Back in August I had my first attempt cooking octopus. The result was a little on the chewy side.
I followed this advice for the first few octopus and 3 minutes was too much. Way too chewy. The remaining ones took about half that time. The chewiness was far less, but still not absent. Even though my marinade was 6 hours, it seemed the flavors never soaked in to the octopus. The Korean spices tasted like more like a topping.
I got a few comments suggesting that the 6 hour marinade wasn’t enough. I would also need to massage the little guys. How much? 40-50 minutes. Well, there was never a chance that was going to happen. So a friend of mine and my cooking mentor told me about a Chinese hack. Add baking soda to the marinade. I used about half a teaspoon of baking soda and reduced the marinade time down to 3 hours. The result was my dish wasn’t chewy. Still not awesome, but much better.
Korean Octopus
JM
Nov 23, 2012 — 2:48 pm
I had grilled octopus once and my first thought was that if I was cooking this, I’d try braising low and slow for many hours. Do you think braising would work to soften up the tough bits?
Barb
Nov 23, 2012 — 4:23 pm
Watch the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” and you will see that his apprentice massages octopus for about 40-50 minutes and then he checks the texture and if it is not acceptable he has it massaged even longer. Obviously he is serving it raw at a sushi bar (and the one in the video is pretty large). I think you could try this while watching tv or listening to music or a book, just use gloves so you don’t end up smelling of octopus for days 🙂 You might even try massaging in the marinade if you trust your gloves.
You might also try to find info on dried octopus. I have had dried octopus snacks from Japan, sprinkled with paprika. It was not hard like a cracker, more like a thin gummy bear but a not quite so soft. It appeared to have been pounded flat and dried and then dusted with the paprika. Tasted pretty good. I don’t recall if it was salty but they might need to soak in brine or a salted mix before drying like when we make jerky.
MAS
Nov 23, 2012 — 10:45 pm
@JM – No idea. This was only my 2nd attempt.
@Barb – I saw that movie. I disliked the joyless approach to food that documentary showed. Like I said earlier, there is NO WAY I would ever waste 40-50 minutes massaging my meal. That is 40-50 minutes I could spend learning how to cook something else. Using baking soda is my hack. It works. No massage needed.
I’ll be on the lookout for dried octopus. I want to try that.
roland
Nov 24, 2012 — 10:38 pm
We’ve lived in Malta (Mediterranen) for ten years and I used to hand catch octopus with just a stick to lure them out of their holes.
We always stuck them in the freezer for a couple of days and pressure-coocked them briefly before they went onto the grill. No issues with toughness whatsoever – just a dream!!
Txomin
Nov 25, 2012 — 4:09 am
If they are small, I like to fry them (lightly floured).
Otherwise, octopus with vinaigrette is simple and tastes amazing:
http://chefatlarge.in/recipes/pulpo-a-la-vinagreta-octopus-with-vinaigrette.html
MAS
Nov 25, 2012 — 7:56 am
I’m back from the Asian market. I got:
1- dried squid (couldn’t find dried octopus
2- baby cooked octopus package with a ceviche style recipe on the back.