Boozy Mussels with Pepper Bacon

 A. Weaver  ||  July 21, 2022

I love to cook seafood-especially shellfish. I wanted to develop a recipe that can easily be accessible and affordable. I was looking for something that would be smoky, fatty, salty, and a little spicy. For this recipe, I make the sauce out of good 'ol Budweiser, bacon fat, and fresh lemon thyme, then just toss the mussels into the cast iron skillet. The mussels are tender and infused with the bright, unctuous sauce. I like to serve this dish with grilled French bread and an ice cold beer. 

Boozy Mussels with Pepper Bacon

Recipe makes 2 servings. Total time 45 minutes (Prep:15 minutes / Cook: 30 minutes).

Special Cookware: Medium cast iron skillet and a BBQ grill

Ingredients

• 1 pound mussels
• 1 can/bottle beer
• 3 slices pepper bacon (slice into 1/2-inch pieces)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tbs parsley (minced)
• 1 tbs unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp thyme (minced)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Heat the grill until the embers give off a medium-high heat.
2. As the grill is heating up, debeard the mussels. (Look along the mussels mouth for what looks like little strings and remove them.)
3. Once the grill is hot, place a medium cast iron skillet on top of the grates.
4. Add the bacon and butter to the skillet and cook for 7-10 minutes or until crispy.
5. To the skillet, add the garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and thyme and sauté for 1 minute.
6. Next, add the mussels and beer. Bring the beer up to a boil. Once the mussels open remove from the heat. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with toasted French bread.

It is best not to walk away when cooking this dish. Once heated, mussels cook very quickly. Please note, if a mussel does not open after a period of time cooking, do not eat it; this means the mussel is dead and not fresh.

Hulō!

A. Weaver

Photos by A. Weaver