Fried Mussels in Batter - Crispy Bulgarian-Style Snack Recipe

Name: Fried Mussels in Batter - Crispy Bulgarian-Style Snack Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Bulgarian cuisine
Ingredients: Shelled mussels 300 g; White wine 100 ml; Egg 1; Vegetable oil 100 ml; Salt, ground black pepper, lemon, flour to taste

Fried mussels are the snack that knocked me off my feet. It's awesome!!! Incredibly tasty, especially with cold beer. Good, big mussels, or rather mussel meat with spices, fried to a lightly crisp golden crust. And be sure to squeeze lemon juice over them.

The first time I visited Bulgaria, back in the mid-1990s, the first thing I noticed was how incredibly varied and “rich” the cuisine is. I wouldn't say Bulgarian cuisine is typical of the Balkans; it is more similar, since the dishes are quite unlike those cooked by neighboring peoples. I was struck by the variety of combinations of different foods, especially vegetables and fish, the superb homemade sauces, the abundance of fresh greens on the menu, and, of course, the obligatory glass of grape rakia and wine with the main course.

Considering that Bulgaria is a maritime country, fish dishes on the menu are the norm. All kinds of fried and baked fish, soups. I confess I have never eaten such tasty grilled mackerel, or breaded Black Sea shark (katran), anywhere but Bulgaria. And what about the nostril-tickling smell of deep-fried Black Sea anchovies, which the locals call “tsatsa”, or fried gobies, fried mussels, fried horse mackerel with cold beer? A separate category of dishes, like burek: fish in dough, or the delicious breaded peppers.

Seafood on any menu is extremely varied. Mussels, shrimp, rapa whelks and so on. There are so many that it's not even worth listing them, since most of the dishes are masterpieces! Mussels are plentiful in Bulgaria and are farmed in huge numbers far out at sea on mussel “banks”. The mussel (Latin Mytilidae) is a marine bivalve mollusc, the most in demand in cooking and very accessible, and it makes an excellent mussel salad and mussel soup.

If I'm asked what is the tastiest mussel dish I tried in Bulgaria, I'll answer without thinking: “midi pane”, simply put, fried mussels in breadcrumbs or batter.

If you have fresh or frozen mussels already cleaned of shells, grit and other artifacts, you can cook them faster than the drinks chill. And they'll be ready just in time for the kickoff of a football match. The batter is made the same way as for fish in batter. I explained in detail how to prepare mussels in my article on how to boil mussels.

More with mussels

How to Cook MusselsHow to cook mussels in their shells: clean live mussels, boil 5 minutes in water and white wine with garlic, dill and spices, discard unopened ones, add lemon.

Mexican-Style Mussels with RiceFrozen mussels simmered with tomatoes, bell peppers, chili, garlic and green onions, served over yellow curry rice. A mildly spicy Mexican-style dinner.

Mexican-Style Seafood RiceSpicy Mexican-style seafood rice: rice simmered in chicken stock with vegetables, paprika and saffron, then finished with mussels, shrimp and squid.

Manhattan-Style Mussel ChowderMussel soup inspired by Manhattan clam chowder: tomatoes, potatoes, celery, carrot and bacon cracklings with frozen mussels. Easy, with step-by-step photos.

Warm Mussel and Red Bean SaladWarm, spicy Mexican-style salad of mussels and red kidney beans with carrot, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes and chili. A great appetizer or side for fish.

Ingredients

2 servings

Shelled mussels 300 g
White wine 100 ml
Egg 1
Vegetable oil 100 ml
Salt, ground black pepper, lemon, flour to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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For the tastiest fried mussels, and no trouble, you need “clean” mollusks. Not just free of dirt (though that matters), but free of grit and bits of shell. Mussels most often contain foreign bits if they were gathered by hand. Mussels grown on ropes lowered into the sea lack this “advantage”. This is very important if you don't enjoy the crunch of sand between your teeth. Getting the shell fragments out of mussels is a whole science of its own. In any case, rinse the mussels under cold running water.
Pat the rinsed mussel meat dry with a napkin and spread it on a board or a large plate. Sprinkle the mussels with flour, then turn them over and sprinkle with flour again. This helps the breading or batter stick to them.
Whisk one chicken egg with a whisk until foamy. Add plenty of salt and pepper. Pour in half a cup of dry white wine. Keep whisking and add flour 1 tsp at a time, to get a not-too-runny batter, much thicker than the one used for thin pancakes.
You can pour the batter over the mussels and make sure it coats them evenly. Or you can drop the mussels into the batter and stir. Do whichever you like. Either way, remove the excess batter from the mussels by simply letting it drip off.
Pour half a cup of vegetable oil into a saucepan. It's important that the oil doesn't foam like champagne or burn. You can always buy refined sunflower or olive oil. Wait until the oil is hot and starts to crackle. Put the mussels into the oil, as quickly as you can, ideally all at once. Right away separate the mussels with a fork so they don't stick together. The mussels should fry individually. Reduce the heat to medium and keep frying for 2-3 mins.
Turn the mussels over with a fork, or even more conveniently with a spoon. Fry for another 2-3 mins. By then the batter will be cooked through and will stop running. From this moment you can stir the fried mussels with a spatula, like potatoes. Fry the mussels until dark golden.
Put the fried mussels on a plate, squeeze lemon juice over them, and serve with cold beer or dry white wine.
By the way, if you like, you can make the batter a little sweet by adding 1-2 pinches of sugar. Or you can make it spicy. Mussels with a pinch of hot pepper have a simply superb piquant taste.