Baked MUssels

These Baked Mussels are very easy to prepare. With just 4 ingredients, you can make a great appetizer that everyone will enjoy. It is buttery, garlicky, and cheesy. Simple yet so delicious. Mussel or Tahong, as we call it in the Philippines is a common dish for us. We always get it fresh from the market because as you know, Philippines is surrounded by water so fresh seafood is a common sight in the wet market.

​Here in California, it's a little hard to find fresh ones. Frozen mussels are available in many grocery stores so that's what I used on this recipe. The mussels I bought are already on the half shells so there's really no need to do some prepping like forcing them up open except, I need to do some scrubbing on the shells and removed some dirt and hair bit. Make sure to read my recipe notes below so you know what to do if using fresh ones and what options you have for this recipe. Enjoy.
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Baked Mussels Recipe

Ingredients:

• 15-20 pieces mussels on half shells, rinsed and cleaned
• 1/3 cup salted butter, softened
• 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
• 1/2 cup or more grated cheddar  cheese for topping
• lemon juice when serving

​Video

Procedure: 

• Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
• Clean and rinse the mussels.  Pat dry with paper towels.
• In a small bowl, combine butter and garlic. Mix to combine.
• Lay the mussels on a baking tray. 
• Top each mussel with about 1/2 tbsp garlic butter mixture. Spread evenly.
• Top with grated cheddar cheese.
• Bake for about 15-18 minutes or until surface turns golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and squeeze some lemon juice if desired.
• Enjoy.
• Please read my  recipe notes below. 

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Recipe Notes:​​

• I used frozen green mussels. To prepare, defrost the mussels by running it under cold tap water for  approximately 2-3 minutes and set aside.
• Some recipes precook the mussels, while others don’t. The only advantage of precooking is that the mussels open up on their own. If you decide not to precook, it will be a little hard to handle to prize them open with a knife.
• If using fresh mussels, scrub the mussels, removing any dirt and hairy bit, clean and discard any that are broken. Put the mussels in a pot with the water, cover and put on a medium-high heat for a couple minutes until they open up. Remove from the heat and remove one side of the shell.​
• If oven is not available, these mussels can be grilled as well.
• If the mussels were precooked, bake for only about 10-12 minutes. 

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