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SMOKED MUSSELS IN THE EGG, OUTSTANDING

mad max beyond eggdome
mad max beyond eggdome Posts: 8,134
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
all,[p]did mussels in the egg tonight . . . they came out great. . .[p]first, took a bag of fresh water mussels. . .[p]in large pot, got about 1/2 bottle of white wine steaming. . .threw the mussels in for about 5 minutes, until they opened up . . .emptied them into a metal collander, reserving the white wine stock. . .took the collander full of mussels out and put it in the egg. . .had the plate setter set up on top of the grid, set the collander on top of the plate setter w/ dome temps at around 300 degrees (fire was maple leaf lump with one big chunk of hickory). . .while the mussels smoked in the dome, i strained the reserve liquid, put it back in a small pot, added a can of chopped tomatoes, kosher salt and pepper and let that cook until reduced about 1/3. . .after about 15 - 20 minutes, brought the mussels back in, laid them out in half shells, then served the tomatoe and white wine broth on top of them. . .[p]they had a great smokey flavor, and were not tough or chewy at all. . .the tomatoe broth is nice on mussels in general, really complimented the smokey flavor from the egg. . ..[p]one note, i would normally have put a fair amount of garlic in the white wine broth, but the wife is allergic to garlic these days, but i would recommend it to others who try this. . .[p]while all this was going on, i had some more yukon golds that i coated in olive oil and kosher salt and laid around the edge of the egg. .. when the mussels came off, i let the egg go up to over 400, then threw a marinated flank steak (sorry, not rolled) on and grilled that. . . had the mussels with the steak w/ yukon golds and sliced avacado . .. outstanding dinner. .. .[p]cheers[p]max

Comments

  • WooDoggies
    WooDoggies Posts: 2,390
    Dude! [p]Very nice. [p]I've done a variation of this on the stove in a wok with crushed red pepper, garlic and shallots....... the recipe was called "mussels diablo".
    Served with crusty bread to sop the broth.......yow. [p]The addition of smoke will add a lot to that dish...... thanks for posting that, mang![p]John [p]

  • djm5x9
    djm5x9 Posts: 1,342
    WooDoggies:[p]More or less the recipe on the bag with some minor changes? Hmmmmm! Fresh mussels from the Reading Terminal Market . . . Fresh French bread from the Reading Terminal Market . . . You Dawg!
    [/b]
  • WooDoggies
    WooDoggies Posts: 2,390
    djm5x9,[p]Good food is bountiful in these parts fer sure.[p]As a visiting friend of mine once said, "They aint afraid of food around here, are they?"[p]Well, you know........... :~)
  • djm5x9,
    i'd say that whatever your mussel method is (hey, i like that - mussel method), it will be that much better by pulling them after a partial steam, smoking them for 15 minutes or so, then returning them to your regular recipe, whatever it is. . .the smoke just added a nice extra flavor that wasn't overwhelming, and like i said, didn't dry out or toughen the mussels (must be the wonderful, moisture retaining ceramics).... [p]

  • WooDoggies,
    didn't even think about the crusty bread, but we had so much other food, it wasn't missed. .. reminds me though of the best restaurant for mussels around . . .its called "Eat Berthas Mussels". . .on Broadway in Fells Point, Baltimore. . .they give you a giant bowl of steamed mussels, a bunch of different dipping sauces and a big old crusty sourdough bread. . .absolutely outstanding. ..[p]got to go to baltimore. ...[p]cheers dog[p]max

  • mad max beyond eggdome,
    I logged in just to see if I could find a good mussels recipe. Yours sounds got. Have you done any direct with just garlic and butter? I had some mussels off the wood grill at Palomino's in Indy on Friday and really enjoyed them.[p]Have a great day.[p]pastor_chuck

  • pastor_chuck,
    i've never tried doing them direct. . .always steamed them in an italian style (with the white wine and tomatos). . .i would think you'd need some of those big pacific green jobs to go direct wouldn't you. .. as i live in virginia, i'm partial to the small black jobs originally from the chesapeake but now i guess they're farm raised all over the place... .

