New England Stuffed Mussels

Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

This dish is inspired by baked stuffed clams, but with a slight twist and a little easier execution, this can be easily prepared and served as an appetizer or as an hors d’oeuvre. When I first made this, I was surprised at how much I liked it, maybe even more than I like (love!) baked stuffed clams. This can easily be made pescatarian by removing the chorizo and adding more butter. Also, you can use both types of chorizo or just one, depending on your group’s spice tolerance.

Makes many(!), serving a crowd as an appetizer or 4–6 people as a main meal with a salad

3½ pounds live mussels in the shell, cleaned and debearded 
4 ounces dolce chorizo, small dice
4 ounces hot chorizo, small dice 
1½ sleeves (about 60 crackers) Ritz crackers, crushed into crumbs
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1⅓ sticks butter, melted
zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup mussel juice, reserved from steaming mussels

On the stove top, heat a large heavy-bottom sauté pan until hot. Add the mussels, cover with a lid and let them steam until they are just opened. Give the pot a gentle shake every now and then during the cooking process. This should take approximately 5 minutes.

Uncover and pour the mussels into a colander set over a bowl, reserving the liquid for the stuffing mixture. Strain the liquid through cheesecloth or a coffee filter to remove any sand or shell debris.

Let the mussels and mussel juice cool separately. 

When cooled, remove the top shell from each mussel leaving the meat attached to the bottom shell and place on a baking tray. Discard the top shell. (You may need more than one baking sheet to fit all the mussels.)

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a skillet, sauté the two chorizos together until crispy and the fat has rendered; strain off the fat, reserving it for the stuffing mixture.

In a large bowl, mix together the chorizo, Old Bay, cracker crumbs, parsley and lemon zest. Stir the chorizo fat and melted butter into the reserved mussel liquid and pour over the dry ingredients. Blend with a fork to moisten the crumbs.

Pack each mussel shell with about a tablespoon or more of the stuffing mix, fully covering the mussel meat.

Bake until sizzling and golden brown, approximately 5 minutes. Serve hot.

This recipe appeared in the Summer 2025 issue as part of a larger story: A Farm Coast Feast.