Talk to me about Octopus...

[Futureclassic]

Hi Guys,

I have just bought a whole octopus, and am now wondering what to do with it? How do I clean and prep it, then does anyone have any recipes?

Thanks in Advance

[anonymous-user]

i like it Italian style.

this is one recepie that suit the texture.

Octopus Stewed in Wine and Tomatoes

http://fishcooking.about.com/od/octopusrecipes/r/i...

[anonymous-user]

Cooking slowly and gently is the best, a tomato based med' style stew is lovely. I usualy take the tenticles of first and slice them then cut the body into strips.

[Futureclassic]

Thanks for th replies gents. I was thinking of BBQing it, has anyone ever tried? Would it get too tough?

[mattdaniels]

Futureclassic said:

I have just bought a whole octopus, and am now wondering what to do with it? How

Ask it for this weeks lottery numbers.

[Puggit]

One of the best curries I ever had was an Octopus Curry in Mauritius...

Here is a recipe, but I've never tried it! http://ile-maurice.tripod.com/cariourite.htm

[Mobile Chicane]

Futureclassic said:

Thanks for th replies gents. I was thinking of BBQing it, has anyone ever tried? Would it get too tough?

All recipes I've ever seen for octopus advocate long and low cooking.

I'd poach it first, then marinate and finish off on the BBQ.

[Pete Franklin]

I tried bbqing (grill) it once, wasn't very good. You could try a stew on the bbq using the indirect cooking method. That way you would still get the bbq flavour in the octopus and the rest of the stew. Maybe with some tomatoes choritso and smoked paprika and oak chips added to the coals?

[SkinnyBoy]

http://tinyurl.com/3pnl72t

[escargot]

I've had it barbecued before in a little restaurant on a greek island. It was delicious and not too tough. They may have poached it prior, or they may have just bashed the living st out of it on a rock overlooking the Aegean. No idea.

[anonymous-user]

How did you cook it in the end?

[cramorra]

An Octopus will always need cooking before bbq (greeks will also bash it on stones for a fixed number of times - poss 40! - whilst muttering criptical verses...)
this helps in tenderizing the meat (a good meat tenderizer or weight will do)
then put in a stainless steel pot medium heat and cook for 1 hr or so lid on ow will burn...

Then cut tentacles off and put on a spit (bbq marinade with herbs and gree honey and some sweet wine - or port) goes best and bbq till slightly charred - if you want you can cut the head in bite sized pieces, too
Great stuff

[Futureclassic]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

So in the end i cut out the beak and emptied out the head, then cut it into manageable pieces, then had a mate knock seven shades of st out of it so as to tenderise. This worked quite well, however as an experiment, i slow boiled half of the legs and slung the other half straight on to the BBQ. The slow boiled ones got a good 45mins then were slung on the BBQ. It was on the BBQ for 3-5mins

The ones direct on the BBQ were a bit too tough, but the ones slow boiled came out a lot more tender, but still a bit tough. I think if i were do do it again, i would simmer in something like red wine for a few hours then fire onto the BBQ. So not the greatest success, but an interesting challenge none the less.

Next time i attempt i will take photos

[Simpo Two]

I think I'd rather eat inner tubes.

[SkinnyBoy]

hehe good stuff mate, it is a bd to cook properly. Get it wrong and its like eating a gasket. Done well and its delicious. Us greeks tend to marinate it for hours then bbq it, I love the crispy baby octopi done on the souvla marinated in vinegar

[anonymous-user]

SkinnyBoy said:

hehe good stuff mate, it is a bd to cook properly. Get it wrong and its like eating a gasket. Done well and its delicious. Us greeks tend to marinate it for hours then bbq it, I love the crispy baby octopi done on the souvla marinated in vinegar

Do 'you Greeks' eat Limpets by any chance?

[SkinnyBoy]

You would be surprised what the "wogs" eat mate. I was talking to the mrs the other day and she was telling me about some hideous smoked meat made from camel called pastourma that the old school greeks still eat. By limpets do you mean mussels? Because they get troughed by the kilo in our house. If you want some good traditional greek recipes for shellfish I'll ask the mrs since she being a good greek girl does all the cooking haha

[prand]

I read in a Rick Stein book that he advocates freezing the octopus first, then defrosting, then cooking as above. Which covers the tenderising bit.

I've had it grilled on a small greek Island - a whole leg is quite a big meal in itself, chargrilled, salty with lots of lemon juice, delicious.

Baby octopus marinated in oil, garlic & vinegar/lemon juice & herbs is also very nice.

I'll never forget my trip to Sifnos, would love to go back some day...

[Melman Giraffe]

The spanish tend to smash the Octopus off the rocks by the sea to tenderise the flesh before cooking maybe on the BBQ

[RichB]

They are very good at predicting the result of football matches especially during major tournamnets like the world cup.