char-grilled octopus ?
when i was in panama i had char grilled octopus that had the great char on the outside and was amazingly tender. i tried to duplicate, but i got the rubberized version. i simmered it (2 pounder) for about an hour. left it in olive oil and herbs overnight in the fridge and then flash charred it on the weber. where did i go wrong?
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I have tried over the years many of the tricks with various degrees of success. Tenderizing alone by beating the poor thing has not worked for me. However, in combination with the three-dips technique, t has worked sometimes. The technique calls for dipping the octopus three times in the hot water for a second or two before putting the whole thing into the water. Timing is also a factor, and under or overbooking it results in rubbery octopus. However, now I only use baby octopi. I find it in my local supermarket defrosted. I jus put in directly on the grill, after marinating according to the recipes for only a few minutes. Some recipes call for overnight marinates, but I still only do about 10 minutes or so. Then grill it in each side for 3 minutes. For extra smokiness, I sprinkle some paprika before grilling. The trick is to serve and eat it in the next 15 minutes. When it first comes out of the grill, it is still tender. After 15 minutes, it becomes rubbery. I now don't ever bother to buy the big octopus. The baby ones are so tender that you do not need to boil them before grilling then , and then they only become rubbery if do not eat them fast enough. Do not overcook though.
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All I know from talking to some folks who have made remarkably good octopus is:
If you undercook it, it will be chewy;
If you overcook it, it will be chewy;
Even if you buy a fresh one, you should freeze it overnight, because the freezing process breaks down and softens the flesh.
The beating part, i was told, is a traditional and effective method for de-inking your octopus. Whether its also effective as a tenderizing technique, i'm not sure.
EU in Manhattan made the best Octopus I have ever, ever had. The freezing tip came from their head chef. He since left, and I don't know where to, but since then the Octopus at EU is totally disappointing.›1 Reply-
re: doctorwho92
md_massimino
Jul 15, 2010 11:01 AM
A little late with this post but had to share. My absolute favorite octopus dish is from the Water Works in Philly. I just found the entire technique from the Water Works chef on how they make it.
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Veggo
Mar 20, 2008 07:52 AM
The gold standard for octopus I would like to replicate is served at Nogrosal, in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It is grilled with a dry chipotle rub, Incredibly tender, huge portion (enough for 2-3 to share as an appetizer), $16.
I have failed miserably with the frozen cut up sections, which is all I seem to have access to in central Florida. The best I've done could be described as chewy, chipotle flavored, prison food. I know fresh would be a better start, but I'm learning here that beating the s**t out of fresh ones may be part of the path to success.
I propose that if we ever close the Guantanamo prison, that we convert it to an octopus tenderizing facility :)›1 Reply-
re: Veggo
Caroline1
Mar 20, 2008 08:09 AM
Well, you know, I'm beginning to wonder, with all of these reports, whether how long you cook the critter after pounding the bejeezus out of it has anything to do with how tender it is. I always always always cooked mine immediately after pounding. Did it with fresh caught and store bought, and they were all equally tender. So now I'm wondering if octopi have some sort of regenerative neurological thing going on that makes them reknit their injured tissue to function again... even after death? Maybe the spinal chord injury scientists need to take a closer look at octopi, ya think?
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purple goddess
Mar 19, 2008 10:22 PM
Mr G and I are made fisherpersons (?!) and often catch fresh octopodi. I have tried EVERY FREAKIN METHOD KNOWN TO MAN to get that texture, and I have to say, after years and YEARS of catching and cooking, bashing and smashing, brining and basting, I personally reckon that it depends on the season. Here in OZ, the smaller suckers, caught off the pier at night, in winter are better than the big ones caught off our boat in summer.
I have taken to keeping them alive in the holding tank, belting the cr@p out of them on the driveway as soon as I get them home, cleaning and slicing them up and then marinating them in full cream milk overnight in the fridge.
That works more often than not.
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sarah galvin
Mar 19, 2008 12:28 PM
There is no way I can take an octopus and beat it! Seems weird! I would just buy the pre-cleaned, pre-sliced frozen pieces. Maybe even pre-breaded! Octopus and eel are two things I know I couldn't deal with!
