Super simple and easy to make garlic cheese baked mussels filled with a garlicky cream cheese topped with aged or smoked cheddar! Fantastic as an appetizer or as a snack with some drinks with some friends and family!
INGREDIENTS FOR GARLIC CHEESE BAKED MUSSELS
Mussels – I like to use New Zealand green-lipped mussels for this recipe because I like how they are larger in size (more to eat!), easier to cook with because it’s technically already cooked and ready for you in a half-shell. You can usually find these in the frozen, in the seafood section of your grocery store. Miso or Soy Sauce – To flavor the cheese filling, I like to use miso because of the added umami flavor. If you use miso, use white or yellow miso – it has a milder flavor which won’t overpower the cheese. If you can’t find miso, you can use soy sauce instead. Butter – I like to use unsalted butter for this recipe since we are already using miso/soy sauce as a source of sodium and we don’t want to double up on the salt. Chives – Chives give the cheese a very mild oniony flavor. If you can’t find it you can use green onions instead, but make sure to chop them very finely. Cream Cheese – I like to use the standard full fat cream cheese for this recipe. Cheddar – For this recipe, I usually use aged cheddar. I find the older the cheddar, the more flavorful it is but any kind of cheddar works well – even smoked cheddar!
BLACK MUSSELS vs GREEN LIPPED MUSSELS
The two most common types of mussels here in Canada are black mussels and green-lipped mussels.
Black mussels are usually found fresh in the seafood section of your grocery store and are raw but they can be found frozen as well. They are usually smaller in size compared to the green-lipped mussels and if they are raw they need to be cooked (either by boiling or steaming) ahead of time before using them in this recipe because it is the only way to get them to open up from within their shells. If you decide to use raw black mussels for this recipe, discard any mussels that have broken shells or if the shells are opened all the way – they will most likely be bad. After you cook them, discard any mussels that have not opened – they are usually bad as well, confusing eh?
My choice of mussels for this recipe is the New Zealand green-lipped mussels because they are already pre-cooked and prepared for you in the half shell. They are also larger in size so I find that you get a lot more flavor in each bite as well. You can usually find them in the frozen section in the seafood section of your grocery store. If you can’t find them at your local grocery store then they would be in the freezer in an Asian grocery store.
FILLING THE GARLIC CHEESE BAKED MUSSELS
To make sure the mussels don’t wobble or tip over while it’s cooking, I like to crinkle up tin foil and place it as a base underneath the mussels so they don’t move around. The tin foil lets me adjust the shells into the foil grooves which keep them straight so that the cheese filling doesn’t ooze out while it’s cooking.
Before you add the cheese in, I like to pull the mussel out of the shell and then place it back in its original place. I find it makes eating these guys a lot easier once the cheese is baked in.
I use a heaping teaspoon of the garlic cream cheese for each mussel and spread it on the mussel and throughout the shell, mainly focusing around the top and bottom part of the mussels where there is a large gap for me to put cheese in there. After you spread the creamy garlic cheese on top, top it with your cheddar!
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Print Garlic Cheese Baked Mussels ★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews Author: Joyce Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Yield: approximately 25-30 mussels Category: Appetizer, Snack Cuisine: Asian American Fusion Print Pin Description
Super simple and easy to make garlic cheese baked mussels recipe filled with a garlicky cream cheese topped with aged or smoked cheddar! Fantastic as an appetizer or as a snack with some drinks with some friends and family!
Ingredients 800g green-lipped mussels 1 cup cheddar cheese (I like to use old cheddar or smoked cheddar) Garlic Cream Cheese 2 1/2 tablespoons garlic (finely chopped, approximately 7–8 cloves) 1/4 cup of fresh chives (or green onions, finely chopped) 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 package of cream cheese (250g) 1/2 tablespoon of miso or light soy sauce (if you use miso, use the white or yellow miso) Instructions Preparation Defrost the green-lipped mussels by running it under cold tap water for approximately 2-3 minutes and set aside (It will continue to defrost while you are preparing the rest of the ingredients) Remove the cream cheese from the fridge to soften. Finely chop or grate the garlic and set aside Finely chop the chives and set aside Grate the cheddar cheese and set aside Making Garlic Cream Cheese In a small pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted, let it simmer for an addtional 2 minutes and keep stirring. Add in the garlic into the butter and let it cook for about 2 minutes. Keep stirring so that the garlic doesn’t burn, it tends to burn closer to the edge of the pot. Once the garlic butter is done, turn off the heat and pour the garlic butter into a bowl. Add the cream cheese into the garlic butter and mash it with a fork until everything is combined together. Add in the chives and miso (or soy sauce) and mix it together. Set the garlic cream cheese aside for later. Putting It Together Pre-heat the oven to 350F Crumple up 1-2 sheets of foil. Unravel it and lay it on a cookiesheet or baking pan. (You may need to use 2 trays, depending on how many mussels you have) Gently squeeze each mussel against the shell over the sink or bowl to remove any excess water that ice may have left behind and place them on the foil. Once all the water has been removed, pull each mussel out of the shell and place it back in its original place. This will make easier to eat once the cheese has been baked onto the mussels. Spread approximately 1 heaping teaspoon of garlic cream cheese on each mussel, mainly focusing around the top and bottom part of the shell where there are large gaps. Place the mussel back on the foil. Adjust the mussels so they are sitting straight and are not tilted. We don’t want any of that yummy cheese to slide off while it’s baking. Sprinkle some cheddar over each mussel Put the tray of mussels in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 10-15 minutes Once it has finished baking, set the oven to broil, and broil it for 4-6 minutes to brown the cheddar. Make sure you are watching it during this step so they don’t burn! Once the cheese starts to brown and bubble, it’s done! Serve it right away while it’s hot and cheesy! Notes This recipe uses green-lipped mussels because I find them more flavorful, larger in size for more cheese, it has been already pre-cooked and ready to go in its half shell. If you decide to use raw black mussels for this recipe, discard any mussels that have broken shells or if the shells are opened all the way – they will most likely be bad. After you cook them, discard any mussels that have not opened – they are usually bad as well, confusing eh? Depending on the type of cheddar cheese you use, I find that aged or old cheddar tend to be on the saltier side, so use it sparingly when topping mussels with it. Nutrition Serving Size: 5 mussels Calories: 512 cal Sugar: 1g Sodium: 394mg Fat: 38g Carbohydrates: 8g Fiber: 0g Protein: 35g Cholesterol: 97mg
Keywords: baked mussels recipe, garlic baked mussels recipe, garlic mussels recipe, cheese mussels recipe
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