Octopus--have you dared?

[Jennifer Brizzi]

A mention on my lamb lovers survey inspired me to do another survey, on octopus. I think it is wonderful stuff, vastly underrated in the U.S. I've had Japanese, Italian, Greek, Spanish and Dominican versions that were "to write a poem," as my mother-in-law Maria would say.

I can't find it much these days, since I left Brooklyn, but when I can I cook it into a red wine/tomato pasta sauce or marinate it into a citrusy salad. I avoid rubberiness by dunking it three times in boiling water (I think I got this from Spain expert Penelope Casas) and then by simmering the flesh with a cork bobbing along in the water next to it. Then it can be rendered even more yielding in texture by its subsequent stewing or marinating, evolving into something tasty and tender.

Squid was unpopular until we started calling it calamari and frying it, but I don't foresee the same fate for octopus. "Pulpo" doesn't have the same ring to it, and grilled or stewed or saladed octopus is likely much better than fried would be.

Have you tried it? Did you like it? Do you cook it?

[piazzola]

I my old country octopus was a kind of luxury though I have had a nember of opportunities to have it Spanish, Greek and Italian style

Some Spaniards freeze it before cooking they say it relaxes the outer membranes and so on

The Greeks fish them out of the sea and beat the hell out of octopus on the rock before peeling them off and ready them for cooking

Italian treat them a bit more gently but cook them a while longer

I like octopus very much like squid has been a favourite of mine for many years ans still rememeber fishmongers throwing the things at me everytime I buy a real fish so thay said.

[rooftop1000]

I tried octopus at a Greek fair once in a salad and wasnt impressed, it was chewey with a a pretty bad dressing. Fast forward 10 yrs working temporarily at an Italian deli, I couldnt resist, totally tender swimming in oil with red onions and celary. Husband wouldnt touch it though, he just wanted the Thumanns "crab" salad.

tracey

[BarbaraY]

I have never prepared it because I would get "Eeeews" from my family but I eat it on my sushi and had a wonderful Sopa de Mariscos with tiny quarter sized ones in Mexico. Both are very good.

[Busboy]

Marinated and grilled...the way the Greeks do it. Perfect.

[ladyyoung98]

ive had it on sushi... a bit chewey and has no flavor on its own, but i liked it.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Some Spaniards freeze it before cooking they say it relaxes the outer membranes

The Greeks fish them out of the sea and beat the hell out of octopus on the rock

several posts in this thread on cooking octopus with corks to make it less rubbery ...

nice article on octopus cuisine ... Lessatura del Polpo per Ridurlo Tenero

[petite tête de chou]

A mention on my lamb lovers survey inspired me to do another survey, on octopus. I think it is wonderful stuff, vastly underrated in the U.S. I've had Japanese, Italian, Greek, Spanish and Dominican versions that were "to write a poem," as my mother-in-law Maria would say.

I can't find it much these days, since I left Brooklyn, but when I can I cook it into a red wine/tomato pasta sauce or marinate it into a citrusy salad. I avoid rubberiness by dunking it three times in boiling water (I think I got this from Spain expert Penelope Casas) and then by simmering the flesh with a cork bobbing along in the water next to it. Then it can be rendered even more yielding in texture by its subsequent stewing or marinating, evolving into something tasty and tender.

Squid was unpopular until we started calling it calamari and frying it, but I don't foresee the same fate for octopus. "Pulpo" doesn't have the same ring to it, and grilled or stewed or saladed octopus is likely much better than fried would be.

Have you tried it? Did you like it? Do you cook it?

←

From Lucy's The Montignac Method, je mange, je maigris - a diary.

This is the recipe that I'm dying to make but unless I buy an octopus online (I never thought that I'd be typing THAT ) I don't have access to the creatures.

[Marco_Polo]

In Galicia at country fairs, boiled in oil drums, fished out then quickly chopped up into small pieces by the guy with the glass eye and a missing finger or two, smothered in olive oil: to eat piping hot off toothpicks or with the fingers, washed down with tazitas - white handleless china cups - of lovely, soft creamy white wine wine, or rasping, tooth-staining red from Ribeiro.

