How to cook an octopus

How to cook octopus to obtain tender meat is one of the most frequently asked questions in the kitchen. Here are the tricks for cooking perfect octopus!

Octopus is an ingredient that we all love, but rarely cook , and understanding why is quite simple: if something goes wrong during cooking, the octopus becomes woody, hard and almost inedible. So today we discover together how to cook octopus using the ancient pulp method. Who are they and what is their secret?

To obtain perfect cooking of the octopus, therefore, today we will follow some simple steps : we will immerse it in boiling water and, after having curled the tentacles, we will cook it for about 40 minutes. Then, we will leave it there for another half hour, to cool. Let's see all the details and lots of advice !

How to cook boiled octopus?

1. First clean the octopus by removing the eyes and the beak in the center of the tentacles. Then turn your head, remove the internal bag and rinse well under running water to remove any residue. Alternatively you can ask the fishmonger to carry out this operation for you.
2. Bring a pot full of water to the boil.
3. When it boils, holding the octopus by the head, dip it 3-4 times so that the tentacles curl.
4. Cook the octopus keeping in mind that it will take about 40 minutes per kg, then once the time has passed, skewer the base of the head (near the attachment of the tentacles) with the tines of a fork: the meat should be tender and yielding. Otherwise, continue cooking.
5. But that's not all: to have very soft meat , let the octopus cool in its water before draining it and using it in your recipes.

Now that we have boiled it, we can use the octopus for tasty recipes : how to eat it? In addition to the classic octopus with potatoes, we also recommend the Elban variant (which includes the addition of tomato).

Cooking octopus: errors and advice

– Another tip for obtaining a soft octopus is to immerse it for a few minutes in a pineapple juice before cooking. The bromelain contained in the fruit drains the proteins from the meat and allows the octopus to be cooked perfectly!

– Those who wish, to give it more flavour, can also boil the octopus in a homemade broth prepared with carrots, celery and onion.

– Cooking for a 1 kg octopus takes about 40 minutes (like we did) but if you have a 500 gram one you certainly can't cook it for that long: it would be too long and the result would be overcooked! In this case, reduce the cooking time of the octopus to 20 minutes .

– Never make the mistake of draining the octopus and letting it cool in the air: if you let it cool in its cooking water it will remain nice and soft!

– Have you ever heard of the pressure cooker octopus recipe ? When the water in the pan begins to boil, insert the octopus and cook for 15 minutes . Again, let it cool in the cooking water. This cooking is perfect if you have little time to cook but can plan ahead a little: the pressure cooker will need more or less the whole night to vent slowly.

How to cook octopus without water

An alternative to the traditional method for preparing octopus is to cook it in a pot without adding water. As the saying goes, "octopus is cooked in its own water" , it involves cooking it in a pan without water, using the water released by the octopus itself during cooking.

1. After cleaning the octopus, place it in a pan with a thick bottom, turn on the low heat and close the lid.
2. Let each kg of octopus cook for 40 minutes, without ever opening the lid.
3. After this time, skewer the octopus between the head and tentacles to test the cooking and, if ready, let it cool in the pan with the lid so that it remains nice and soft.

storage

We recommend storing the cooked octopus in the fridge for 1-2 days , in a special container with a lid. Alternatively, you can also freeze it when cooked: wait until it becomes cold, then cut it into pieces and freeze them well spaced apart in the freezer. Once ready, place them in special ice bags and place them back in the freezer.