Octopus meat has a very delicious and original taste, but perhaps not everyone knows how to cook it. That is why I would like to offer a few that will help make octopus meat soft and incredibly tasty.
How to cook octopus?
This recipe will help you boil octopus meat. Products:
- bulb;
- carrot;
- salt, bay leaf;
- octopus - 1 carcass.
To begin with, the carcass should be rinsed in cold water, then placed in a large saucepan with water and added salt, onions, carrots, and you can also throw it in. Then boil and boil for 8 minutes. Naturally, the cooking time depends only on how big your octopus is. When it is ready, you should remove it from the water and let it cool. Then carefully remove the skin. Further, the finished meat can be used to prepare various salads, and can also be consumed boiled.
If you find that the octopus meat is very tough, this means you haven’t cooked it enough. In this case, you should put it in boiling water for some more time. Some experienced chefs recommend beating the octopus a little before cooking so that the meat is sure to be soft.
If you still don’t know, then the next recipe is for you. Plus, this dish will only take you 15 minutes.
Cooking octopus Corsican style
For this recipe, it is best to use small octopus carcasses. Compound:
- - 220 ml;
- octopus - 460 g;
- ketchup or tomatoes;
- vegetable oil;
- salt.
Initially, octopuses should be boiled in salted water for 4 minutes, then placed in a hot frying pan and fried in vegetable oil. Then pour in a little wine, add salt, chopped tomatoes (or ketchup), and then simmer for 9-11 minutes. Now you know exactly how to cook octopus deliciously and quickly. Serve the dish with potatoes or fresh vegetable salads.
Cooking octopus with vegetables
Products:
- garlic;
- shallots - 2-3 pieces;
- octopus - 2 medium carcasses;
- celery;
- thyme;
- lettuce;
- carrot;
- olive oil;
- red wine - 270 ml;
- pepper, salt.
At the first stage, you need to remove the beak and eyes from the octopus carcass, then rinse with cold water. Now the carcasses should be beaten off a little. Then coarsely chop the carrots, celery, garlic, shallots and chop the thyme. The vegetables should be mixed and fried, then add pepper and salt. After this, place the octopus carcasses with the vegetables and add a glass of wine. Now cover with a lid and simmer for 19 minutes.
While the octopus is stewing, you need to make the side dish. To do this, you need to carefully tear off and cut the core in half. Then place them in a heated frying pan, adding garlic. After this, place the finished octopus on a plate, and the fried lettuce next to it. Top with oil and garlic.
How to cook octopus with pasta
The amount of ingredients in this recipe is for five servings. Compound:
- pasta - 0.6 kg;
- octopus - about 1 kg;
- bulb;
- tomatoes - 3-4 pieces;
- wine - 160 g;
- vegetable oil - 1 cup;
- pepper, salt.
First, rinse the octopus well, then cut it into small pieces. Now pour vegetable oil into a high baking tray and place the octopus there. Place everything in the oven for 14 minutes. Then add finely chopped onion. After 12 minutes, pour in the wine. When the liquid evaporates, you need to add four glasses of water. When the water boils, you need to add pasta, pepper, salt and simmer the dish for 14 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add finely chopped tomatoes and simmer a little more until tender. The overall cooking process lasts no more than an hour. Now you know how to cook delicious octopus with pasta. The dish is served hot. Bon appetit!
Octopus does not require long cooking. Small frozen octopuses only need 5 minutes of boiling in boiling water. It is recommended to cook a whole octopus weighing 2 - 3 kg for 25 - 30 minutes over low heat in salted water. Larger “octopuses” can be cooked for about an hour. A chef's fork will help you assess the readiness of the octopus: pierce the thickest head part of the carcass with it, if the fork easily enters the meat, the octopus is ready. Boiled octopus is combined with garlic and onions, tomatoes and rice, olive oil and wine, lemons and, as well as herbs.
Fried octopus
Usually, everything doesn’t end with frying the octopus; after several minutes of frying, the pieces of “sea meat” are stewed in sauce or dressing. An exception is octopus kebab or skewered octopus. To prepare this original dish, you first need to marinate large pieces of octopus 6-8 cm long and about two cm wide. For the marinade, it is better to use onion, soy sauce, olive or vegetable oil. The pieces should be marinated for about forty minutes, and then placed on a wire rack or strung on a skewer or skewer and fried over the fire.
Stewed octopus
First, the octopus pieces are lightly fried, and then stewed for 20 - 25 minutes. Octopus tentacles stewed with vegetables and spices are an integral part of dishes such as linguine with seafood, that is, they will complement any pasta well, as well as boiled rice.
Baked octopus
Before baking, the octopuses must be peeled (see peeling method in the preparation chapter) and lightly beaten with a hammer. Place the prepared carcasses on a baking sheet and put them in the oven preheated to 200°C for 10 minutes, then coat the carcasses with sauce, for example, oyster sauce and put them in the oven again for 10 minutes, but increase the temperature to 250°C.
Adviсe!
Buy octopuses weighing up to a kilogram - they have softer and more tender meat.
Large octopuses should be lightly pounded before cooking.