Another octopus memory: in a drinking tent at Haeundae Beach, near Pusan, Korea. The baby octopus were so damn fresh that, well, yes, the little critters were, um er, still alive and kickin'. Despatched in front of your very eyes with a cleaver, served with fiery kochujang as a dipping sauce, the tentacles of the oct still wriggling, or worse. You take a bite and the suckers stick to the top of your mouth. You have to hoik off with your finger, then wash down with copious quantities of soju or ice cold maekchu (Korean beer). A very weird experience. Yet not unpleasant, just damn weird.

Octopus: I love it. Rich, fatty, chewy, tasting of the sea. Delicious!

MP

[budrichard]

The most important thing is the quality of the octopus. It must be fresh or fresh frozen. We have had good luck with octopus sold frozen in Japanese stores. The baby octopus comes cleaned and ready for you. There are two timings for octopus as for squid, fast and short or long and slow. Otherwise it is tough. We grill the baby ones and they are great. Octopus served at Sushi bars is poached. You are then served thin slices of the arms which are then lightly scored and will yield a tasy treat.

Whole fresh octopus is difficult to obtain and then must be correctly cleaned and washed with a salt and water. Cut the head into strips for stewing and use the arms anyway you like depending on the size of the octopus. -Dick

[carswell]

The Greeks fish them out of the sea and beat the hell out of octopus on the rock before peeling them off and ready them for cooking.

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Lacking a rock, a local psarotaverna repeatedly runs its raw octopi through an old washing machine wringer. There's no arguing with the results: marinated then grilled and dressed with olive oil and vinegar and served with onions and capers, it is meltingly tender and hauntingly delicious.

[Adam Balic]

From memory, a lot of the Melbourne fishmongers put them in a cement mixer to tenderise them.

What's not to like, at there best they taste like lobster with tender flesh, at their worse they are terrible like any other meat.

[Behemoth]

I've been able to buy frozen octopus at both mexican and korean food markets. This is one of the few seafood products that I think are as good frozen as fresh. I make it all the time. Trick is really to simmer it for a good hour or so before doing anything else to it. After simmering I love to grill it and then toss with olive oil and lemon or vinegar. I also love it with a gochujang-based sauce, korean style.

[SuzySushi]

I eat octopus, but have never prepared it myself. Most often, it comes as part of assorted nigiri or chirashi sushi. The stores around here also sell iidako, tiny whole octopus in a sweet-spicy-salty sauce. My husband loves that, but I can tolerate it only in small quantities because it's so salty. I think it's meant to be eatn as a snack with alcoholic beverages!

My favorite octopus dish, however, was a marinated octopus salad served at a Greek restaurant. Ohhhhhhh was that good!!!

[easternsun]

This is my favourite way to eat octopus!

[Chris Amirault]

Description, if you please!

[easternsun]

It is takoyaki. This is a specialty food of Osaka. Batter with pickled ginger and scallions is poured into the grill. A piece of boiled octopus is added and a bit more batter is added. When the bottom browns and crisps, a metal skewer is run around the edges and then the takoyaki preparer deftly turns the "ball" around so that the uncooked portion ends up on the bottom.

When the "balls" are cooked you add some sauce and mayonnaise and some katsuo-bushi (bonito) flakes and some powdered seaweed (aonori). There are several sauce/topping options.

In addition, my ultimate fave is akashi where the tako balls are placed in a bowl with some mustard greens (mizuna) and covered in a very light broth (dashi).

(Sorry I missed the desciption - I get so excited when I post a photo...)

[KatieLoeb]

I've tried Greek, Spanish and Japanese preparations. Here in Philly, the gold standard is the grilled octopus at Dmitri's. Slightly charred at the edges, tender and in a vinaigrette. Absolutely delicious. I've had a baby octopus salad at a Japanese restaurant and it was also very tasty and tender. Much to my and her parents surprise, my then 5 year old niece loved it too. She ate up a whole order! That's my girl!

Most recently I've had the Spanish Pulpo Gallego at Amada here in Philadelphia. Boiled to tenderness, cut into tiny rings and sauteed in good olive oil, topped with smoked paprika and a bit of Arbequina olive oil. Also addictively tasty. And excellent as Marco Polo suggested, washed down with a glass of Spanish wine either red or white.

I have to admit, the only octopus preparation I haven't truly loved is Tako sushi. Too rubbery and not very flavorful.

