IndustryEats

  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Sandwiches
    • Pizza
    • Pasta
    • Seafood
    • Side Dishes
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Breads
    • Desserts
  • Top 50 Food Blogs
You are here: Home / Seafood / Garlic, Fennel & Tarragon Steamed Mussels Recipe

Garlic, Fennel & Tarragon Steamed Mussels Recipe

March 9, 2016

Garlic, Fennel & Tarragon Steamed Mussels Recipe

One of the things I love about Maine is the fact that we can get our hands on the freshest of seafood. And by fresh, I’m talking “morning of.” Whatever it is comes off the boat in the morning and is in the stores by the afternoon. One of my favorites is mussels. I’ve loved these things since the beginning of time.

I think the best thing about mussel dishes is their taste. The mussels themselves have a great texture and you can pretty much get as creative as you’d like with the broth you cook them in. Personally, I enjoy any broth that has tons of garlic in it – as you read through the content below, you’ll see that I was quite pleased with last night’s dinner. Another benefit of eating mussels, besides their health benefits, is the price you can get them for. I’ve seen them as low as $1.99 per pound. That’s not bad, considering each person only eats around one of them.

The Recipe

I found this recipe at Cook’s Country. It adds a bit of a twist to what I’m used to. In this recipe, the author uses fennel, which, until yesterday, I didn’t know I had an affinity for. I always thought fennel had a much stronger licorice taste. In actuality, it’s quite mellow and is really easy to get used to. It adds a dimension to this dish that’s actually very nice.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
6 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
2 Tablespoons Dried Tarragon
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper
12 Inches of French Bread
1 Fennel Bulb, Chopped
1 1/2 Cups Dry White Wine
4 pounds Mussels, Cleaned

Step-by-Step Instructions

There’s a sequence to follow for this recipe. If you do so, you can avoid some stressful running around. This should be a quick and easy recipe, after cleaning the mussels, of course.

See also  Bourbon Mussels with Garlic, Onion & Parsley Recipe

Clean & Debeard the Mussels

This is my least favorite part of eating mussels. Somehow, I always get stuck cleaning them. I can get through one or two pounds just fine, but after three or four, my back starts to hurt from leaning over the sink. Anyway, for this recipe, it’s important to clean any grit off the mussel exterior and to debeard them as well. I use a pair of needle nose pliers for this. I pull the beard out of the mussel as far as it’ll go, then I’ll clamp on to it and pull. This tool does a good job and saves my fingertips from pain later on.

After you’re finished cleaning, place the mussels in a colander and set aside for later.

Cleaned Mussels in Colander


Make Butter Mixture

In a medium size bowl, place an entire stick of butter (8 tablespoons). If the butter has been out of the refrigerator for a while, it should be soft enough to work with. If it’s straight out of the fridge, stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds. That will soften it perfectly.

Once the butter is soft, go ahead and add the 6 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 tablespoon of dried tarragon, 1/4 teaspoon of regular table salt and a half teaspoon of ground black pepper to the bowl. Stir until completely combined.

Garlic Butter Mixture

Slice & Butter French Bread

The French bread I purchased was about two feet long, so I only used half of it. For this recipe, you’ll need to cut the bread into twelve pieces, on the bias. Each piece should be about one inch thick.

See also  Oven Roasted Shrimp & Asparagus with Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette Recipe

Sliced French Bread

After that, go ahead and butter the slices of bread with approximately 5 tablespoons of the butter mixture and arrange on a baking sheet.

Buttered French Bread

Set this aside for later.

Melt the Butter & Add Fennel

Take about 1 tablespoon of the butter mixture and add it to a large pot. Over medium heat, melt the butter and let the ingredients simmer for about 1 minute. After that, add the chopped fennel to the pot and cover. Let cook for a few minutes.

Chopped Fennel


Cooking Fennel

Once that’s finished, add the 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine to the pot, along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Let everything simmer over medium heat between 3-5 minutes. Basically, I brought the heat to high for a bit, just to get a boil, and then I lowered back to medium to maintain the simmer.

Add Mussels

After the ingredients in the pot had a chance to cook for a while, go ahead and add the mussels.

