I am so pleased to share a recipe that I just stumbled upon. I finally figured out octopus…
The key for octopus is that it has to be braised or you’ll be chewing it for a long time! The other thing is that I used a 3 pound octopus for this and it was barely enough for 3 people. I suggest adjusting your octopi for the people and if it will be the main attraction. This is a base recipe and I am not including a marinade as I am still working the kinks out.
1) 2-4 lb cleaned octopus, put in a Crockpot with 5 allspice berries (or a 1tsp of cinnamon), 2 -3 cloves of garlic minced, a bay leaf, some thyme . Cover with red wine. Put on high for 4-6 hours until the skirt (between head and arms) are knife tender.
2) Take out octopus and cut the head off, and cut the arm section in half (4 arms each). The head will be tiny at this point.
3) Get your grill piping hot! All you want to do is add a bit of char/crunch to your octopus since it is already cooked. Oil your grill or the octopus and cook a minute or two a side just to get that crunch you desire. DONE!
4) Put your octopus into a marinade of some type. I would use an Italian dressing in a pinch for now. Let it sit in the marinade for 5-10 minutes. Cut your octopus into bite size pieces. Serve on a bed of lovely saffron or Spanish rice.
Eat.Drink.Savor.
