Best Giant pickled mussels in pickled sauce of Galician brands

We analyze the best giant mussels in pickled sauce.
Galician canneries elaborate the best canned seafood.
We analyze the best brands. When it comes to pickled mussels, big is the best.
Especially if we choose canned mussels with Galician mussels, the king of the most popular shellfish of our coasts.
If you are one of those who hear mussels and think of pickled mussels , this article is for you.
Today we are going to analyze the best 6/8 unit pickled mussels, that is, the giant mussels, those that you eat one by one and that you enjoy as if they were a hundred.

Galician mussels, unique for canning

Let’s talk about mussels and Galicia, the main canning area for this bivalve that children and adults love.
The main reason for its quality is the quality of the variety of mussel raised in Galicia, specially selected for canning: the Galician mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), the first sea product with designation of origin in the European Union.
It also affects the way in which the cultivation is carried out, building rafts in protected areas, such as the Rías or bays of the northern coast, where the nutrient-rich water is renewed with each rising tide, and where the mussels reproduce easily.

The Galician mussels selected for canning must be intact, of good size and alive.
For 6/8 canned mussels, only the largest and healthiest looking mussels are selected, with perfect color and shape.

The elaboration process of the best canned mussels minimally affects the product.
They are opened by steaming and shucked one by one, manually, so that they do not suffer deterioration in the process.
Then it is canned, also manually, filled with the pickled coating and cooked just enough to mix aromas and maintain all the consistency of its meat and the iodized flavor of the Atlantic.
In many traditional recipes, the mussels are previously fried for a few seconds before being packed with the marinade.
Depending on the recipe, sunflower oil, EVOO or a mixture of both can be used.

The handmade marinade for the perfect mussel preserve

Each cannery has its own secret marinade recipe The traditional way, inherited from generation to generation, and that gives a unique and unmistakable touch to its brand. What they all have in common is the choice of ingredients, always of the highest quality: vinegar, wine, paprika, bay leaf, and other spices such as cloves or pepper, are part of its elaboration. To obtain a quality marinade, the ingredients are cooked gently and once cold, they are strained and added to the can with the mussels, bay leaf, pepper,…. The container is closed and cooked in large cauldrons for just the right amount of time to obtain the perfect preserve. Et voilà, we have our favorite preserves ready to eat.

Best brands of mussels 6/8 of the Galician Rias

In Casa Ballester we make every year a selection of the best brands of canned Galician mussels, and these are our recommendations for Pickled Mussels 6/8 units from the Galician Rias: