Step-by-step tutorial on how to cook octopus soft and tender to perfection with intact skin for making an octopus salad like a pro.
Cooking in an IMCO pot or traditional pot.
Forget the cork stopper!
Here you find practical tips for a restaurant-quality result.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- octopus
- water (plenty)
- 1 shot glass red wine
- leaves bay leaf (if available)
Suggested Tools
- 1 Pot IMCO or regular
- Knife
- Cutting Board
Tips for Cooking Octopus
A couple of tips for cooking octopus that have nothing to do with the famous cork stopper:
– Freezing relaxes the fibers, making the octopus more tender, so use frozen or defrosted octopus or, if you buy it fresh, freeze it – just for one night – then defrost it before cooking;
– Once cooked, let the octopus cool in the cooking water to keep the skin intact.
Finally, a last ‘chef’s secret’ revealed during a TV show:
– Add red wine to the octopus cooking water for a perfect texture.
And, if available, add some bay leaves.
I usually buy frozen octopuses – the ones sold in the supermarket freezer section – or defrosted at the fish counter.
If you’ve bought a frozen octopus or frozen it after purchase, defrost the octopus by placing it in the fridge the night before cooking it.
In frozen and defrosted octopuses, the head is already eviscerated, while fresh octopus needs gut removal.
Wash the octopus under running water.
I use an IMCO pot, a precious gift from my mother-in-law, which allows you to continue cooking with the flame off.
In the IMCO or traditional pot, bring plenty of water to a boil: it should completely cover the octopus.
Dip the octopus 3-4 times in boiling water: this step is to curl the tentacles.Fully submerge the octopus in the water.
Add about a shot glass of red wine and – if available – some bay leaves.Don’t add salt during cooking, it can make the fibers tougher.
With IMCO pot
Cover with the lid and bring to a boil.
When a thin steam escapes, turn off the flame.With traditional pot
Continue cooking on low flame.Regardless of the pot
Let it cook for 40 minutes [octopus of 2.2-2.6 lbs].After 40 minutes, check the octopus’s cooking by piercing a tentacle with a fork.
Let the octopus cool in the cooking water to keep the skin intact.Remove the octopus from the pot.
Your octopus is soft and tender to perfection with intact skin and is ready.
You can keep or remove the skin, I only remove the thicker skin at the attachment of the tentacles.
You can use the boiled octopus whole or cut it into chunks as a base for preparing numerous recipes – appetizers, first or second courses – including delicious octopus salads.
Classic and light dressing
– a pinch of salt;
– a pinch of pepper;
– chopped parsley;
– lemon juice;
– a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.Dressing with salmoriglio sauce
– salmoriglio sauce: Sicilian dressing raw and fragrant, perfect for flavoring fish after cooking.
Plate up.
Enjoy your meal!
The boiled octopus is an appetizer or second course easy to balance with preferably whole grain carbohydrates [bread, pasta or rice] and vegetables to make a balanced or one-dish meal that helps keep blood sugar levels stable.
Storage, Tips, and Variations
Boiled octopus can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Should octopus be salted during cooking?
Salt can make the fibers tougher.
Add salt when dressing.Shellfish and cholesterol
In our food scheme, squids, cuttlefish, octopus, and sepia are among the foods indicated as ‘to be consumed occasionally’.
Although they are lean shellfish, they are a source of cholesterol, whose intake should be limited.
The nutritional guidelines recommend a cholesterol intake of less than 300 mg per day, which may drop to 200 mg per day in the presence of hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia.
Therefore, octopus does not directly affect blood sugar levels, but in case of hyperglycemia, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes, it should be consumed in moderation.
