Content

• Ingredients
• Boiled octopus
• Grilled octopus
• Poached octopus
• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Preparing octopus
• Method 2 of 4: Boiled octopus
• Method 3 of 4: Grilled octopus
• Method 4 of 4: Poached octopus
• Necessities
• To prepare
• Boiled octopus
• Grilled octopus
• Poached octopus

Octopus may seem difficult to prepare at first due to the appearance of this delicacy, but nothing could be further from the truth. Octopus is fairly easy to cook. The best way to do this is to cook the octopus slowly so that the meat becomes tender. You can also cook an octopus quickly, but then you will get very tough meat. If you want to eat octopus and prepare it yourself, you can use the steps below.

Ingredients

Boiled octopus

For four people

• 1350 grams of frozen octopus, defrost and cut into pieces
• 6 liters of water
• 1 sliced ​​onion
• 1 sliced ​​carrot
• 1 sliced ​​leek
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) black peppercorns

Grilled octopus

For four people

• 1350 grams of frozen octopus, defrost and cut into pieces
• Salt, for the taste
• Black pepper, also for the taste
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of olive oil, spread well
• Half a lime, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of fresh parsley

Poached octopus

For four people

• 1350 grams of frozen octopus, defrost and cut into pieces
• 1 cup (250 ml) of white wine vinegar
• 4 liters of water
• 8 whole black peppercorns
• 4 bay leaves
• 8 teaspoons (40 ml) of salt

To step

Method 1 of 4: Preparing octopus

1. Defrost the octopus. You defrost an octopus by putting it in the fridge about a day in advance.
   • The advantage of frozen octopus over fresh octopus is that the freezing process makes the meat tender. If you buy a fresh octopus, you can make the meat more tender by hitting the meat with a meat tenderizer.
   • Before you cook the octopus, it must be completely defrosted.
2. Now cut off all tentacles with a sharp kitchen knife.
   • Some recipes require you to leave the octopus whole, so read the instructions ahead of time so you don't accidentally cut when you don't intend to.
   • Take a tentacle each time and cut off each loose tentacle with a sharp knife.
   • If you have kitchen scissors, you can also cut off the tentacles.
3. Cut off the middle piece and cut the head in half.
   • The middle piece that attaches the tentacles to the head is hard, so you can throw that away.
4. Remove the beak and ink bag, if necessary. If you bought a frozen octopus, you don't always have to do this because frozen octopuses are often sold without an ink bag and mouth.
   • If you have a fresh octopus you should ask the seller how to clean an octopus before taking it home.
   • If you cut the head or body in half, you should be able to see the ink sac and guts. You can easily cut and remove these yourself.
   • The beak can still be attached to the middle part, if it is, you should have already removed it. If the beak is still attached to the body, push it away by squeezing the body. If the beak is loose, you can remove it and throw it away.

Method 2 of 4: Boiled octopus

1. Fill a stockpot with water and aromatics. Fill the pan about 2/3 with water, and add herbs and vegetables.
   • If you use a vegetable package, you can see it as a substitute for the water and aromatics. The herbs and vegetables in the recipe add flavor to the meat.
   • An octopus recipe often contains vegetables such as: onion, carrot, leek, and herbs such as: bay leaves, parsley, thyme and peppercorns. You can of course also add other vegetables / herbs yourself if you have them at home.
2. Bring everything to the boil and let it boil for 5 minutes.
   • Bringing the herbs and vegetables to the boil before adding the octopus will release all of the aromas.
3. Now add the octopus. Also include any loosely cut body parts such as the tentacles. The water will boil a little less after this addition, but it will not stay that way for long.
   • This recipe works best if an octopus has been pre-cut. However, you should not cut an octopus into pieces that are too small. Small pieces cook just as well but this is not recommended for aesthetic reasons.
4. Put the lid on the pan and let everything cook until the meat is tender, this takes 20-45 minutes.
   • You can test the meat by removing a piece from the pan with a fork every five minutes. After five minutes the meat is of course still not good, but this gives you an idea of ​​how the meat should feel after about 15 minutes. Feel again after cooking for 15 minutes to see if the meat is now good.
   • If the meat is good, it will fall off your fork when you try to take it out of the pan.
5. Now remove the octopus from the pan and serve it. You usually serve boiled octopus in strips, with rice or as a salad, but you have to know that for yourself.
   • You can also save the water and serve it as a broth later.

