A tender and tasty dish, octopus is easy to prepare and gives great satisfaction both served as a first course or in salads. Simply boiled and seasoned with oil, parsley, and lemon makes it an elegant, restaurant-like dish you can cook for your family or even for special occasions.
Octopus is a must ingredient for those who love seafood as I do. However, it is a rather expensive ingredient, and for that exact reason, I was held back to cook it for a long time. Finally, when I have done good work and researched how to cook octopus, I was surprised that the “hard part” of cooking octopus was only in my head. It turns out that octopus can be cooked in less than an hour with only a few basic ingredients like parsley, lemon, and olive oil.
Moreover, in this recipe, I will share with you my biggest secret: octopus cooked without water. Yes, I am absolutely aware of what I’m writing. This recipe is about boiling octopus without water, it simmers in its own juices. Can you imagine how soft and intense the aroma will be? I guarantee this is the best recipe for boiled octopus you will ever find on the internet.
When it’s cooked, you can decide what to do with the tender tentacles; grilled or cut and mixed in a salad are some of the options that will make your dinner the perfect place.
How to choose fresh octopus?
Like all fish products, octopus is also liable to spoil over a short period of time. For this reason, cook the sea creature as soon as you buy it. How do you know octopus is fresh? The tentacles must be firm yet elastic, the skin should have a natural shine and the suckers have to be consistent and whole.
How to clean octopus?
The good news is that most octopuses on the market are already cleaned. However, if you found a fresh octopus, here is what you need to do:
- Wash the octopus under running water
- Cut it at the root of the tentacles and remove the eyes
- Peel the cap and turn it inside out clean it from the entrails
- Rinse again
- Use a sharp knife to cut and remove the beak
- Clean the tentacles and remove any dirt from the suckers
How to cook octopus (and keep it soft)
The real gripe is being able to cook the octopus to perfection, which means till it’s tender and soft. Undercooking as well as overcooking make the tentacles chewy and therefore unappetizing. Many sources advise beating the octopus first as they say it tenderizes the meat. Honestly speaking I skipped this step and the result was still outstanding. The best method in my opinion is to freeze the fresh octopus prior to cooking it. But, as I have already said, most of the octopuses on the market are clean and frozen then thawed prior to being sold.
Use a large pot when cooking octopus. Place the cleaned creature in the pot, add some parsley tails, zest of one lemon, a few tablespoons of olive oil, some bay leaves, and some black pepper, and put the waterless pot on the stove.
Do not add salt as the octopus is already salted by itself. Do not add water. In a dry pot put in the octopus and the ingredients that will add flavor to it. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 40 to 50 minutes on medium heat.
When the time runs out, use a fork to poke the tentacles, if it goes in and out easily, it’s done. Turn off the stove and leave the octopus in the pot, do not take it out once cooked. Leave it in its own juices until it has cooled down completely. This is an important rule to respect in order to get those soft and tender octopus tentacles.
Why do not boil octopuses in water?
The flesh of the creature consists mainly of water, which is about 80 percent. When subjected to heat treatment, water is released easily. Therefore, when cooked in a dry pan, the octopus will discharge about half its weight in juices. Therefore, it will be simmering in its own juices till perfectly cooked. As a result, you will get very attractive meat, of an intense dark pink color, savory and tender. The gelatinous sauce made from boiling the octopus is ideal to keep it elastic, tender, and juicy.
When you cook octopus in water, you miss half of its natural taste because the water dilutes the juices and flavor of the octopus.
How to tenderize octopus?
There are a few methods of how to soften the meat of the octopus prior to cooking it. The main idea is to break down the fibers so as to become more tender. Here are some of the methods:
- Beat the octopus on a stone or on a shelf, or use a meat mallet. This is the option best used for fresh octopuses.
- Freeze octopus. When you need it, just defrost and cook it. I find this option the best. Remember that cleaned octopuses you will find on the market have already been frozen. Therefore, there is no need to repeat the procedure.
Cooking time for octopus
The cooking time varies according to the weight of the cephalopod. The smaller the octopus, the less it will take for it to be cooked. For example, if the cleaned octopus weighs about 1 pound, it will take about 30 minutes to be done. If it is double the weight, then it is double the cooking time. Remember that the best trick is to let the octopus cool down in its own juices.
How to sear octopus?
