Octopus cooked right is one of my favorite seafoods to eat. Making it tender is the hardest part, but with this "quick" easy way to prep it, it takes all the guesswork out of making it tender enough to enjoy. I use this technique for grilled baby octopus, but I don't see why it wouldn't work for regular sized octopus.
What you need:(What I used for 1.5# of baby octopus)
-Pot large enough to fit octopus (8qt stock pot)
-Water (1.25 gallons)
-Real cork from wine bottles (I used 5 natural wine corks, can be the compressed cork, just not the plastic ones!)
The process:Add the cork and water to the stock pot and turn on high heat. Once the water with the cork comes to a boil, add the octopus and return to a boil (kept the lid off). Boil octopus for about 2 minutes (maybe a little longer if doing a whole octopus). Turn off the heat and let the octopus cool in the water. Once cool enough cover and put into fridge overnight. Next day remove octopus from water and it is ready to cook anyway you want. I marinade it in olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, pinch of crushed red pepper, and lemon and lime zest, before sending it to the grill. Can be added to red sauce for over pasta, or even roasted in the oven if you like. Upon cooking the second time just cook until hot, have a nice char, etc, and enjoy!
My grilled octopus with lemon, butter, and oregano rice, and grilled broccoli.
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