“This is a fun play on the fantastic cocktail known as a Whiskey Smash and our delicious mussels. A whiskey smash is made of mint, lemon and whiskey, all of which work well with mussels so essentially we took a look at steamed mussels and said...yup we should just play bartender to the mussels, mix them a cocktail and toss it in the pot! Steaming the mussels with the cocktail makes a wonderfully easy and delicious change to mussels.” -Chef MacKenzie
INGREDIENTS
- Mussels, scrubbed and debearded: 2 lbs [GET SOME]
- Butter, unsalted: 1 Tbsp
- Mint Leaves, chiffonade: 16 ea
- Lemon, halved, quartered: 1 ea
- White sugar: 2 Tbsp
- Irish Whiskey: 4 oz
- Water: 2 oz
- Heavy cream: 2 oz
- Peas, frozen or fresh: 1 cup
- Mint leaves, whole: 8 leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper: ¼ tsp
PREPARATION
- In a bowl combine chiffonade mint, lemon quarters (squeezed into the bowl,) sugar, whiskey, water & cream. Mix to combine.
- In a large saute pan melt the butter over medium heat and add in leeks & thyme and sweat until tender ~4 minutes.
- Add in the whiskey mix and bring to a simmer.
- Add in peas and mussels, stir.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes until the mussels have opened.
- Remove from the heat and place garnish with fresh pepper and whole mint leaves.