bonefish Grill has an awesome mussel dish. It tastes like they add a few star anise to the broth. Delicious! ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801/28 "2011-05-23T15:01:22Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > Personally I’ve never found this broth thick to stick well to linguini, which is why I usually go for dipping bread. This is where I’d follow **sh1bu1** ’s suggestion of removing the mussels, adding cream, then reducing the broth as thick as you can get it. A little (or a lot) of parm will help tighten it at the end. I’d be really careful with parmesan cheese, and probably avoid it altogether with a white seafood sauce. The cheese can really stomp all over the delicate flavor of the shellfish. I mean, it will still be edible, even tasty, but it’s a waste of expensive shellfish, if you’re covering up the flavor that much. ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801/29 "2011-05-23T16:25:23Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I’d be really careful with parmesan cheese, and probably avoid it altogether with a white seafood sauce. The cheese can really stomp all over the delicate flavor of the shellfish. I mean, it will still be edible, even tasty, but it’s a waste of expensive shellfish, if you’re covering up the flavor that much. The beauty of mussels is that they’re dirt cheap, so in this case they’re adding to the parm. Admittedly I’d be content with the block of parm on its own but that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801/30 "2011-05-23T16:40:50Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Just for the hell of it, here’s my recipe for mussels provencale: > > 2 1/4 lbs mussels, cleaned > 1 cup dry white wine > > 1 tablespoon olive oil > 2 onions, chopped > 1 celery stalk, chopped > 2 garlic cloves, chopped > 1 TBSP chopped fresh basil, plus extra to garnish > bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf) > 1 tablespoon tomato paste > 1 lb. ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 14-oz can chopped tomatoes > salt and pepper > 1 teaspoon sugar > > Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onions, celery, garlic, basil and bouquet garni, and cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until softened but not browned. > > Mix in the tomato paste and tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar, and simmer gently for 30 minutes. > > Put the mussels in a pot with the wine, over high heat, and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes only, until the mussels have opened. > > Remove the mussels from the cooking liquid and add the liquid to the prepared vegetables. Heat thoroughly and ladle into deep bowls. Top with cooked mussels and garnish with basil. Serve with crostini. Makes two hefty servings. Thanks **Chefguy** , I know what I’m having for dinner soon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sauce-for-steamed-mussels/582801.md?page=1)