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Mussels in Cider

A bowl of creamy mussels in cider on a bed of pasta.

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5 from 1 review

Mussels are even more amazing when you add bacon and apple cider to the mix. So the next time you are craving a seafood supper, give these creamy mussels in cider a try!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 ounces bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 12 ounces angel hair pasta or other long pasta
  • 1 cup apple cider or apple juice
  • 4 pounds mussels, scrubbed. Toss out any open ones, or ones with cracked shells.
  • 1/4 cup brandy
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. Place the bacon in a heavy large skillet and cook until crisp.  Scoop it out and drain on paper towels, leaving the drippings in the pan.
  2. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
  3. Place cider and mussels in the skillet with the bacon drippings. Cover, bring to a boil and cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes. Toss out any mussels that didn’t open.
  4. Transfer mussels to a large bowl and cover to keep warm.
  5. Add brandy and cream to the liquid remaining the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the bacon and the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  6. Divide the cooked pasta between plates and pour some of the cider cream over each pile of pasta.  Divide the mussels among the plates and pour the rest of the cider cream over mussels. Serve at once, putting a bowl on the table for people to toss their shells.

Notes

  • Cider: If you are making this outside of apple cider season, regular apple juice will do just fine.
  • Bacon: This can be swapped out with leftover chopped ham if you prefer. Simply add in the ham when you stir in the cream and the pasta.
  • Pasta: Any long pasta will work for this recipe – we love it with angel hair pasta, but spaghetti and linguine will work too.