Sous Vide Octopus Spanish Tapas Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to sous vide an octopus? ›

Place octopus pieces in zipper-lock or vacuum bags and seal using the vacuum sealer or the displacement method. Submerge in water and cook for 5 hours. Remove bags, chill rapidly in an ice-water bath, then refrigerate until ready to use.

For large octopus (around 5 pounds), boil for a good 8 to 10 minutes. Add a tablespoon of vinegar into the simmering liquid as the acetic acid can help break down the connective tissue in the tentacles. Marinate the octopus overnight in whole milk to help tenderize the meat.

The internal temperature of cooked octopus should measure between 150f (65c) and 160f (71c) when ready to be removed from grill. Don't under cook it! The connective tissue won't start breaking down until 130f (54c).

Use octopus as the protein in a vegetable stir-fry - with peppers, onions, asparagus, or green beans. When sauteed with ginger, soy, garlic, or gochujang chili paste, octopus takes on a whole new flavor. Serve with rice and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Cook until octopus is tender enough that you can pierce the thick part of a tentacle with a paring knife with little resistance, about 1 hour; keep in mind that this time is a rough estimate, and the octopus may be done sooner or it may take longer, but it will get there. Let octopus cool in the cooking water.

WHY SOUS VIDE? Octopus tentacles are rich in collagen, which can make them tough and rubbery when cooked using traditional methods. But the low-and-slow process of cooking octopus sous vide transforms the collagen into gelatin, creating a tender, silky finished texture.

This collagen makes octopus flesh rubbery, at least initially. With enough heat and time that collagen breaks down into silky and tender gelatin, and the octopus grows tender with it.

Freeze the octopus hard as rock for a week- this will help tenderize it and make it less rubbery. Next, make sure you gently simmer the octopus in water (or flavorful liquid like a stock. A beef stock will add a little umami.) Simmer gently until you can pierce it with a toothpick fairly easily.

There's a popular Korean dish that involves raw octopus so fresh it's actually alive, or so the name “live octopus” would suggest. If you order it, you'll be met with chopped baby octopus tentacles still wriggling on the plate, served with minimal accompaniments like slivers of garlic and a dish of soy sauce.

In Portugal and southern Italy, old-school chefs traditionally add wine corks to octopus recipes, claiming that the natural enzymes found in cork help to break down the cephalopod's tough tendons by drawing out moisture (a process similar to that of dry-aging).

Is frozen octopus already cooked? ›

You can find frozen octopus tentacles already cooked. After processing, the octopus tentacles are cooked and graded by size, packed individually on a tray, and finally frozen.

Cooking times can vary, but a general rule of thumb is to gently simmer it for at least 45 minutes for every two pounds, but sometimes it takes even longer. I like to use the poke test. Take a fork and insert it where the head meets the tentacles. If it slides in and out easily, your octopus is ready.

Add the octopus to boiling water (without salt). Once the water comes back to a boil, cook for 15 minutes, uncovered, on medium heat for a 2-pound octopus. Then allow to rest off the heat for 15 to 20 minutes with the pot covered. For each additional pound of octopus, add 3-5 minutes to the cooking and resting times.