Cook this: Drunken mussels from Food, Culture, Place - National Post

'Wild mussels are just one of the amazing goodies from the sea in Newfoundland,' says Lori McCarthy

Author of the article:

Laura Brehaut

Drunken mussels from Food, Culture, Place. Photo by Marsha Tulk

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To try another recipe from the book, check out: Lori’s great-grandmother’s gingerbread; and ptarmigan with wild greens and sautéed cranberries.

“We just like beer,” says photographer Marsha Tulk of the inspiration for this recipe, laughing. “It’s a very simple dish for anyone to make. It’s very quick. It’s very nutritious. It’s great if you can get wild mussels, and if you can’t, well, then get what you can get. It’s a really easy, comforting, sharing dish.”

Tulk and co-author Lori McCarthy call for Quidi Vidi Iceberg beer, which is brewed with water harvested from 20,000-year-old icebergs. The bubbles trapped inside the ancient ice as well as the absence of minerals apparently give the crisp lager “ a special, very light taste .”

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St. John’s-based Quidi Vidi Brewing Co. ships across Canada , but if using local beer, substitute another light lager.

McCarthy, founder of the culinary excursion company Cod Sounds , grew up picking mussels in Dildo Bay. She still associates mussels with family time, whether harvesting them on the spot or bringing them to boil up on the beach.

1. 

   Cook this: Lori's great-grandmother's gingerbread from Food, Culture, Place

2. 

   Cook this: Ptarmigan with wild greens and sautéed cranberries from Food, Culture, Place

As with lobsters, Newfoundlanders rarely agree on the best way to clean and cook mussels, writes McCarthy. She likes to run cold water over them in an unplugged sink, swirling them around with her hands as she picks through, pulling out any open shells. If any open mussels don’t close when knocked on the side of the sink, throw them out, she advises; if they’re closed tight, they’re “good to cook.”

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“The good mussels can be stored in a bowl covered with a damp cloth in the refrigerator for a day or so. Rinse again before cooking and make sure that none have opened,” she adds. “As you probably won’t know for sure when they were harvested, you can’t be sure how long they will last. Cook as soon as possible.”

In Food, Culture, Place, Lori McCarthy and Marsha Tulk take readers on a year-long journey collecting, cooking and eating in Newfoundland. Photo by Boulder Books

DRUNKEN MUSSELS

2 lb (900 g) wild mussels (or 5 lb/2.25 kg cultivated mussels)
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle Quidi Vidi Iceberg beer
1/2 cup whipping cream (35 per cent milk fat)
1/2 tsp lovage purée, optional
Salt and pepper

A loaf of crusty bread to sop up the liquid

Step 1

Put a frying pan on low-medium heat. Melt the butter and fry the onions and garlic just until the onions are translucent. Add the beer and reduce the amount of liquid by half. Add the cream and reduce a little, to the desired consistency. Add the lovage purée. Season to taste and spread all over the mussels. Grab your favourite beer and enjoy!

Recipe and image excerpted from Food, Culture, Place: Stories, Traditions and Recipes of Newfoundland by Lori McCarthy and Marsha Tulk. Published by Boulder Books. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

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Cook this: Drunken mussels from Food, Culture, Place - National Post
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