Remove the octopus from its liquids and cut off the tentacles where they unite on the body. Use the body for salads. Heat up a skillet or pan, add a couple of police oil and some crushed garlic and fry for about 2-3 minutes on high heat. Then turn sides and wait for another 2-3 minutes.
How to serve octopus?
Serve the seared octopus next to a green salad such as the Spinach Avocado Salad, Feta Cheese Salad, or the consistent Frech Potatoe Salad. Also, you may serve it with a sauce such as Tzatziki. Pair this dish with a chill glass of white wine. Enjoy!
How To Cook Octopus Easy Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 whole octopus
- 1 handful parsley the tails
- 1 lemon the peel
- 5 cloves garlic unpeeled
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Clean and rinse the octopus (remove the eyes and the beak)
- Put the octopus in a large pot
- Add the parsley tails, olive oil, black pepper, garlic cloves, bay leaves and, shave one lemon and add in the peel
- Put the pot on the stove and cover it with a lid
- Cook at low-medium heat for 40-50 minutes (until the meat is soft)
- Turn off the heat and let the octopus cool down in its own juices
How to sear octopus
- Cut the tentacles of the octopus
- Heat a skillet with some olive oil
- Add in some crushed garlic cloves
- Sear the tentacles for 2-3 minutes then turn sides and cook for another 2-3 medium on high heat
- Serve with pleasure
7 comments
I followed recipe exactly and the pan and octopus burnt
Followed recepie. Burned octopus black within 15min.
Hello Jesse, i’m so sorry to know that:( I find it unreal to burn the octopus and I can explain why.
The octopus releases lots of juices when being cooked, and when you cover the pot with a lid, it simmers in its own juices. I have prepared this recipe for numerous times and it was always a big success.
I suppose you might have had a bad experience because of two possible causes. One, you put the octopus to cook at high heat and did not cover the pot with a lid. Second, you have bought a pre-cooked octopus, not raw. Or what is worst, you tried to cook a pre-cooked octopus on high heat without a lid on.
Let me know more about how you’ve tried to cook the ocyopus, we will find out what happened and i promise we will manage to cook the best octopus tpgether!
Shouldn’t water be added to poach the octopus?
Lin hello,
Because the octopus contains 70% water, it is unnecessary to add more because cooking it under pressure releases the water it has and thus makes it tender and soft.
Why do not boil octopuses in water? The creature’s flesh consists mainly of water, which is about 80 percent. When subjected to heat treatment, water is released quickly. Therefore, when cooked in a dry pan, the octopus will discharge about half its weight in juices. Therefore, it will be simmering in its juices till perfectly cooked. As a result, you will get very attractive meat of an intense dark pink color, savory and tender. The gelatinous sauce made from boiling the octopus is ideal for keeping it elastic, tender, and juicy. When you cook an octopus in water, you miss half of its natural taste because the water dilutes the juices and flavor of the octopus.
I followed this recipe to the letter EXCEPT I did it at medium low heat for fear of burning based on these comments. I had a lid on, so please do not patronize me, as you have previous reviewers. It seared (it did not braise). I had to flip it and add white wine, and some stock to try to save it. BTW your video has you adding garlic cloves, but that isnt in the recipe. It also has you adding lemon peel, and calling it zest. The only reason i don’t give your recipe 1 star is because the bay leaves and parsley tails were a good choice, and unique to this recipe. All in all, there are multiple people that say this doesn’t work like your video and recipe claim, so I suggest you be more clear in your explanation rather than telling negative reviewers what THEY did something wrong.
Hi Chris,
I’m sincerely sorry the recipe didn’t turn out well for you. Most important, I just don’t see why it didn’t. You are right about me missing to indicate the garlic in the recipe, just adjusted it. Also, I feel bad the reader gets the impression that I patronize them… my intention was to explain and help.
As you can see in the video, I did exactly as explained in the recipe (no water, no wine, no broth), and the octopus got indeed perfectly cooked in its own juice, it braised. We always eat everything we cook after filming the recipes. I promise I’m not lying, nor am I missing to show some steps. The only explanation I can find, again, is the octopus being pre-cooked, and that’s why it won’t release its juices upon coking.
I would be happy to know if you give this recipe another try, maybe you dm us on IG or FB before cooking so we can guide you step by step. Also, just to be 100%, when buying the octopus, make sure it is fresh, not precooked.