Grilled Octopus Recipes

Steps:

• Combine octopus, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, 1 teaspoon salt, garlic and 1 lemon, cut in half, in saucepan along with water to cover. Turn heat to medium, cover, and bring to boil. Adjust heat so that liquid simmers slowly, and cook until octopus is tender, for 30 to 90 minutes, depending on whether you're using two smaller octopuses or 1 larger one (check for doneness with point of sharp knife). Drain, discarding everything but octopus. (You can prepare this 24 hours in advance up to this point; cover, and refrigerate octopus.) Set aside.
• Start charcoal or wood fire, or preheat gas grill; fire should be quite hot. Grill rack about 4 inches from heat source. Cut octopus into large serving pieces, brush it with half the olive oil, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Grill it quickly until outside browns but inside is not dried out. Cut remaining lemon into wedges.
• Brush octopus with remaining olive oil. Serve with lemon wedges, hot or at room temperature, garnished with parsley.

Steps:

• Fill a large pot 1/2 full with water. Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt, peppercorns, and the wine cork; bring to a boil over high heat.
• Meanwhile, place octopus on a cutting board. Using a wooden spoon or meat mallet, pound the octopus multiple times, starting in the middle and moving down each tentacle to tenderize the meat.
• Dip tentacles into the boiling water 3 times, holding them in the boiling water 2 to 3 seconds each time, until the tentacles curl up. Submerge entire octopus in the boiling water. Bring water back to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until octopus is fork-tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 30 minutes.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Grill octopus until charred on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Remove from heat, slice into pieces, and place on a serving platter. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, squeeze lemon over top, sprinkle with parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• For the pickled red onion: Slice the red onion into 1/8-inch strips and place in a large, heat-safe container. Bring the rice vinegar and sugar to a boil, stirring on occasion, until the sugar is completely dissolved, then turn off the heat. Let the liquid cool for 5 minutes, then pour the mixture into the container with the onions and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate. When the onions turn bright pink and fluffy, they are ready (4 to 24 hours).
• Octopus preparation: Spread out the octopus on a cutting board and cover completely with plastic wrap. Tenderize the octopus with a mallet, starting from the middle body extending down the tentacles. Transfer to a pan and lightly sprinkle the baking soda over both sides of the octopus, then let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Poaching liquid: In a 10-quart pot, add 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, wine and wine cork, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, lemons and 6 to 8 cups water. (The water line should be around 1 inch above the octopus once dropped into the pot.)
• Cooking the octopus: Bring the poaching liquid to just about a simmer, 180 to 190 degrees F. Rinse the resting octopus in the sink to remove the excess baking soda. Transfer the octopus to the pot and continue to simmer until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F, 60 to 70 minutes.
• Breaking down the octopus: Place the octopus on a cutting board, and separate each tentacle from the body using a knife. Using the back of the knife, gently remove the gelatinous skin from each tentacle. (If your knife skills are limited, you can use paper towels and gently wipe the skin from the tentacles.)
• Grilling the octopus: Light your back patio grill and bring it up to 450 to 500 degrees F. Lightly cover the octopus tentacle in 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on the grill and sear, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Pull off the grill and let rest for a few minutes. Meanwhile, build the accompaniment salad by tossing the arugula with some pickled red onions, the remaining teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Plating: On a clean cutting board, place the grilled octopus and slice the tentacles into 1-inch pinwheels. Arrange on a plate. Drizzle with some cabernet vinegar and Picual olive oil, then sprinkle with the herbs. To finish the plate, add a small handful of the dressed greens, and enjoy.

Steps:

• Boil octopus in salted water until cooked through (check inside with a paring knife), 15 to 20 minutes. To a metal bowl add oil, oregano, pepper flakes, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper, then add octopus and toss.
• Preheat a grill to high heat.
• Place octopus on the grill for 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer back to bowl and back to grill. Repeat this step a few times. Finally, put octopus back in bowl and add balsamic vinegar. Toss well, then serve over baby greens.

Steps:

• Combine the octopus, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, 1 teaspoon salt, the garlic, and one of the lemons, cut in half, in a saucepan along with water to cover. Turn the heat to medium, cover, and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so that the liquid simmers slowly and cook until the octopus is tender, 30 to 90 minutes (check with the point of a sharp knife). Drain, discarding all the solids (except the octopus). You can prepare this 24 hours in advance up to this point; cover and refrigerate the octopus.
• Start a charcoal or wood fire or preheat a gas grill; the fire should be quite hot and the grill rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Cut the octopus into large serving pieces, brush it with half of the olive oil, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Grill it quickly, so that the outside browns before the inside dries out. Cut the remaining lemons into wedges.
• Brush the octopus with the remaining olive oil. Serve with lemon wedges, hot or at room temperature, garnished with the parsley.
• Grilled Squid with Vinaigrette
• Much simpler: Cut cleaned squid into big rings (or use baby squid, cleaned but left whole) and skewer it. Grill or pan-grill it over quite high heat until browned, less than 5 minutes. Serve as directed or drizzled with Vinaigrette (page 600).