Since 1997, Greenhead Lobster has been in the live lobster business, purchasing the daily catch from local boats. In the winter as lobsters move offshore, Greenhead purchases rock crabs and sea scallops, but at a much smaller volume than what the lobster season offers. After 20 years in the live lobster business and years of partnering with other processors, owner of Greenhead Lobster, Hugh Reynolds, recognized the need to build our own high quality lobster processing facility, the only of its kind as far north in Maine.
Two pieces of machinery in our processing facility allow us to process products of a very high quality: our High-Pressure Processing (HPP) machine and nitrogen freezer. While we preach the benefits of HPP within lobster processing (humane entry into the processing line, preserves flavor/texture, creates separation between meat & shell allowing for raw meat extraction), we knew that these same benefits could be utilized for other local seafoods.
We are so excited to partner with Blue Hill Bay Mussels and Marshall Cove Mussels. This collaboration allows us to use our processing facility when the lobster season is slow and when mussels are at their peak flavor, texture, and yield. Like with lobster, the proximity of our processing facility to these two mussel farms allows us to process the mussels just after harvest, when they are at their freshest.
In addition to processing just after harvest, the seasonality of when we process mussels means the mussels are plump and at their peak, ahead of spawning in the spring. This means that all the HPP Raw Shucked Mussels have seasonal consistency, regardless of the when they are thawed/prepared. Because these are Maine rope-grown mussels, they are incredibly clean and grit-free. The pressure applied while in the HPP machine allows the raw mussel to be shucked without any heat. Mussels are then inspected for quality & consistency, are packed into 2lb. bags, vacuum sealed, and run through the nitrogen freezer, with a two-year freezer shelf life.
"Golds" versus "Blues." We carry to classifications of HPP Raw Shucked Mussels. The "Blues" are mussels that are grown from wild-caught mussel spat—the traditional method used by most mussel farmers. When mussels naturally spawn, mussel farmers set out to collect the spat, which then gets moved to lines on their farms where they are tended until harvest. In 2010, Evan Young, owner of Blue Hill Bay Mussels noticed a decrease in the observable wild mussel spat. Alarmed, he reached out to Downeast Institute, a non-profit marine research laboratory and education center based in Beals, Maine. Downeast Institute focuses on shellfish research and hatchery production and after conversations with Evan, a plan was made for producing high quality mussel seed.
The plan was to isolate fast-growing mussels to send to Downeast Institute for broodstock production. This 'selective breeding' effort promotes naturally occurring phenotypes (completely different from genetic modification). What started with growth speed led to additional exciting results including a beautiful golden shell and incredibly high yielding mussels. These attributes have provided security for the mussel farmer while also producing a fast-growing, beautiful, high-yield product. A collaboration that has truly produced a sustainable and impressive product.
Greenhead Lobster is so excited to partner with Blue Hill Bay Mussels and Marshall Cove Mussels to use our processing facility and equipment to take this sustainably grown product and make it even more convenient and shelf stable. Utilizing our High-Pressure processor allows us to shuck the mussels from their shells without the use of any heat. Like our raw, shucked, frozen lobster products, we leave the cooking in the hand of the professional chefs, but process seafood when it is at its freshest. Removing shell weight means lower cost of shipping to end users, lower labor cost in kitchens, less storage space needed, an extended freezer shelf life, and the most consistent and high-yield mussels do to harvesting when mussels are at their peak. We are thrilled work with local shellfish farmers who care so deeply about quality and consistency.
For a more detailed understanding of the origin of the Blue Hill Bay Gold Mussels and the collaboration with Downeast Institute, watch this video: https://ow.ly/Wi2a50VGrKi
Pictured below: Smoked Mussels on Toast by Chef Devin Finigan of Aragosta (where she uses our Raw Shucked Lobster as well!).