[lesfen]

Tako was actually my first introduction to sushi and I haven't turned back. It was a good first choice for me because it was so mild. I have to say that our local sushi joint's octopus salad (aka Chaipus, courtesy of The Golden Dragon) has turned into a serious addiction for me. My two-year-old even managed to snag a bit out of my bowl and proptly gave her approval with a resounding "mmmmm!".

[ludja]

After becoming a big fan of squid it was not difficult to try octopus. I haven't cooked it myself yet though, but the recent pasta dish I had will probably prod me to do it.

I had a great prep in Venice which was a room temperature salad with octopus, fresh sliced celery, lemon and olive oil. (Just noticed in Soba's blog that a similar dish is offered at Otto's in NYC; they also have chopped lovage in the dish).

More recently I had a great pasta dish at A16 in SF with grilled octopus and white beans. The octopus was very tender but with a slight, pleasant chewiness.

[Pan]

[...]Most recently I've had the Spanish Pulpo Gallego at Amada here in Philadelphia.  Boiled to tenderness, cut into tiny rings and sauteed in good olive oil, topped with smoked paprika and a bit of Arbequina olive oil.  Also addictively tasty.  And excellent as Marco Polo suggested, washed down with a glass of Spanish wine either red or white.[...]

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They didn't weigh it down with extreme amounts of salt, like everything I ate in Galicia?

I've had some terrific, unrubbery octopus at Greek and Italian restaurants. I've also had some good octopus dishes in Chinese restaurants, but cuttlefish is more common in Chinese restaurants here in New York. And Chinese like more chewiness, so keep that in mind if you're thinking of ordering squid, cuttlefish, or octopus at one. You are unlikely to get the kind of perfect texture I get every time at a good Greek restaurant like Pylos, which is in my neighborhood.

[KatieLoeb]

[...]Most recently I've had the Spanish Pulpo Gallego at Amada here in Philadelphia.  Boiled to tenderness, cut into tiny rings and sauteed in good olive oil, topped with smoked paprika and a bit of Arbequina olive oil.  Also addictively tasty.  And excellent as Marco Polo suggested, washed down with a glass of Spanish wine either red or white.[...]

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They didn't weigh it down with extreme amounts of salt, like everything I ate in Galicia?

I've had some terrific, unrubbery octopus at Greek and Italian restaurants. I've also had some good octopus dishes in Chinese restaurants, but cuttlefish is more common in Chinese restaurants here in New York. And Chinese like more chewiness, so keep that in mind if you're thinking of ordering squid, cuttlefish, or octopus at one. You are unlikely to get the kind of perfect texture I get every time at a good Greek restaurant like Pylos, which is in my neighborhood.

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No, actually it was quite well seasoned, allowing the smoked paprika and good fruity olive oil to dominate.

I agree about the "textural" preferences at Chinese restaurants. If you're prepared for chewy it's one thing, if you aren't - EWWWWWW...

I think the Greeks have it down with the octopus preparations. I've never had bad octopus at a Greek restaurant. Must be a cultural thing with generations of fisherman and chefs contributing to the expertise.

Speaking of Italian preparations of odd sea critters, is anyone fond of scungilli?? I think it's conch by any other name, but I've always enjoyed a good plate of scungilli with pasta.

[IrishCream]

I wasn't as fortunate as others in my only octopus eating experience which was in Greece last year. Pictures of octopus in Greece

[Carrot Top]

Speaking of Italian preparations of odd sea critters, is anyone fond of scungilli?? I think it's conch by any other name, but I've always enjoyed a good plate of scungilli with pasta.

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Scungilli. Yes, conch (or whelk). It is good with pasta, as you mentioned - but I think even better "caught" fresh from the edge of the sea then taken home to make into conch fritters with a bit of coconut milk added then dipped into a spicy mint-coriander sauce or hot tomato sauce before gobbling down with maybe a beer or two.

Yeah. Watch out - those whelks are hard to "catch". They run really fast.

[Jennifer Brizzi]

I remember scungilli fondly from my years in Rhode Island, where you could get nice lemony scungilli salad at every deli counter. I loved it and it's one of many foods I miss from Rhode Island. Can't wait to read chrisamirault's blog.

Once when I worked in a restaurant there, I was in the walk in and on a high shelf there was a jumbo can of canned scungilli, not yet made into salad. I tasted it, and it was like the foulest rubber band! Taught me the value of a good marinade.

Never had it fresh.