Frozen whole cooked Galician mussels

Raft-grown Galician mussels, cooked and frozen

Galicia is the world’s benchmark for mussels. In the rías, Mytilus galloprovincialis grows on ropes hanging from bateas, floating rafts moored in plankton-rich water. This farming method, rooted in decades of tradition and recognised within the sector by the Mexillón de Galicia PDO, produces mussels with full meat, a deep taste of the sea and a yield that professional buyers value.

Whole cooked frozen mussels are cooked in the shell and then frozen, so all that is needed at destination is thawing or heating. It is the most practical way to take Galician mussels to markets that live product cannot reach in good condition, while keeping their traditional presentation.

Whole mussel sizes: pieces per kilo

Whole mussels are graded by the number of pieces per kilogram: the lower the figure, the larger the mussel. Typical market ranges run from around 20/30 pieces per kilo for large grades to 50/70 for smaller ones:

• Large grades: for serving whole, steamed or in a sauce, where size is part of the appeal.
• Medium and small grades: for rice dishes, paella, seafood stews and recipes where the mussel is one ingredient among others.

Exact size, tolerances, glazing and packing are agreed to each customer’s and each market’s specification.

Who buys it: retail, importers and foodservice

From Vigo, at the heart of Galicia’s mussel industry, we export mussels to customers across Europe and to markets beyond it. We work with major retailers, importers and distributors supplying the foodservice trade, adapting size, format and presentation to what each market requires.

If you only need the meat, see our frozen cooked Galician mussel meat. For other origins, our mussel range also includes Chilean mussels and New Zealand green-lipped mussels.

Storage, thawing and preparation

Keep the mussels at −18 °C or below until use. As they are already cooked, simply thaw them slowly in a cold room or refrigerator at 0–4 °C, or heat them straight from frozen by steaming, in a sauce or in the oven for a few minutes, without overcooking so the meat stays juicy.

Once thawed, keep them chilled and use them promptly. Do not refreeze.