An in-depth guide on how to cook Octopus

Preparing delicious octopus at home is something that you can easily do. You just need to be aware about the steps that you need to follow to go ahead and make octopus. It will provide you with a perfect summer seafood salad, which all the family members can enjoy. From this article, we will provide you with an in-depth guide on how to cook octopus at home.  

Steps to make octopus at home

Get the octopus you need

To begin with, you should get octopus that you need. It is enough to get around two to three pounds of octopus. In here, you are provided with the freedom to either go for frozen octopus or buy fresh octopus from the market.

Pre-clean octopus

You should pre-clean octopus before you prepare it. If you are buying fresh octopus, you will be able to request the fishmonger to do the cleaning job for you. But if you are buying frozen octopus, you should go through the cleaning process on your own.

Once you are done with pre-cleaning, you should cut the octopus around the beak. Then you need to remove the internal organs and ink sac. Making a circular cut around the beak will be able to help you with that. Once you pull the beak, all organs will come with it.

Place the octopus in a pot

Now you need to get a large pot and place your octopus in it. Then you should cover the pot with water. You need to make sure that you are adding enough water to simmer.

Simmer gently

As the next step, you need to move forward with simmering gently. You should do that at a temperature of around 190F to 200F to end up with best possible results. In here, the timing varies based on the weight of octopus that you are preparing. This is related to the number of octopus that you cook as well. If you are preparing around two to three pounds of octopus, you will have to spend around one to two hours to get the job done.

You must do a doneness test before taking out octopus. This can be done with the help of a knife. You should insert the knife to the place where the head is meeting the legs of the octopus and see if it slides easily. If you notice that the knife is sliding easily, you can take it out.

Serve octopus

Now you have cooked octopus for tenderness. Therefore, you can go ahead and serve it. You will be able to serve the octopus in a salad. Or else, you can even mix octopus along with risotto and pasta. You will also be able to grill octopus over a high flame, so that you will be able to make the exterior crisp. It all depends on the recipe that you are planning to make.

Few useful tips when cooking octopus

Boil octopus with wine to keep it tender

Some of the expert chefs say that it is better to add some wine to the water that you are using to boil octopus. Then you will find it as an easy task to keep octopus tender along with time. If you are interested in doing experiments, you can go for it.

Frozen octopus gets more tender than fresh octopus

From numerous studies conducted in the past, it has been identified that frozen octopus gets tender fast when compared to fresh octopus. Some of the people assume that freezing octopus is not something good to do as it can create a negative impact on the flavor and texture. This fact is not true at all. It may be true for other seafood, but the fact is not true for octopus. Hence, you don’t need to think twice or worry about anything when you are purchasing frozen octopus from the market.

Long and slow cooking is ideal to obtain maximum tenderness

Are you interested in getting maximum tenderness from octopus that you cook? Then you need to make sure that you are moving forward with long and slow cooking. This method is also called as slow braising. This cooking method will take around one to two hours to complete. It varies based on the weight of octopus that you prepare. However, you will be able to end up with great results. You will love the high level of tenderness that long and slow cooking method can provide.

Final words

As you can see, cooking octopus is never a difficult thing to do. You will be able to do it at home and enjoy all the benefits that come along with it. All you have to do is to follow the instructions.