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| A little bowl of happiness after an ocean of work Mans |
It is remarkable what lengths some people will go to, just so
they can tell a good story. I hope this smoked mussel blog is no exception.
Sometime ago I wrote a blog on ‘Snoek’ (http://theurbanhuntergatherer.blogspot.com/search/label/SNOEK),
which all took place aboard my friend Mark Mark’s yacht, Deep Magic. After many
moons of good service (mostly irresponsible adventures and parties aboard) she
was laid to rest in Hout Bay yacht basin. For years she remained untouched and
decaying, until Mans and I struck up a rather informal deal with Mark Mark. Our
part is to fix her up so we can continue having the adventures aboard that we
love so dearly.
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| Under all that marine life is a boat UHG |
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| Cold and hungry making work Mans |
Apart from having to haul out a very corroded motor (which
has now been left in the capable hands of Zaan, our resourceful roadside
mechanic), we had to scrape the hull, which had developed its own marine
ecosystem. It was a shame to watch the clumps of dislodged mussels slowly disappear
into the murky depths of the harbour. It seemed obvious that a ‘little
something’ should be prepared from all the delicious protein that was otherwise
going to waste.
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| If it's mussels or mushrooms, I like to clean them out in nature rather than in the kitchen Mans |
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| These mussels needed a really good purge UHG |
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| Cleaned, purged and ready for the pot UHG |
A while back a happy little crew created our first video
blog using mussels as the key foraged ingredient (http://theurbanhuntergatherer.blogspot.com/search/label/MAGIC%20MUSSELS). In the spur of the moment we called that dish
‘Magic Mussels’, which I always thought was a bit unimaginative, but things
often seem to have a delightful way of turning out. May we now present to you
‘Deep Magic Mussels’!
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| Cook them until they just open and no more UHG |
WHAT YOU NEED
A bucket of mussels
A couple of glugs of white wine
A smoker of some sort
Saw dust (oak wine barrel in this case)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
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| Shelled and ready for a an overnight soaking to insure plumpness UHG |
WHAT TO DO
Find a yacht hull that desperately needs attention and get
down to some chilly breath-holding work… or simply buy some mussels at your
local fishmonger. Clean them of any barnacles and other growth. Now purge them
of their impurities by soaking them in clean seawater overnight. Because of the
dubious quality of the harbour water I collected fresh seawater from a purer
source and soaked them for three days in my fridge, changing the water every day.
Remove any that are not now closed.
In a large pot, bring the wine to a furious boil then toss
in the mussels and cover until they gape open. Remove the mussels (discarding
those that didn’t open) and allow to cool. Strain the ‘broth’ though some
muslin cloth and reserve for later. Pick the mussels from their shells, pull
off their beards and soak overnight in the reserved broth, so they can get nice
and plump.
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| Nice and swollen, now for a good old smoking UHG |
Now they are ready for some ‘smokin’. I have a lovely old smoker
that my dad left me, but you can fashion one from a pot. You need to line the
base of the pot with foil (makes cleaning easier), then cover generously with
‘smoking sawdust’, place a round baking rack over the sawdust and stack your
mussels on it. Overlap a sheet of foil on top of the pot and cover with the lid
so it forms a tight seal. Smoke on a low heat for about 40 minutes until the
mussels are rich and golden, yet still plump. Pop them into a bowl and toss
them about in a little olive oil. Like this they’ll keep for about ten days in the
fridge, or you can tightly pack them in a glass jar and cover with olive oil,
this way they’ll keep for months.
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| This kind of shit makes me very very happy Mans |
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| Racked and ready to receive some smokiness Mans |
After days and days of harvesting, cleaning, purging,
cooking, straining, soaking, smoking and tossing, these golden nuggets were
gobbled in no time. Yes, it is remarkable what some 'show-offs' will do in search
of an interesting story.
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| These little fellows were scrumptious Mans |
