Julia Child's Mussels Marinière - The Little Ferraro Kitchen (2024)

Julia Child's classic recipe for mussels marinière couldn't be any easier. Mussels are steamed in minutes with flavorful shallots, white wine and fresh herbs.

Ever since I opened the first pages of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I don't think I have been the same. I conquered the fragile Cheese Souffle and Julia Child's beef bourguignon have been hooked ever since.
Every year on my birthday, my one request is a large bowl of either Italian mussels marinara or mussels mariniere.

Mussels have always been special recipe for me and takes me right back to my childhood.

Remember to Save the Shells from your seafood to make your own Simple Homemade Seafood Stock get more flavor and stop spending on store bought Stock.

🌿 About This Recipe

Moules mariniere translates to "sailor mussels" or "mussels in the style of sailor". The beautiful thing about mussels mariniere is in its pure simplicity. Outside of cleaning and scrubbing the mussels, the entire dish is made within 10 minutes.

The simple sauce of butter, wine and herbs is exquisite and begs to be slopped up with a roughly torn baguette. That is if you don't shove the bowl in your face and drink all the juice first.

📋 Ingredients

• Mussels: Look for fresh mussels without any cracks on the shell. Mussels should be cooked the same day they are bought and always kept cold.
• Flour: A touch of flour helps the mussels spit out any debris as the mussels soak.
• Shallot: Shallots are mild and slightly sweet and give the French mussels delicious flavor. If shallots aren't available, you could substitute with finely chopped red onion or chives.
• White Wine: Use a dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris.
• Herbs: Bay Leaf, parsley and thyme steep in the wine and butter sauce and bring a fresh and simple layer of flavor.
• Butter: Mussels can be salty as is so I suggest using unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in the mussels recipe.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

🧅 Variations

• Add a splash of heavy cream or dollop of creme fraiche right at the end, for a creamy sauce.
• Julia Child's mussels recipe doesn't have garlic in it, but you could saute 2 chopped garlic cloves, which would be a fantastic addition.
• Instead of shallots, add ½ of a sliced leek and saute for 5 minutes before adding the buttery and wine sauce.

💦 How to Clean Mussels Before Cooking

Now before we get into the steaming, let's talk about how to properly clean mussels first. Honestly, it takes longer to clean mussels then to cook them, but worth it so you don't bite into a hard piece of sand.

Place mussels on ice. Once you bring home the mussels, place them on ice and chill in the fridge until you're ready to cook, (usually on the same day).

Debeard the mussels. If you haven't worked with mussels before, it's pretty easy. Each mussel comes with a little "beard". Pull that out (it may be a bit hard at first).

Soak and scrub the mussels. 30 minutes before you're ready to cook, place the mussels in a large bowl of cold water with a bit of flour. This help the clams spit out any sand that may be inside. When you're ready to cook, use ashellfishbrush and scrub the outside of each mussel. Then, you're ready to cook!

⏲️ Instructions

1. In a wide skillet or pot, add the butter, shallots, wine, herbs, salt and pepper and bring to a strong simmer and reduce for 4-5 minutes.
2. Use your hands to remove the mussels from the floury water and rinse them well in a colander. Don't pour the mussels into the colander because any collected sand could pour right back on them.
3. Add the mussels to the broth and cover with a lid and cook the mussels until they just open up, about 5 minutes. If there are any closed mussels, discard those.
4. Turn off the heat and serve the mussels in wide bowls. Use a ladle to pour wine and herb sauce over the mussels. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with crusty French bread for dipping.

🦀 More Shellfish Recipes

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