To soften octopus meat, freeze it shortly before cooking (for a day or two).
Modern cuisine offers a lot of seafood dishes. Seafood means everything edible that is caught from the world's oceans: fish, squid, shrimp, all kinds of shellfish, cuttlefish, octopuses... That's what today's episode will be about octopuses.
Octopus in creamy sauce
In central Russia it is difficult to find a refrigerated product, since it has a long shelf life. But frozen octopuses can be found easily. I chose not large tentacles, but small peeled octopuses, which we are used to seeing in.
They say this is a special species that does not reach large sizes. However, on the packaging the manufacturer claims that these are young octopuses. We will not discuss it, but note that the cooking time for this seafood will depend on the size of the animal.
Please note that both peeled and uncleaned octopuses are available for sale. If you get one, you will need to remove the beak and eyes on the abdomen. Having defrosted them, I still recommend turning the bellies inside out and rinsing them under running water so that the sand in the finished dish does not squeak on your teeth.
In a step-by-step photo recipe I’ll tell you how to cook octopus in a slow cooker. However, this does not mean that if you do not have this magical multi-pot in your kitchen, you should refuse the dish. The process is the same, the cooking time is the same.
Ingredients:
- Frozen octopus – 500 g,
- Onion – 1 root vegetable,
- Garlic – 3 cloves,
- Fresh tomatoes - 2 pieces,
- Cream 100-150 ml,
- Salt,
- Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp. spoons,
- Rice for risotto or sushi as a side dish.
Cooking process:
Prepare young octopus carcasses: defrost, rinse under running water, remove unnecessary fragments if necessary.
Prepare vegetables. Peel the onions, garlic, remove the skin from the tomatoes. Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic with the back of a knife, so it will release its aroma more strongly. Finely chop the tomatoes.
In a multicooker on the “baking” or “frying” program, sauté the onion until transparent or slightly golden. Place the garlic in a bowl along with the onion.
I prepared an octopus dish in a Redmond multicooker (power 900 W) on the frying program, selecting the “vegetables” product in the menu on the display. The time was set to 16 minutes. Then we load the seafood.
Mix everything. Octopus tentacles begin to shrink and curl under the influence of temperature.
Immediately add finely chopped tomato pulp. Mix again.
Season with cream. I used 45% fat heavy cream. I don't recommend adding sour cream. It will be tasty, but the appearance of the sauce will be spoiled by the curdled fermented milk product.
Close the multicooker lid and simmer for the remaining time (7 minutes). The sauce should become thicker during this time.
About a minute before the end of the program, add salt and spices. I really like the aromatic Adyghe salt with a bouquet of aromas.
This turns out to be such a beautiful seafood dish! At the same time prepare boiled rice as a side dish. I cook a glass of sushi rice in the second slow cooker, the ratio of cereals to water is 1:2.
Serve the octopus in a creamy sauce with a side dish of rice, pickled ginger and soy sauce. Very tasty, I recommend trying it!
Best regards, Anyuta.
Octopus has long ceased to be a mysterious exotic and outlandish delicacy for us. This inhabitant of the deep sea can often be found in supermarkets and can be prepared at home just as well as in a restaurant. We invite you to take a closer look at this amazing mollusk. And the Maguro trademark will help us with this.
Correct clams
Most often, frozen octopuses are sold in stores. If you manage to find a fresh mollusk, carefully examine it from head to tip of the tentacles. The flesh should be firm and smooth, with a slight fishy aroma. When pressed, it easily restores its shape - this is a sign of a fresh product. This is also indicated by bright, unclouded eyes.
If you're cooking octopus for the first time, it's best to play it safe and use a high-quality frozen product. Such as the Maguro octopus. By the way, this brand supplies large whole octopuses from Indonesia, and mini octopuses from China. In addition to them, the branded line includes Far Eastern squid tentacles, which will also appeal to seafood lovers. In any case, the quality and freshness are beyond doubt. All these products are subjected to shock freezing, due to which they retain their taste and nutritional properties.
Exposure session
The frozen octopus, to the delight of the housewives, has already been gutted. But you will have to work hard on a fresh carcass. First, it is thoroughly washed under running cold water, paying special attention to the tentacles with suction cups. Then the head bag is cut off and all contents are cleaned out. After this, the “beak” located in the very center of the base, from which the tentacles diverge, is removed. Lastly, the eyes are cut out with scissors and, if necessary, the head sac is cut into fragments.
There is another important nuance in cutting octopus. The skin is not removed from fresh shellfish. It is extremely difficult to separate with the risk of damaging the carcass itself. To do this, immerse it in boiling water for about 5-10 minutes and immediately douse it with ice water. After this, the skin pulls off easily, like a stocking.
The art of cooking
Like all seafood, octopus requires delicate heat treatment. If you overheat it, the pulp will become rubbery and tasteless. Cooking almost always begins with boiling.
The shellfish is placed in boiling water. Moreover, first they lower the tentacles, and when they begin to curl up and change color, they immerse their head. Do not add salt under any circumstances during the cooking process - it will make the pulp hard. But additions like peppercorns, dill, bay leaves or lemon juice are welcome.
