Mussels in White Wine

With Tom Johnson

Cooks often overlook mussels in favor of clams, but mussels have their own distinct taste and many Chefs love to cook with them. Mussel meat is of an orange color and with a heavier taste than clams, but they are both very good. Some clams are eaten raw as well as cooked while mussels are generally always cooked.

The most distinctive aspect of this recipe by Chef Tom Johnson of Catch 22 is his use of linguica, a Portuguese sausage. It gives the mussels more of a savory taste and is one of his favorite "Chefs Choice" methods of preparing them.

In terms of appearance, clams generally have wide, circular, light colored shells and live buried in the sand. Mussels have long, oval shells that are very dark, almost black, in color and they live attached to projections in the water along the tide line. Mussels are attached to objects from the back of the shell and can be found on rocks, boats, docks, and anything else that meets the water.

Mussels can be local or from outside areas, the most popular area being Prince Edward Island, and the mussels are known as "P.E.I." mussels. The ocean climate and tidal patterns in this area are conducive to raising mussels, and in the past several years, Prince Edward Island has become one of the primary providers of fresh mussels in North America. According to many chefs, one of the biggest selling points for P.E.I. mussels is that they are consistently good but look for local varieties when you can find them.

There is usually some material on a mussel shell called a “beard” that you want to remove before cooking. It is where the shell was attached to whatever it grew onto, usually a rock if wild or a rope if farmed. The beard consists of many fibers, which emerge from the mussel's shell. It is easy to clean and de-beard the mussels. To remove the beard, use a towel, grasping the beard and give it a sharp yank out and toward the hinge end of the mussel. If you were to pull the beard out towards the opening end of the mussel you can tear the mussel on the inside of the shell and possibly kill it in the process.

When choosing mussels do not choose a mussel that is chipped, broken, or damaged. Never select a mussel that is open. The mussels should be closed and kept in a cool area where they can breathe. When purchasing mussels, make sure to immediately unwrap them so that they can “breatehe.” Otherwise they could possibly die before you cook them.

Just before you cook mussels, soak them in fresh water. Soaking them for about 20 minutes will filter water and expel any sand inside of them. This video was filmed in the Doyon's Kitchen & Appliance Showroom at the Doyon's location in Gloucester, MA. You can obtain more information at their web site; www.doyonsappliance.com

Ingredients

½ teaspoon garlic, chopped
1 pound mussels
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 ounce onion, carmelized
1 tomato, chopped
2 ounces linguica, chopped
2 ounces white wine
2 tablespoons butter
fresh herbs to garnish

Instructions

1. Heat saucepan, add oil and lightly cook garlic.
2. Toss mussels into pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. After pan heats up, add onion, tomato, linguica and wine. Cover pan.
4. Allow mussels to cook three minutes or until steamed open Remove from heat and lest rest two minutes.
5. Add herbs and butter cubes. Swirl in pan until butter is melted.

Serve with garlic toast or bread in a bowl with vegetables and pan juices.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Tom Johnson, Catch 22, 2011.

The best way to describe Tom Johnson’s food, according to him, is “comfort food with a flare.”

Chef Tom Johnson, 38, grew up in Gloucester, Massachusetts. His first restaurant jobs include Charlie’s Place, Caption’s Courageous, and McT’s. In his twenties, he moved to Portland, Maine to pursue a career in kitchen management. Then, in his thirties, he made a choice to go after a degree in culinary arts. In 2006, he graduated from the New England Culinary Institute (NECI) in Vermont. He completed his culinary internship with James Beard Award Winning Chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier of Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit, Maine. Tom assisted in the opening of and became the Sous Chef of their sister restaurant, MC Perkins Cove, also in Ogunquit.

Chef Tom has many years experience opening and operating restaurants. He recently moved back to Gloucester in an effort to assist in the opening of a new restaurant on the north shore, Catch 22. Chef Tom is dedicated to providing a product that is of the up most quality and consistent.