You’ll need;
- 1 kg Shetland mussels
(recommended). (If there are any mussels already opened or with a cracked or broken shell please remove them) - A good knob of butter.
- 1 large red onion sliced quite thin, or shallots.
- A couple of handfuls of thinly sliced or grated garlic.
- A bottle of local cider.
Herbs of your choice.
Ok, put a large knob of butter in a decent sized saucepan, big enough to accommodate the mussels comfortably, on a medium heat and add the sliced onion. Soften the onion or shallots in the butter before adding the garlic.
Again soften before adding the bottle of cider, pear cider also works well!
Reduce until it’s a bit more sauce like and the kitchen will be smelling fantastic at this stage.
When the sauce has reduced add the kilo of Shetland mussels and bring back to a gentle simmer. When it’s all cooking on a gentle simmer, put a lid on the saucepan and take off the heat.
Leave the mussels and the sauce to do their stuff for approx 10 mins before pouring the mussels and cider sauce into a serving bowl, add a handful of fragrant fresh herbs and mix thoroughly together.
NB. Please do not eat any mussels that have stayed shut or have not opened completely, just discard them please.
Europeans will eat mussels with chips or fries which isn’t a bad idea but I love some fresh crusty bread with mine.
I really hope you enjoy my ideas on cooking this wonderful shellfish.
Jeff (September 2025)
