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Old 04-22-2012, 11:40 PM   #1
SBH20Man
Brent
 
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Age: 59
Posts: 2,029
Eureka! I found it - the perfect octopus recipe!

I love octopus, and like many I've been experimenting with all kinds of various methods to get just the right flavor and texture. I think I've finally hit on the ideal method.

It is more work than my previously posted method (5 minutes in a pressure cooker) but it has two distinct advantages over the pressure cooker method: (1) The skin and suckers stay intact (with a pressure cooker, the skin and suckers "slough off" from the tentacles, leaving weird looking white ropes and (2) There is a lot more flavor with this recipe. Both methods produce very tender meat.

Here's the deal:

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees

Clean the fresh 'pus (no need to freeze)

Simmer (not boil) in plain water for a few minutes (2 minutes for small pus, 5 for a bigger one). Throw away the water. You can salt it if you want (I do)

Freshly boiled octopus (cleaned first), ready to be braised:




Next, Cut pus into manageable pieces (for an average sized model, for me this means just separating the legs)

Get a small oven-proof casserole or dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid and line the bottom with a variety of herbs and flavorings. I wanted a Spanish/Italian flavor, so I picked some fennel fronds from the yard, added some sliced onion, bell pepper, and bay leaves. If you wanted an Asian flare, you could use ginger, green onions, lemon grass, etc.

Lay the pus on this bed of herbs/veggies, cover, and put into the oven. DO NOT ADD LIQUID. With the tight lid and low temperature, the pus will slowly release its liquid and cook gently in this moisture, retaining a LOT of flavor, becoming tender, and picking up the flavor of the other ingredients.



For a small 'pus, give it about 2-3 hours. For a bigger (1.5 lbs) one, 3-4 hours, and for a really big pus (2+ lbs) give it about 4-5 hours.

Remove from the oven and let cool. You can check for tenderness and if rubbery, put it back for another 30 minutes.

Now you can do whatever you want with it - slice it for salads, marinate it, or try one of my two favorites:

1. Brush with extra virgin olive oil and fresh garlic and grill over charcoal until crispy, drizzle with more XV Olive Oil and a squeeze of lemon. Great with a shot of Ouzo!

or

2. Simmer with tomato sauce, red wine, onion, garlic, capers, and red chile flakes for about 15 minutes to blend flavors. Serve with fresh rustic bread and a light red wine. Add a green salad and you have dinner!

Enjoy!
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