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mrsjenpeters
Mar 19, 2008 08:55 AM
we had some of the same at a greek restaurant in atlanta... they apparently brine, braise, then grill. we've been trying to duplicate it, and while we've gotten some tender octopus, never have we gotten it quite so tender. so this renews my interest. :) in looking around today, i found this article:
To Cook an Octopus: Forget the Cork, Add Science
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/din... -
Caroline1
Mar 19, 2008 07:45 AM
To tenderize an octopus, get a painter's plastic drop cloth and cover your kitchen counter and backsplash. Tape it in place if you have to. Then hold the octopus by the head and beat the legs against the countertop as hard as you can. Repeat about fifteen times, more if it's a big octopus. Turn it about a quarter turn each time you beat it, and try to get as close to the head as possible. If you plan on stuffing and roasting the heat, hold the octopus by the legs and beat the head too. The tenderized legs can be fried, broiled, or even boiled. I wouldn't marinate them, but I would sprinkle them with a bit of garlic and/or onion powder, though it's really not necessary.
Happy cooking...!
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re: MMRuth
Caroline1
Mar 19, 2008 10:13 PM
Bless your heart. When we met, part of my second husband's job at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, was scuba diving to put specially equipped buoys in place for a deep sea wave scatter (radar) research project, and until we moved from Del Mar to El Paso years later after we were married, he caught about 80 to 90% of the proteins the family ate scuba diving. What a lovely way to live. You cannot imagine the "culture shock" of moving six hundred miles inland and suddenly having to buy everything you put on the table!
Since we're talking about octopus, I'll share an octopus tale. One time Rick brought home an exceptionally large catch, and when we sorted it all out, there was an adorable little live octopus among the larger critters. We lived on the beach, so I sent the kids out -- first and second grade by my first marriage -- to put some sand and ocean water in a huge globe fish bowl for the octopus. He seemed to be thriving, but on the third day, he was dead when we got up in the morning. I called Scripps and asked a marine biologist what we'd done wrong... "Well, basically you embarassed the poor creature to death. Octopus are extremely shy, and you should have put an empty tin can or an old cup or something for him to hide in." We grieved and gave the poor little octopus a "Viking's funeral."
It was a really magic time in our lives and we are so blessed. We lived a mile or two up the coast from Black's Beach, which was the only legal nude beach in the United States at the time. Black's Beach also had incredible tide pools, with star fish, sea cucumbers, anemones, all sorts of critters, including some of the most exotic and lovely nudabranchs (sea snails) in the world. The changes from the lack of sand in long shore drift has made those tide pools inaccessable by the route we used to walk. But they are part of my adult children's childhood, indellibly etched in their memories. They will be able to pass on tales of what the world used to be like to their kids for generations to come.
Ruth, thanks for the opening through which I could share these memories. '-)
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Mario Battali swears by cooking octos with a wine cork in the water. Souinds like an old wives tale, but I have never eaten any of his recipes that I found wanting.
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re: Brandon Nelson
scubadoo97
Mar 19, 2008 11:46 AM
Seems like every culture that cooks octopus has a method to tenderize it. The Italians swear by the cork. Can't see how there is enough of what ever is in the cork that would make a big difference. I vote for science and with the article below written by Harold McGee, I would trust it above all other opinions.
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I'd love to know the answer to this myself, as I have been toying with the idea of making octopus at home. This week's Minimalist column had me feeling pretty brave; after that I dug up this 1999 piece by Bittman on octopus: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage...
The recipe in the article for grilled octopus seems to describe a method that is almost exactly the same as what you did. I might suggest that you try simmering the octopus longer, but going by the information in the article it seems as though 1 hour should be plenty long enough for a two-pounder.
Hmm... puzzling.
Where did you get the octopus from? Was it fresh or frozen?
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re: lmoy
Vee7
Mar 14, 2008 12:18 PM
I was in Spain years ago and had great a great pupo salad. We asked the cook how she made it. Her reply was, first you catch the octopus, then you beat it on a rock, boil it for 1 hour and then marinate it in the salad fixings.
Maybe beat it on a rock or some how tenderize it.
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