Method 3 of 4: Grilled octopus

1. Preheat the oven to 130 degrees Celsius. Use baking paper and aluminum foil.
   • You should place the dish slightly below the center of the oven so that the octopus is properly heated.
   • Most of the cooking process takes place in the oven. Grilling gives you the chance to add flavor but it is fast and the meat will not become tender if you do not use it afterwards.
2. Now place the octopus on the baking paper, sprinkle the meat with some salt, and then cover it with the aluminum foil.
   • Make a loose seal by curling the foil around the baking paper.
3. Cook the octopus until the meat is tender, this can take up to two hours. Let the meat cool first afterwards.
   • The meat should feel tender when you touch it with a fork or paring knife.
   • While the octopus is cooling, remove the foil so that it cools down faster.
   • You can refrigerate the octopus for a day or two, but only if you get rid of all the moisture.
4. Preheat the grill for 10 minutes, then brush the grill with a tablespoon (15 ml) of olive oil.
   • If you have a gas grill, turn all the burners to a high setting and let the grill preheat for about 10 minutes.
   • If you have a charcoal grill you should first put a layer of charcoal on the bottom of the grill and let it burn until you see white ash.
5. Cover the octopus with oil. If you rubbed the pieces with olive oil, you should also sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
   • The olive oil gives the meat a better glow and a crispy taste and thanks to the oil, the salt and pepper also stick to the meat better.
6. Cook the octopus on the grill. Place the pieces of meat on the grill and leave them there for four to five minutes until they are brown.
   • When you have put all the pieces on the grill you have to put the lid on the grill. You only need to turn the pieces once, if you are at about half the time.
7. Serve the octopus with olive oil, parsley and some lime juice. Grilled octopus is delicious on its own but also as part of another dish. If you want to serve the octopus loose, add extra oil, lime juice and parsley to give the dish more flavor.

Method 4 of 4: Poached octopus

1. Heat some water and vinegar. Combine both ingredients in a stockpot and slowly bring to the boil.
   • You can add aromatics before the vinegar water boils, or while cooking. If you add ingredients while the mixture is already boiling, the water will boil faster.
2. Add the remaining aromatics. Squeeze some lime juice into the water before throwing the two half limes into the water as well. You should also add the peppercorns, bay leaves, and salt to the mixture afterward.
   • After 10 minutes you have to lower the temperature, you have now cooked the aromatics well so you can now add the octopus.
3. Use kitchen tongs to dip the octopus in the water three times, soak the meat in the water for about five seconds.
   • It is best to wear rubber gloves when handling the octopus.
   • This method is suitable for the whole octopus. The purpose of submerging the octopus is for the tentacles to curl up on contact with hot water. Therefore, you don't have to do this with a sliced ​​octopus because in that case the tentacle pieces are too small to curl up.
4. Poach the octopus. Put the octopus in the water and increase the temperature until the water boils slightly. Let the water boil for half an hour or at least until the meat is tender.
   • You check whether the meat is tender by poking it with a fork. If you can pierce the meat with a fork, it is tender enough.
5. Let the octopus cool for a few minutes. If you can touch the meat, it is cold enough to serve.
   • You can also cover the octopus and put it in the fridge for up to eight hours.

Necessities

To prepare

• A sharp kitchen knife
• Kitchen scissors (not necessarily necessary)
• A cutting board

Boiled octopus

• A large stockpot with lid
• Kitchen tongs
• A fork

Grilled octopus

• Baking paper
• Aluminium foil
• A fork
• A grill

Poached octopus

• A large stockpot
• Kitchen tongs or rubber gloves
• A fork