J.P.'s Shellfish Newsletter   03/05/10

IBSS-JOHNNY'S BLUES-HARDSHELL CLAMS

Good Afternoon,   

               It seems like just yesterday that we collectively started talking about the 2009 International Boston Seafood Show (http://bostonseafood.com/10/public/mainhall.aspx?ID=19189), and at that time March 14th-16th seemed like an eternity away.  Well…Here we are!  A week from Sunday, the show kicks off.  We’ll be calling booth 1119 home base this year, and will be sharing the space with a couple of our partners from Prince Edward Island .  Confederation Cove’s (http://confederationcove.com/welcome.cfm) Stephen Stewart will be there to fill you in on you everything you ever wanted to know about mussels (http://jpshellfish.com/pei_rope_grown_mussels.php), but were afraid to ask; and Randy Cooke of Howard’s Cove Shellfish (http://www.howardscove.ca/) will be on hand to answer any and all questions pertaining to Malpeque oysters (http://jpshellfish.com/malpeque_oysters.php).  Of course, there will be a number of us from J.P.’s Shellfish milling about, anxiously awaiting your arrival.  Additionally, we pleased to announce that J.P.’s Shellfish is a proud sponsor of the Seafood Show’s Fourth Annual Shucking Competition, which is to be held Monday, March 15th from 3:30-4:30.  We hope that you’ll find the time to stop by the booth and say hello and press the flesh. 

              Good news on the shellfish availability front!  As you may recall…Last week New England was subjected to hurricane force winds (We topped out with gusts of 90+ miles per hour locally.), and torrential rains (Some areas received four to five inches…Thank goodness it wasn’t snow.).  At any rate…New England experienced widespread closures to shellfish harvesting as a result of the winds and rain.  First off, we’d like to thank you for your cooperation throughout the closures.  Your flexibility and understanding is greatly appreciated by all of us here at J.P.’s Shellfish.  Now then…The skies have cleared, and things are returning to normal…Or as close as we get to normal.  We expect to have Connecticut Blue Points (http://jpshellfish.com/blue_point_oysters.php) to ship Tuesday (03/09/10), and our fully processed Johnny’s Blues wild-cultivated Maine mussels (http://jpshellfish.com/johnnys_blues_mussels.php) are available for the asking.  Now I know some of you hear the term “wild-mussels”, and immediately switch off...But hear me out on this one.  It is important that we are all on the same page when talking about our Johnny’s Blues wild Maine mussels (Mytilus edulis).  When we say “fully-processed”, we mean just that.  Let’s face it…Cleaning mussels is an unenviable, arduous, task.  So we do it for you!  That’s right!  Immediately after harvest from the pristine Gulf of Maine waters, our Johnny’s Blues mussels are brought to our processing facility in Hancock, Maine.  In Hancock, the mussels are placed in tanks of hyper-chilled seawater, and the mussels remain here for at least 24 hours.  During this period of wet-storage, the mussels will purge themselves of the vast majority of impurities which they may be harboring.  You know…Sand, grit, pebbles, mud, etc.  After this purging process, the newly cleaned mussels graded out, and any which are deemed to be anything less than perfect are culled from the run.  Mussels are then separated (de-clumped), de-bearded (de-byssed), and graded for size (de-lightful!).  Johnny’s Blues wild Maine mussels are available in a regular or a large grade, and both are generally available on a daily basis…However…If you (and or your clients) have a decided preference one way or the other as far as sizing goes, you might want top consider a pre-order.  After the size grading, the Johnny’s Blues are given a final once-over before being bagged, boxed, iced, and picked up by one of our refrigerated trucks.  We bring in fresh product on a daily basis to assure that you receive only the freshest product available.  And that, my friends, is the skinny on our Johnny’s Blues wild Maine mussels.  If Cheffy is looking to rein in his or her food cost, the Johnny’s Blues might be just the ticket.

              In other news…We fully expect to have Maine hardshell clams  (Mercenaria mercenaria) available next week!  All of the aforementioned rain and (relatively) warm temperatures have caused an early break-up of the ice around Harpswell and West Bath, Maine; the waters are once again navigable, and our clammers are…Well…Clamming.  Little-necks and top-necks should be plentiful, while larger sizes (cherrystones and chowders) will in all likelihood be scarce.  Call early for best selection.