Mini octopuses need 5 minutes, while larger ones take half an hour or longer. Please note that they are cooked on the lowest heat. Boiling water will hopelessly ruin the taste. Experts also advise throwing a wine cork made of cork into the pan. This will give the product tenderness and softness.
Octopus with fire
Fried octopus in spicy sauce is one of the most harmonious variations. Defrost the Maguro octopus carcass, wash, cut and cook under a closed lid over low heat. It's easy to check if it's ready - pierce the thickest part with a fork. It should freely enter the pulp. When the carcass has cooled, cut the tentacles into circles and the base into strips.
In a frying pan with heated olive oil, sauté 2 cloves of garlic and a red onion. Add 2 tbsp. l. rice vinegar, 4 tbsp. l. soy sauce, 1 tsp. grated ginger, ½ tsp. chili flakes and salt to taste. After slightly sweating the sauce, add the octopus and fry for a couple of minutes. Then remove it from the heat and let it brew under the lid for 10 minutes. You can serve octopus without a side dish as a hot appetizer.
Tired of wine
Octopus stewed in wine with the addition of aromatic herbs is a dish for discerning seafood connoisseurs. Prepare the Maguro octopus carcass as in the previous recipe, sprinkle with a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice, and leave for 20 minutes.
At this time, fry the chopped red onion in butter until golden brown.
Pour in the octopus slices and add a pinch of basil, thyme and anise. If you want to add a bright, fiery note, add chili powder. Pour in 100 ml of dry white wine and evaporate. Then add water until it barely covers the octopus. Next we introduce 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste, mix, cover and simmer until tender. You can complement this dish with pasta or wild rice.
Made for each other
Now we suggest baking the octopus in the oven. Boil 1 kg of potatoes in advance and cut into circles. Wash the thawed Maguro octopus carcass, dry it, wrap it in cling film and lightly beat it with a hammer. This will make it softer and more tender.
We cut the carcass into its component parts, chop it coarsely, put it in a deep dish with foil and put it in the oven for 10 minutes at 200°C. Drain the released liquid, brush the octopus with oyster sauce, sprinkle with chopped garlic, and place potato slices on top. Drizzle it with olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary and salt. In this form, put the pan in the oven again, this time for 10 minutes at 250°C. Before serving, garnish the dish with cherry tomatoes and parsley.
As you can see, cooking octopus at home is easier than it seems at first glance. The main culinary secret is delicious and fresh shellfish of impeccable quality. The Maguro brand has made sure that just such a product ends up on your table. And you, in turn, were able to please the whole family with delicious octopus dishes.
Octopus is, of course, a delicacy. Its exotic taste cannot be compared with anything. Small octopuses are not babies, but adults of a species of octopus such as Aegina. They are no different from regular octopuses, but their small size can be used in special recipes. So let's find out how to cook baby octopuses.
Marinated octopus kebabs recipe
In order to cook small octopuses, we will need:
- peeled octopus (500 g);
- olive oil (1/4 cup);
- lemon (1 pc.);
- salt (2 teaspoons);
- black pepper (1 teaspoon);
- freshly chopped oregano (2 teaspoons);
- ground cloves (1/2 teaspoon);
- garlic (3 cloves);
- kebab sticks.
- If the small octopuses are frozen, then to cook, you need to defrost them at room temperature.
- Then we prepare the marinade for the small octopuses. Pour olive oil into a bowl and squeeze the juice from the lemon. Add garlic in the form of puree and spices. Place the octopuses in the resulting marinade and mix well.
- Cover the bowl with a lid or cling film and place in the refrigerator. The marinating time for octopuses is from 12 to 24 hours.
- After this time, we take out the small octopuses and string them onto kebab sticks. The grill must be preheated. You need to cook small octopuses on it, periodically turning the chopsticks. This will take approximately 3 minutes for each side.
Our small octopus kebab is ready. But there is another option for how to cook small octopuses.
Pasta with small octopuses recipe
To prepare baby octopuses, take the following:
- octopuses (1 kg);
- tomato sauce (2 cups);
- spaghetti (1 package);
- fresh mint leaves (12 pcs.);
- red wine vinegar (3 tablespoons);
- garlic (4 cloves);
- red chili flakes (a pinch);
- olive oil;
- salt and pepper.
How to cook baby octopuses?
- To prepare this baby octopus recipe, boil the spaghetti in salted water (about 8 minutes). Then drain them and put them back in the pan. Cover with a lid and set aside.
- Place the small octopuses in another pan and add red wine vinegar. Pour enough water to cover the octopuses. Place the pan with the octopuses over high heat and cook until they change color. As soon as this happens, remove them from the heat and drain the water.
- To prepare the octopus, cut the garlic into long thin strips. Take a large deep frying pan and fry the garlic in it in hot olive oil. We put chili flakes in there and pour tomato sauce over it. Heat it for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add small octopuses, spaghetti, mint leaves and mix everything. Cook over high heat for 1 minute and finally season with salt and pepper.