  • Seth
    Seth Posts: 79
    mad max beyond eggdome,
    What kind of wine did you use?
    Seth

  • seth,
    there was an old half bottle of white in the fridge (the bottle went out in the recycle this mornng) and i really didn't pay attention to the lable . ..but it was probably a bottle from Horton Vineyards in virginia (my wife really likes their stuff). .. . frankly, while i use the stuff to cook, i'm not a wine drinker. . .it all tastes like boones farm to me. .. and i'm not sure it would make much difference for steaming mussels and making the broth.. ..white is white. . .IMHO[p]now, having said that, i'm sure there are palates out there that would differ with me on the benefits of using one kind of white wine over another with a dish like this...[p]i'd say go with whatever you like. . .[p]best[p]max

  • Seth
    Seth Posts: 79
    seth,
    anybody have any suggestions on what wine to use with this? I am bad at understanding what wine to use with what, but when i have had this type dish, it has always been tasty. Thanks in advance,
    Seth

  • seth,
    if no one else responds to your question, don't stress too much over this one. . .despite my flipent response before, i really don't believe that the type of white wine you use will make that much difference in the taste of this dish. . ..i really believe that just about any old white wine (yes, even a bottle with a screw on top), will probably suffice, so long as it is white wine. . ..[p]don't let this issue keep you from cooking up a good batch of mussels. . . :-) [p]best[p]max

  • WooDoggies
    WooDoggies Posts: 2,390
    mad max beyond eggdome,[p]Recipes like this usually call for just plain old "dry white wine" without being anymore specific than that.[p]So, a dry $6 bottle would do fine but your usual pantry favorites like Ripple, Boones Farm and Mad Dog would probably add a little too much low brow flare to the dish. :~)[p]John[p]
  • WooDoggies,
    thanks dog, i agree. .. .funny thing is, we are well stocked with some rather pricey virginia wines around here as my wife took a liking to them. . .she used to actually 'pour' for horton vineyards at the local wine festivals, and theyed pay her with bottles, so we have a pretty good stock on hand. . .as a result, here is stupid max, who again, can't tell a good bottle from a bad one. . .using $15 - $20 bottles of wine in cooking recipes. . .white wines in seafood dishes.. .. some pretty pricey reds for things like beef, veal and chicken sauces. . .oh well, while i don't like to drink the stuff, it sure does make for a nice finish sauce for meat/foul/fish. . .[p]come thanksgiving, i'll regale everyone with what i do with white wine and a turkey. . .[p]cheers[p]max

  • Seth
    Seth Posts: 79
    mad max beyond eggdome,
    Thanks guys, i will do this dish this weekend.
    Seth

  • seth,
    you bet!!!. ..make sure you post next week and let us know how it turned out. ...and remember, while i can't/couldn't, put some garlic in when steaming the mussels... .[p]good luck, [p]max

  • Seth
    Seth Posts: 79
    mad max beyond eggdome,
    Garlic is a must with this dish. If i can figure out how to do pics, i will send then along. Happy weekend to all.
    Seth

  • WooDoggies
    WooDoggies Posts: 2,390
    mad max beyond eggdome,[p]Dude, this thread is way on down here!
    I'm not much of a white wine drinker so it's hard for me to tell a difference between the good and mediocre stuff when using it in dishes.
    But I have noticed a difference when cooking with red wines..... the finer stuff does make for a better dish.[p]Looking forward to more of your recipes.
    John

  • WooDoggies,
    dog, i agree about the reds, even though i'm not a wine drinker. . . .you need fuller bodied reds for fuller bodied sauces. . .obviously, specific wines like a marsalla for veal or chicken marsalla, etc. . ..sweet wines for dessert type recipes. .. [p]one thing i will do, if i'm simply sauteing chicken or pork chops in a pan, is that i'll take whatever red is open, deglaze the pan with it.. .add a couple of pads of butter, and waa laa, you have a nice sauce to serve over the chicken to add a little something. . .[p]beers (or should i say 'vines')[p]max

  • Are you using fresh or frozen mussels? I bought some frozen and thawed them in fridge overnight and boy did they stink! Also used Sherry as liquor stores are closed on Sunday. We'll see how the turn out soon. But if you don't hear from me I died of food poisoning.
  • I'm alive and the mussels were phenomenal!