Cooking Octopus at Home - It’s Not as Scary as It Looks

Octopus is one of those types of protein that people typically say they don’t like if they have either A. never actually tried it or B. they had it prepared poorly and it reminded them of rubber. Octopus is similar to calamari or other squid or shrimp - the texture can turn very rubbery or soggy if overcooked or not first tenderized correctly.

Once prepared the right way, octopus is a light and delicious protein that is low in calories and fat but high in iron and vitamins. You just need some simple, good quality ingredients to make the perfect octopus at home and impress yourself and your loved ones!

An important first step when preparing octopus is to first make sure it is cleaned and the beak has been removed. This may be done already depending on where you purchased it from. Give it a really solid rinse and make sure all of the tentacles look clean. The beak (if not already removed) will be right in the middle of where the tentacles meet, and is the hard mouth of the octopus. The beak is used by the octopus for defense against predators and to open and eat food. On a large octopus, you can usually just pull this piece out, if not you can run a paring knife in a circle until you are left with a small hole right at the center of the tentacles.

At this point, you are ready for the first step in the cooking process! To soften the tentacles and give you a nice texture, the octopus will need to go into a very gently simmering pot of water for usually about an hour, depending on its size. You can start at 45 minutes, then check it every so often. You will need a pot with a nicely fitting lid - fill the pot with whatever aromatics you want to impart flavor with into the meat. Some good options are fresh lemon, cilantro, parsley, black peppercorns, bay leaf, or oregano. You are looking for something to not only season the water but also slightly flavor the meat as it simmers away.

Once the water is simmering, dunk the octopus tentacles in and out three times, this will cause the bottom of the tentacles to start to curl in a really beautiful way instead of the entire thing contracting as soon as it hits the water. Once you’ve done this, completely submerge the octopus and cover, leaving the stovetop on low to medium-low heat. An octopus that is about two pounds will take roughly 40 minutes to become tender. In general, you can estimate about 20 minutes per pound cook time.

Another important note - octopus will shrink dramatically in size once cooked so it may sound like a lot, but for a dinner portion for two people you will want to get at least two pounds, if not three to four. (trust me, once prepared correctly, you will be glad you opted for more!)

Once you get to the point where the octopus should be finished simmering, you can check it simply by poking one of the tentacles with a fork. If the fork can pierce the meat easily, it is ready! If not, keep simmering and checking every 10 minutes or so until you reach fork tenderness. Remove the octopus from the water and set on a baking sheet to rest. I covered mine with some good olive oil, some fresh lemon slices, and a sprig of parsley so that while the meat is resting, it is still surrounded by things that will give it flavor.

At this point, the octopus is tender and ready to be served or further prepared however you desire. You could let it cool from this stage, slice and serve cold. You could put onto a grill for some nice char or broil in the oven. Regardless of the additional cooking method, the goal at that point is to just crisp the octopus skin nicely and warm the meat through, so this step will only take a few minutes. I chose to pan-sear and serve as tacos. It only took maybe an additional 2-3 minutes in the pan and was absolutely delicious!

I added about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan, and added the sliced tentacles with a pinch of sea salt. I let the skin brown for about 1 minute on the first side then flipped them and gave it another 30 seconds to 1 minute on the other side, and removed and it was ready to eat! I served mine in soft corn tortillas, topped with homemade cilantro aioli, fresh radish, avocado, and pico de gallo. Other delicious topping options could be toasted chickpeas, microgreens, cabbage slaw, grilled corn, or pineapple salsa.

This a great recipe for any time of the year, but I am definitely looking forward to a cold beer and some octopus on the grill when it starts warming up outside. Give this a try, you might surprise yourself with how easily you can make a delicious meal with this special protein! Let me know below if you tried this or another octopus recipe and how it turned out!