French
Moules Marinières
Live mussels steam open in shallot, garlic, thyme, and white wine before cold butter turns their briny liquor glossy.
4 servings · 25 minutes prep · 15 minutes cook
Ingredients
Mussels
- 4 lb live mussels, scrubbed and debearded
Marinière broth
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided; final portion cold
- 3 large shallots, finely minced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Directions
Inspect the mussels
- Discard cracked mussels and any live mussel that stays open after a firm tap. Keep them cold until the pot is ready.
Steam rapidly
- Melt half the unsalted butter in a wide heavy pot. Sweat shallot and garlic cloves without browning, 3 minutes. Add dry white wine, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf and boil 2 minutes.
- Add the mussels, cover, and steam over high heat. Beginning after 3 minutes, remove opened mussels with tongs; discard any closed shells after 6 minutes total.
Finish the broth
- Boil the liquor until concentrated, 2-3 minutes; strain if gritty. Off heat, swirl in the remaining cold butter, parsley, and black pepper. Return mussels only long enough to coat and serve immediately.
