Since Rising Tide Brewing Company’s Maine Island Trail Ale is due to be released in a few short weeks, I hope sharing this recipe will help build excitement for the beer, as well as getting back out on the Trail! (Just for the record, I don’t believe that camping out of my kayak means I have to eat like I’m roughing it!). I’ve made this recipe using a Dutch oven, over a camp stove, and in my home. This is a meal I recommend planning for the first night of a trip…
Maine Island Trail Ale Mussels
- 2 1/2 pounds mussels
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 shallots
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups Maine Island Trail Ale
- 1 bunch fresh basil
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 1 roasted red pepper, sliced
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (additional, see end of recipe)
- 1 baguette
Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic; cook until transparent, approximately 3 minutes. Add bay leaves, thyme (whole), and beer. Bring mixture to a boil.
Add mussels, then cover. Cook, shaking the pan often, until mussels open (approximately 5-6 minutes). Discard any mussels that fail to open. Using a slotted spoon, transfer mussels to a large bowl, reserving liquid in pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup parsley over the mussels. Remove and discard bay leaves and thyme. Add basil and red peppers, and return liquid to low heat; stir in cream and remaining 1/4 cup parsley. Cook to napé (a sauce that is napé will coat the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through the sauce will remain clear even as the spoon is turned around). Stir in the butter, and then pour over the mussels. Serve with baguette.
Bon apétit, and remember that Maine Island Trail Ale returns for a second summer this May, starting with an Official Release at the Small Boaters’ Film Fest & Silent Auction, held May 1 at the Hannaford Hall, USM Campus, on 88 Bedford Street in Portland. Click here for tickets and info!
