What is the best way to cook octopus?

Answer 1

Bring a very large pan of water to the boil,pop in the octopus and let it boil for at least 4 weeks, drain water and throw the remainder of the octopus into the bin!! It is just about the worse meal any one could ever imagine!!
Hope this helps??

Answer 2

Make sure it has been tenderised, (you can do that with a mallet, just be careful not to pulverise it) slice it thinly in rings, make up a batter from flour, egg and water (quite thick batter), then dip it in and deep fry for about 4 minutes or until batter turns golden brown (test one piece, if it is gooey inside then it is not cooked) It does cook very quickly but is also rubbery if overcooked.

Serve on a bed of lettuce, with lemon slices.

Cooking Octopus does take a bit of practice but delicious when you get it right.

Answer 3

2 kg baby octopus
1 tablespoon fresh lemon rind, grated
3/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons hot chili sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed

4 servings Change size or US/metric
Change to: servings US Metric

25 minutes 15 mins prep
Remove and discard heads and beaks from octopus, cut octopus in half.
Combine octopus, rind, juice, oil, sauce and garlic in large bowl, cover, refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
Drain octopus from marinade and discard marinade.
Add octopus to heated skillet or barbecue, cook over high heat until just tender.

Answer 4

Wash it well under cold water.

Big pot with cold water and bring it to boil. Then gently drop the octopus in there. Throw a pelled onion, 2 garlic cloves, a carrot and a celety. Some peppercorns and parsley stems.

Simmer for 1 hour.

Then remove and cool it down. It will have shrunk a bit.

Peel off the outer layer which should be bluish....

Then you can grill it or bake it or poach it with sauce.

Answer 5

because of the fact each and all the smells intertwine while they prepare dinner and scent solid. that is not difficult to make nutrition scent solid. that is harder to make nutrition flavor solid. my friends are finished chinese language i've got faith doubt they got here from u . s . a . yet their house is a finished pig sty. theirs crap they create living house from artwork throughout their front backyard and back backyard and that is all broken issues like tables, refrigerator, washing machines,etc.. yet on occasion while they're cooking it smells relatively solid. yet i noticeably doubt it tastes that solid. why? purely walk infront of their door step and you will understand why theirs craps everywhere which contain ineffective flowers/animals decaying like fish. Im particular they do no longer save at a real food market the two however the close by china city and all human beings in my state knows the china city isn;t very solid for groceries as that is been widely used to hold rats and that is not even that tasty. that being pronounced do no longer enable the smells fool you.

Answer 6

Basically you cover an octopus with flavored liquid (salted water, or wine, or even oil) and cook it softly (simmer) until it is tender. When the thickest part of the octopus (the "skirt," where the head meets the legs) yields to the sharp point of a small knife with little resistance, it is done. It's like a potato and takes about an hour. Once tenderized by simmering, it can then be marinated, then grilled, or incorporated with other ingredients. Octopus is much like squid: If you keep the cooking time minimal, under five minutes or so, you get a chewy but not unpleasant texture; this is a good technique for octopus salad or sushi. But for most preparations, long, slow cooking, which yields a tender texture, is best. (But if you cook it too long, it becomes dry and tasteless.)

It is something that Mediterranean people take for granted as a simple summer staple. But if you read cooking magazines there are lots of American chefs with theories on how to best cook octopus. Some advice includes:
-Blanche it twice in quickly in simmering salted water before leaving it in on the third dunking to braise for about an hour with mirepoix, lemon and vinegar. Then chills the octopus in the cooking liquid to allow it to firm up.

-Marinate octopus in papaya juice, which is a natural tenderizer.

-Throw octopus against rocks or pound it to make it tender.

- The most reliable method to tender octopus is braising as long as you find that "window" of peak tenderness. If you take it out too early, it's rock hard--too long, and it's mush.

- Simmer octopus very slowly in a court-bouillon--with the liquid only at a shiver --for four to five hours. When the octopus is ready to plate, grill oiled tentacles for a few minutes to char one side.

I have had wonderful octopus as sashimi and in Southern Portugal cooked with rice, its ink, and tomatoes for minimum of 4 hours (both very tender!)

I like octopus how it is served in Greece and Italy-- in a salad after being marinated and grilled. The fire must be hot enough to crisp up the exterior before drying out the interior. I like it with herbs, lemon, and olive oil.


Greek Grilled Octopus Salad
6 to 7 pound whole octopus, *cleaned-see below
4 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, chopped
4 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 lemons ( Zest them and then Juice them to make 1/3 or so cup fresh lemon juice)
2 Cup red wine vinegar
3 cloves fresh crushed garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Pepper to taste
Optional Salad Ingredients: (dash red pepper flakes, sweet red and yellow peppers julienne, green peppers, red onion, fennel, celery, cucumber, olives, cilantro, avocado)

Preheat grill. In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add whole octopus, and simmer for 1 hour. Remove octopus from boiling water and let cool at room temperature for 15 minutes. Cut the tentacles from the head, and discard the head. In a separate bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients. Reserve 3-4 tablespoons of marinade and set aside to dress finished octopus. Pour remaining over the octopus. Let the octopus marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 hours, overnight is best. Fire up the grill, we like to use charcoal and hardwood (apple or oak) and let the grill get hot. Grill the octopus for 5-10 minutes per side. Remove from the grill and chop it up into bite size pieces. Drizzle lemon vinaigrette over the octopus. Mix with fresh vegetable salad ingredients. If you need more vinaigrette, toss with additional lemon juice, salt, and olive oil to taste into salad. Serve with good bread.

*Cleaning: An octopus is a sac (the head) with eight legs. In the head are eyes, a mouth, a pair of beaks, and a file-like organ used to drill through the shells of its prey. Cleaning octopus involves removing these innards from the head sack and rinsing. To clean octopus, insert one or two fingers up inside the body and turn the body inside out.
Scrape away all entrails and rinse the body well.
Next, cut out the eyes with scissors or a very sharp knife.
Finally, remove the mouth which is found at the center of the octopus where the tentacles meet the head and body.
To accomplish this, just push with a finger from the inside (where you just removed the eyes).
A black chitinous-like material encased in a soft sphere is what you're looking to remove.
Then you turn the body inside out if it is large enough.
If not, start at the tip of the body and squeeze with your thumb and forefinger while sliding them to the opposite end (like a tube of toothpaste).
Do this several times.
Rinse the inside of the body thoroughly.

Answer 7

Who needs to cook octopus! Eat it live, 'Oldboy' style! :-D

Answer 8

1. Boil it and then add vinegar and oil.

2. Fry it in its ink.

3. Grilled on charcoal.

All three recipies are delicious!!

Answer 9

beat the hell out of it to tenderise it then slow fry it in it's own ink with a little olive oil and spices and seasoning of your choice

Answer 10

you either need to stew it for a long time or fry it very hard for a very short time, anything else and it turns to rubber