Mussels in Wine Garlic Butter Sauce are a delicious, decadent main course to serve, and are easier to make than you might think.
My husband surprised me by bringing home a large bag of fresh Penn Cove (Washington state) mussels a couple of months ago, after a shopping trip to Costco. My first thought was… “I’ve EATEN them in restaurants and enjoyed them, but how on earth do you COOK them”? True story. I had never, in our 45 years of marriage COOKED mussels before. Gulp.
I immediately started a crazed internet search, and realized it wasn’t as complicated as I thought. Now if you’ve been cooking mussels for years, you’re probably giggling at this, but it’s true. I was on a mission. Here I was, looking at a HUGE (Costco sized) bag of fresh seafood that I had to use within a few days, so they wouldn’t go to waste. I ended up using part of the mussels for this recipe, and then adapted another recipe for Thai-inspired green curry mussels to use the rest a couple days later (also fabulous)!
The recipe I found was actually in the form of a video I discovered on YouTube. After watching it a few times, and frantically scribbling down the recipe as a restaurant chef prepared them, I decided to GO FOR IT! My husband and I helped each other make this dish, and we had lots of fun cooking together in the process. The results far exceeded my expectations! These mussels in wine garlic butter sauce taste fantastic, and were so much easier to prepare than I anticipated. Here’s how to make this dish:
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
Preparing To Cook The Mussels
Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet (one that has a LID). Once the oil is hot, but not smoking, add minced shallot, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add minced garlic and a pinch of red chili flakes. Continue to cook, stirring often, for 30 seconds, being careful to not burn the garlic (or it becomes bitter).
Cooking The Mussels
Add the rinsed, drained closed shell mussels to the skillet and toss, to coat them with the shallots and garlic in the pan. Pour white wine into the skillet, stir quickly to incorporate, then cover the skillet. Let the mussels steam (covered) for about 3-4 minutes, or until most or all of the shells have opened. Keep an eye on the pan, and check them after 2-3 minutes to see if the shells have opened.
The mussels are done cooking when their shells have opened, revealing the meat inside. Use a slotted spoon to remove the mussels from the skillet, letting any accumulated juices drain back into the pan. This liquid in the skillet will be used to make the sauce.
Transfer the mussels to serving bowls and keep them warm while you make the sauce. Discard any mussels that didn’t open while cooking.
Make The Wine Garlic Butter Sauce
Immediately add butter to the liquid in the skillet after removing the mussels. Cook until the butter has melted, stirring to combine, then add chopped parsley to the sauce.
Serve The Mussels In Wine Garlic Butter Sauce
Pour the sauce over the mussels, evenly dividing it between the bowls and serve immediately, while hot. I recommend a nice piece of crusty garlic bread on the side, because it tastes delicious dipped in the sauce. My husband and I put a large extra bowl in the middle of the table to put our discarded shells in as we eat them.
Here is a close up of one of the mussels in wine garlic butter sauce. It sure tastes great, flavored with that yummy sauce!
These delicious mussels are really a lot easier to make than you might have imagined. My husband and I had fun cooking this meal together, and we truly love this dish! I hope you enjoy this recipe, and have the opportunity to make it soon! Thank you for stopping by and I hope you will come back again. Take care, and may God bless you.
Looking for More SEAFOOD Recipes?
You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have a wonderful variety of seafood recipes for you to enjoy, including:
- Thai Green Curry Mussels
- Sweet Spicy Salmon
- Simple Szechuan Shrimp
- Baked Dover Sole Rollatini
- Garlic Butter Grilled Trout
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Original recipe source: YouTube video from Aqua El Gaucho in the Revelers Club Collection
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Mussels in Wine Garlic Butter Sauce are a delicious, decadent main course to serve, and are easier to make than you might think.
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced shallots
- 1½ teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 pinch red chili flakes
- 2 pounds mussels rinsed, drained
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
Rinse mussels in a strainer, then drain. Set aside.
Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet (one that has a LID). When oil is hot, add minced shallot; cook 2 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and a pinch of red chili flakes. Continue cooking, stirring often, for 30 seconds.
Add mussels; toss or stir to combine with shallot/garlic mixture, then add wine. Stir to incorporate, then cover skillet. Steam mussels (covered) for about 3-4 minutes. Keep an eye on the pan; check them after 3 minutes to see if they shells have opened, revealing meat inside. They are finished cooking once the shells have opened.
Use a slotted spoon to remove mussels from skillet, letting any accumulated juices drain back into the pan. This liquid in the skillet will be used to make the sauce. Transfer mussels to serving bowls; keep them warm while you make sauce. Discard any mussels that didn't open while cooking.
Immediately add butter to liquid remaining in the skillet. Cook only until the butter melts, stirring to incorporate it into the sauce. Add chopped parsley and stir.
Pour the sauce over the mussels, evenly dividing between bowls. Serve immediately, and enjoy!
NOTE: The butter used in the sauce contains the most calories in this dish. The calorie calculation was made assuming ALL of the sauce for each portion is consumed. If all of the broth in the bowl is not consumed, the calorie count will be considerably less than stated.
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!