Steamed Mussels in Beer Sauce Recipe

Steamed mussels are often found at the classiest, most expensive 5-star restaurants. However, that doesn’t mean that steamed mussels can only be made by professional chefs. In fact, a 5-star-worthy steamed mussels dish can be found in your own dining room -- no cooking skills required!

Since a few mussels on their own don’t do much to fill you up, this dish is best served as a lunch, hearty snack, or appetizer. Also, eating it with some crusty bread is a great way to soak up all the flavors of the dish and make it last. To make it even more filling, you can serve it with pasta.

When working with seafood and shellfish, it’s always important to use good-quality, prime ingredients. Make sure to double check that your mussels are alive before cooking. Dead mussels prior to steaming could lead to a stomach ache or worse!

If any mussels are open before cooking, give them a tap. If they close, you can still use them. If they remain open, throw them away -- they’re dead.

This recipe is on the quick side. So, if you have guests coming over and not much time to plan, as long as you can get a few pounds of mussels, you’re practically set and ready to go. While most steamed mussel dishes are made with wine, there’s no reason why a light beer like FRIO wouldn’t work just as well.

With all the other added ingredients, it won’t taste like you’re simply dunking your mussels in beer. Yet, the rich beer flavor will still come through and give your dish a pleasant hoppy flavor.

TIME: About 15 minutes

- Put some oil into a pot and saute the garlic until it starts browning. Next, add in the butter, and some salt and pepper. Then, pour in the beer and the parsley and cover. Let this come to a boil before you add in the mussels.

- Simmer until most of the mussels have opened up. This will take about 4-7 minutes.

- Ladle the mussels and sauce into serving bowls and top with basil. You can also include some bread and lemon wedges. A good crust prevents the bread from getting too soggy, which makes it perfect for a dish like this. If you don’t have a baguette handy, you can use toasted loaf bread instead.