How to cook octopus recipe
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No matter how much tradition of lamb, goat and suckling pig we have in Spain when preparing Christmas Eve dinner, it is not necessary that it has enough calories to feed you for three years.
There are equally delicious dishes that are perfect for a celebration and also help us to celebrate the holidays without losing the line, as the octopus that we will talk about today, a food with little fat and very rich in protein of high biological value that is usually consumed cooked and seasoned with salt, paprika and olive oil.
Cooking this food is very simple and today we are going to show you how to cook octopus using different utensils, a conventional pot, a fast pressure cooker and a slow cooker.
What is the best octopus
On the market you can find fresh octopus, frozen octopus, defrosted octopus and cooked octopus. Some of it comes from Galicia, but a large amount comes from Morocco.
Fresh octopus is only possible to find from October to March, although it is becoming increasingly rare to find. It is much easier, and advisable, to buy it frozen or even defrosted, although in the latter case we must bear in mind that we must consume it quickly and we cannot freeze it again.
Unlike other foods, octopus improves a lot with freezing, as this breaks the muscle fibers of the cephalopod and makes it much more tender when cooked. In the past, when cooking fresh octopus it was necessary to give it a good beating before throwing it into the pot.
So, if you don’t want to gamble, frozen Galician octopus and pay attention to the values that indicate the total weight and the drained net weight -what the octopus will weigh when you defrost it-, it is not a good idea to pay for frozen water at the price of octopus.
How much octopus to buy
Apart from the ice that the frozen octopus may have, you have to take into account that the octopus itself contains a large amount of water and this makes it lose a lot during cooking. In order not to fall short, if you want to serve more than just skewers, you should buy at least 500 g of fresh octopus -or drained net weight of frozen octopus- per diner.
How to cook octopus in a traditional pot
Ingredients
Octopus Water (optional) Coarse salt Pimentón de la Vera Extra virgin olive oil
The octopus is always cooked whole and without salt, there are those who put an onion and bay leaf, but they are totally dispensable, in fact, if the product is good, I am of the opinion that it should not carry anything that masks the flavor.
The octopus can be cooked in two ways, with and without water, because the octopus contains so much that it cooks without problems in its own water. Once cooked, the octopus should be tender, but not mushy or chewy. At that moment it will be ready to prepare different recipes with it.
I always cook it without water and I keep as a treasure all the water it releases during cooking, because it is literally liquid octopus that is brutal to prepare any seafood stew either with potatoes or rice.
How to cook octopus in a traditional pot with water
We put boiling water in a large pot. When the water boils, we hold the octopus by the head so that the tentacles hang down, submerge the octopus in the boiling water being careful not to burn ourselves and take it out three times in a row. By doing this, the octopus will be smooth and we will prevent it from peeling when cooking and it will be much more attractive when serving it. When the water boils again, add the octopus again and let it cook in the pot uncovered for 17-18 minutes for each kilo of octopus, that is, if it is an octopus of about 2 kg we will have to leave it for about 35 minutes. After this time, check if the octopus is ready by sticking a toothpick in the area where one of the tentacles join and if it does not resist, it is ready. Once the cooking time is over, remove the pot from the heat and let it rest in the water for 15-20 minutes.
How to cook octopus in a traditional pot without water
We need a thick-bottomed pot with a lid that closes well and does not let steam escape, such as a cocotte. We put the pot to the fire without water so that it heats up. When the pot is hot, put the whole octopus inside and put the lid on. Lower the heat to medium and let it cook for the same time as in the traditional method, that is, 17-18 minutes per kg of octopus, being careful not to uncover the pot until the end so that the steam does not escape. If at the end of the cooking time and check if it is tender by poking it with a toothpick, we see that it is still a little hard, cover it again and let it cook for 5 more minutes, if not, take it out and serve.
How to cook octopus in a fast cooker
The easiest way to cook octopus in pressure cooker is to put the thawed and drained octopus inside the pot, close it, put it on the fire and when the valve goes up to position 2, lower the fire cook for 8 minutes for an octopus up to 2 kg. If the octopus is larger, add 3 minutes for each extra kg of octopus.
How to cook octopus in a Crock-Pot, slow cooker or slow cooker
Octopus is so grateful that it is perfect whether we cook it in record time using the fast cooker or for hours in a slow cooker.
Some of you may be thinking that what’s the point of cooking octopus for hours when you can cook it in minutes, but the first option also has its advantages especially on Christmas Eve when you get a lot of people together for dinner and you have to prepare several dishes. That means having to manage very well the use of the fires, oven and so on so that each of the dishes are ready just in time.
And, in the case of octopus, it’s as simple as putting the thawed octopus inside the slow cooker, covering the pot and cooking for 8 hours at low temperature for octopus up to 3 kg. No water, no salt, no nothing.
Bonus 1: Grilled octopus
Once the octopus is cooked, remove it from the water, separate the tentacles and let them cool. They can be left in the refrigerator overnight in a jar, for example. And when it is going to be consumed, sear it on all sides on a grill, frying pan or hot griddle. Once it acquires a golden color, salt it with coarse salt and serve.
Bonus 2: Pulpo á feira
This is the easiest way to cook octopus. Once cooked and without letting it cool, cut the tentacles into slices of one centimeter -they are much easier to cut with kitchen scissors-, put them on a plate, preferably a wooden plate that we have previously soaked the cooking water of our octopus, watered with a good extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with coarse salt and paprika sweet, spicy or a mixture of both.
Quick and easy Christmas recipes
. Easy tiramisu recipe for those who have never made tiramisu Garlic prawns in the microwave in less than 10 minutes How to cook octopus Prawns in whiskey sauce Christmas consommé with gnocchi Seafood salpicon Prawn and leek pie Russian sea urchin salad Sea bass and prawn cream puff pastry Easy homemade smoked salmon Chicken stuffed with meat and plums.
