Tigres; Mussels in béchamel, breadcrumbed and deep fried.
Tigres is one of those things that are so time consuming to make that are a real pain, but they are so good that every time to time, you just need to make them and after you ate it you forgot how bloody long took you to make it. They are a real treat and my cousin Vanesa in won a competition of Tigres in Burgos ( I know... in Spain we have always been a bit of a food freaks) and this is her recipe.
INGREDIENTS
50g of Butter
60g of Spanish onion
60g of leeks
60g of Plain flour
1 pinch of White pepper powder (cracked black pepper will do too)
500g of Whole milk
1 tea spoon of Salt
1 kg of mussels on the shell
2 eggs
1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
For Coating
50g of Breadcrumbs
2 eggs
4 tbsp of flour
Oil for frying
Boil the 2 eggs in water for 6 minutes until fully cooked. Cool them and peel the shell. Chop roughly and reserve.
Clean from outer dirt and inside beard the mussels and let them in cold running water for 20 minutes (slightly running, you don’t have to open the full tap)
On a pot bring the milk to the boil and cook the cleaned mussels inside the milk until they open (like 3 minutes). Drain the mussels from the milk and reserve both separate. Now your milk should have a slight aroma to seafood and it should be more in quantity than at the beginning due to the liquid that the mussels had released. Take the shell out of the meat and chop it roughly. Wash the shells and dry them in a colander.
On a small pot over a medium heat melt the butter and fry the thinly chopped onion and leek until transparent.
Add the flour to the onion and cook it for 5 minutes until the flour has toasted a bit. At this point we need to start pouring the mussel infused milk slowly while whisking, forming a “roux” and dissolving this thick paste slowly by pouring more milk. Keep doing this until you finish with the milk and you have achieved a smooth and silky béchamel. When it comes back to the boil we should bring the heat down to a minimum and add the salt and white pepper powder and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes, adding half way this time the chopped mussels and boiled eggs and always whisking and making sure it doesn’t stick in the bottom of the pan. Taste the seasoning, rectify if needed, pour the béchamel on a baking tray with baking parchment on the bottom, spread it and let it cool down in the fridge until very cold and solid.
Now we should fill the individual shell of the mussels with the béchamel with the help of a spoon . fill them so they look like if it was a hole closed mussel again.
Whisk the egg in a bowl and egg wash all the mussels only on the side of the bechamel, then coat the same side in bread crumbs and reserve on an empty plate.
Heat a mild vegetable oil in a small deep pot over high heat until its very hot (180 degrees Celsius). Check if the oil is ready by dropping on it a breadcrumb, if it quickly fries that means the oil is ready, if not just wait a bit longer. Carefully place mussel by mussel crumbs side down (or shell side up) into the hot oil by batches until golden and crispy (around 1 and a half minutes). Pat dry them over kitchen paper and enjoy them whether hot or later on at room temperature. Enjoy!
