These Spicy Mussels in White Wine Sauce are made in a savory white wine serrano garlic butter sauce. The serrano offers a subtle amount of heat that enhances the flavor of the mussels. Excellent dish!
Spicy Mussels in White Wine Sauce!!!! Now these guys are just absolutely delicious!
And once again, here I am bringing you another seafood appetizer! Of course! Can I ever lay off seafood appetizers?
At least maybe for a while? Or should I change the name to my blog to “Seafood Appetizers and More?!” 🙂
Here I’ve created a Mexican seafood appetizer with a fabulous Mexicali spicy twist…….
I’ve added very simple ingredients to create this exceptionally delectable Mexican appetizer.
They say garlic is one of those magic ingredients to most dishes and that is certainly a fact in my book. As it is in this recipe.
But there’s another spectacular ingredient that makes up this dish. The Serrano Pepper.
For those of you that are not familiar with the heat of a serrano pepper, let me give you an idea….On the Scoville Scale a serrano pepper is at 10,000 to 23,000 Scoville Heat Unit.
Whereas a jalapeño is only at 2,500 to 8,000 SHU!
So for those of you that are not familiar with serrano peppers, these guys are a little hotter.
But what is so nice about this Mexican appetizer is that the heat is quite subtle, it’s the kind of heat you actually want in this dish, it enhances the flavor of the mussels!
And for you spicy lovers out there, just add an extra serrano pepper to this dish and walla!!!
Ingredients- mussels (of course)
- white wine
- butter
- chicken broth
- garlic
- serrano pepper
- cilantro
- onion
- lemon
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
There you go, easy ingredients to get….and yet a superbly tasteful appetizer!
Lastly….
How to cook mussels?
Mussels can be cooked in several ways. You can boil them, steam them, bake them, add them to pasta dishes and the list goes on. But for this recipe, we are going to steam them with all the other ingredients. We want to infuse all these ingredients into the mussels.
For a video on my Spicy Mussels in White Wine, click link below ↓
Spicy Mussels in White Wine Sauce Spicy Mussels in White Wine Sauce
📖 Recipe
Spicy Mussels in White Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 lbs mussels cleaned
- ¼ cup white wine
- 4-5 cloves fresh garlic finely chopped
- ½ cup white onion chopped
- 4 tablespoon of unsalted butter unsalted
- 2-3 Cups chicken broth
- 1 lemon quartered
- 3 tablespoon cilantro chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
SERRANO SAUCE
- 1 serrano
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
For Fresh Live Mussels
- Clean mussels of any algae with a small brush if needed.Scrape barnacles if needed with a small knife (careful not to cut yourself!)
Remove any “beards” present. - Discard any cracked mussel shells as they are dead.Note: If any mussels are open, tap with finger and if they close, they are still alive and good to eat, if they do not close, discard. This means they are dead.
- Set mussels aside in a bowl and place in refrigerator.
For Frozen Mussels
- If you use frozen mussels for this dish, normally it means they have been precooked and will already mostly be open. These are good, except I will still discard any cracked shells.
- Just defrost in a small pot of water for a few minutes to remove ice. Drain water and now they are ready to use.
To make Serrano Sauce:
- Rinse serrano pepper and remove stem.
- Peel garlic clove and keep whole. Add the ¼ cup olive oil, serrano pepper and garlic clove to a blender or chopper.Blend until coarsely chopped.
Cooking Mussels
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add serrano sauce mixture. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
- Add onion and cook until onions are translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Add finely chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add butter and allow to melt.
- Add chicken broth and white white and allow to cook for about 10-15 minutes over low to medium heat. Allow alcohol in wine to evaporate.
- Finally add mussels and stir together well to incorporate flavors. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 7 minutes. Stir again.
- Sprinkle cilantro over mussels. Discard any shells that never opened.
- Serve immediately in bowls, top with juices from skillet and serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Do you love mussels as much as I do?
Lisa Bryan says
I frequently order mussels in restaurants but I never seem to make them at home. Doh! Will have to give your recipe a try and whip them up!
Cathy says
Oh you must Lisa! Mussels are so easy to make at home, 15-20 minutes between prep and cooking and easily be able to have a delicious treat at home! Yum!
Sonal says
This is such a good recipe with just handful ingredients. A must try for sure.
Cathy says
Thank you Sonal! It really is delicious!
Abigail Sotto Raines says
I grew up in the Philippines surrounded by the sea so I totally dig mussels. I love this dish and the white wine surely adds a lot of flavor! YUM!
Cathy says
Abigail, seafood is my absolute favorite food! Lucky you growing up in the Philippines must have been wonderful for you surrounded by the sea with so many delicious seafood dishes! Lucky you! Hope you love these mussels as much as I do!
Shashi at SavorySpin says
These would be a delicious supper – especially with that tantalizing Serrano sauce!
Cathy says
Yes it it! The serrano sauce is blissful! 🙂
Sandra Shaffer says
I was looking for a seafood dish that I can make for New Year’s Day. This mussels in white wine sauce sounds amazing! We like to spice up our foods, so this is perfect. Thanks.
Cathy says
Thank you Sandra! These would be perfect for New Years Day either as an appetizer or meal. And the serrano sauce is just perfect! Let me know how much you enjoyed these!