Steaming Mussels in Large Pot

Cover the pot and let steam over medium heat between 4-6 minutes. Somewhere during this time, the mussels should open. Again, I brought the heat to high to get some steam rolling and then I lowered it back to medium for the duration. Also, you’ll need to stir the mussels a few times while they’re cooking. This will mix them with the tasty broth that’s at the bottom of the pot.

Toast Bread

While the mussels are steaming, turn the broiler in your oven to low and adjust the rack inside the oven so it’s about 4 inches away from the top heating element. For me, this was the second position from the top. When warm, add the baking sheet with the bread on it to the oven. Let the bread toast for about 1 minute and then remove the tray. Keep your eye on this – the bread toasts rather quickly and you don’t want it to burn. It should come out golden brown.

See also  Baked Cod with Tomatoes, Fennel & Onions Recipe

Plate & Serve

I told you this was a fast recipe. When everything is finished steaming and toasting, go ahead and scoop the mussels up and divide between 4 bowls. Add the leftover butter mixture to the broth that’s in the pot and let melt. When that’s done, scoop the broth up and pour it evenly over the mussels in the 4 bowls. This is where all your flavor will come from. After that, divide up the toasted garlic bread and serve.

The Final Product

This recipe is bursting with flavor. Seriously, it’s good. Just be careful. It’s got some garlic in there and if you want to be social the next day, beware. Definitely prepare this when you’re going to be alone for a while. I’ll tell you though, that garlic is so, so good.

Steamed Mussels & Garlic Bread

Garlic, Fennel & Tarragon Steamed Mussels Recipe


Garlic & Fennel Mussels

——

If you’ve enjoyed today’s post and found it helpful, please share it with a friend. Also, if you’d like to continue reading and would like our posts sent directly to your email inbox, simply sign up for our newsletter. We’ll send each and every post directly to you. Thanks!

Related posts:

  1. Lager Steamed Mussels with Garlic, Mustard & Spinach Pasta Recipe
  2. Bourbon Mussels with Garlic, Onion & Parsley Recipe
  3. Onion, Garlic & Parsley Mussels Recipe
  4. Curry Coconut & Garlic Mussels Recipe by MyRecipes
  5. Seafood Stew with Cream, Fennel & Garlic Recipe

Filed Under: Seafood

About Jay Gaulard

My name is Jay Gaulard and I'm what I like to call an "inexperienced chef," if that's not an oxymoron. I initially decided to immerse myself into the world of food and cooking in May of 2015, when I began growing, in earnest, my first garden. The garden produced a wonderful yield and with some newfound confidence, my hobby of learning about what I eat took shape. Currently, I'm enrolled in an online cooking school and am quite active with the culinary community. I primarily write posts about what I research and learn along the way.

Comments

  1. Natasha @ Salt & Lavender says

    March 20, 2016 at 5:56 pm

    These look awesome! I just love fresh seafood… but I hardly ever get it, unfortunately. You are lucky to live in Maine!

    Reply
    • Jay Gaulard says

      March 20, 2016 at 8:24 pm

      Thanks Natasha! I love fresh seafood too. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to taste the lobster yet. We’ve been here over two years and have only been to the coast once. I have a trip to Boothbay Harbor planned for May though, so I think lobster rolls will be in my future.

      Thanks for the comment!

      Jay

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Onion, Garlic & Parsley Mussels Recipe says:
    January 31, 2017 at 11:43 am

    […] doing it. For other fantastic recipes, I highly recommend the seafood stew I shared along with the mussels and fennel. Those two recipe were superb. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Connect With Me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

RECEIVE MY POSTS BY EMAIL!

Interested in receiving my posts by email? This is your chance! Simply place your email address in the box below and I'll deliver each and every post I write directly to your inbox.

Recent Comments

  • olive ware on Top 50 Food Blogs & Bloggers
  • Neha Singh on Top 50 Food Blogs & Bloggers
  • Heirloom cookbooks on Top 50 Food Blogs & Bloggers
  • Home Cook on Apple, Pecan, Feta Cheese & Cider Vinaigrette Salad Recipe
  • Heirloom cookbooks on Top 50 Food Blogs & Bloggers

Copyright © 2025 · IndustryEats.com Food & Cooking Blog · Privacy Policy