Mussels Steamed with White Wine, Shallots, Garlic, & Bacon

Speaking of those mussels, I can't say enough about this dish, and in my unbiased opinion they are way better than the Prince Edward mussels I had at Bouchon in Vegas (seriously). The hardest part is just scrubbing the mussels, but the way it tastes and fills the kitchen with awesomely delicious aroma makes it seem like someone slaved over the stove for hours. In my sous chef opinion, the good crusty bread is not optional because you need something to soak up that yummy wine/shallot/garlic/bacon juice so you can really taste it!

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 lb. mussels (scrubbed/cleaned).
- 1 cup of white wine (you might as well have a whole bottle, preferably either pinot grigio or chardonnay).
- 3 strips thick cut bacon, sliced into lardons (basically, cut them into batons).
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced.
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced.
- 2-3 T of unsalted butter.
- salt/pepper to taste.

OPTIONAL:

- Good crusty bread (ciabatta or some sorta crusty french bread works well here).

STEPS:

1. Cook bacon on medium-ish heat in a saucepan/stockpot to render out the fat (you want the fat to cook everything else in), and they start browning a bit. And yes, you are cooking everything in bacon fat bc hey, it really does make everything taste better.

2. Add the shallots, garlic, and 2T butter and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add some dashes of salt and crack some pepper.

3. Dump 1/2 the bottle of wine into the pot and bring to a boil (again, this is my way of eyeballing "1 cup of wine"). Dump the other 1/2 into your glass and start drinking. Let 1/2 the liquid reduce.

4. Add the mussels, cover the pot, and let them cook until they open. This shouldn't take longer than 3 minutes. Discard any that don't open.

5. Whisk in remaining butter if you feel decadent (or like a fat ass). Serve immediately with toasted crusty bread.

6. Enjoy and wonder how you ever paid $10+ for this dish.

***I've been cooking a lot with Trader Joe's "Charles Shaw" Pinot Grigio (aka two buck chuck). Aside from being cheap as hell, I actually think it tastes pretty good for something so cheap (but it's not like I'm a white wine expert by any stretch). Still, you're probably not going to find a better value to cook/drink with in that range, so it's a good wine to have on hand.