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Duration:
6 hrs 30 mins
Servings:
4
Level:
Advanced
Enjoyed for centuries by cooks in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy, and now in Latin America, octopus has yet to make its mainstream debut in North American kitchens, possibly due to the fact that if not prepared properly, it can turn into something more like a rubber eraser than an entrée. We experimented with different tenderness-inducing preparation methods, including the time-tested sous vide method. The simplest, most surefire solution to perfect octopus every time? You guessed it—sous vide.
Part 1:
Cleaning the Octopus
Step 1
Rinse octopus and pat dry so that it is not slippery to work with.
Step 2
Locate the beak where the tentacles start. It is black and looks similar to a bird’s beak. The beak is used by the octopus for predation and is inedible.
Step 3
You can force the beak out with your hands by pressing it from behind, or you can slice around the base of the beak with a small knife. To do so, use a paring knife to make a full circular cut around the beak. This will allow it to pop out cleanly and easily. Make a "v" cut, slice out each of the eyes, and discard.
Part 2:
Blanching the Octopus
Step 1
Fill a large Cambro (large enough to fit octopus) with water and attach an immersion circulator. Preheat immersion circulator to 175 degrees F. Next, fill a pot (large enough to hold the octopus) with water and bring to a rapid boil.
Prepare an ice bath to shock the octopus after it is blanched.
Step 2
Add the octopus to the boiling water and blanch for 10 minutes.
Step 3
Remove the octopus from the water and place in the ice bath to stop the cooking.
Part 3:
Cooking the Octopus
Step 1
Remove the octopus from the ice bath and remove the legs. Split the head, rinse, and cut into quarters. Split the body in quarters. Place the octopus in a sous vide bag with salt, paprika and olive oil.
Step 2
Place octopus sous vide bag in preheated sous vide bath and cook for 5 hours at 175 degrees F. When it is finished cooking, chill the octopus, then finish it on the grill (we like to cook it over a charcoal or wood-fired grill). Be sure to drizzle with additional olive oil before grilling.
FEATURED PRODUCT
Ingredients
Equipment
