How to cook small octopuses. Cooking little octopuses: secrets of the best chefs. Octopus with fire

As you know, octopuses are not the most frequent guests on the table in Russia, since it is not easy to bring this mollusk to us in an unspoiled form. However, it has recently begun to appear on the shelves of expensive stores more and more often, but few people still know how to cook octopus so that it does not turn into a rubbery lump of tentacles. And so, thanks to the fact that I am now renting a room from a Spanish family in Valencia, I managed to learn the secret of cooking octopus.

Let's start with the fact that the octopus needs to be washed from mucus, and two very unnecessary components must be removed from it: the beak and the ink sac. The beak is the only hard part of the octopus's body, so it is not difficult to feel. However, it is not located in the head, as one might think, but in a hole in the center of the tentacles. The beak of an octopus is quite easily squeezed out from the inside (the hole can be cut a little) and really resembles the beak of a parrot. Getting the ink sac is a little more difficult. To do this, you need to carefully turn the octopus’ “head” inside out, which resembles a leather bag, which is actually a “mantle” hiding the brain and internal organs. To make this easier, you will need to cut the leathery membranes inside the mantle. A small black bag will noticeably stand out in its contents, which will need to be carefully separated and, if you want to cook “black rice” later, then put it in some kind of glass. The rest of the head's contents can be thrown away. And although it is edible in itself, when cooked it will simply dissolve in water.

Now you need to take a double boiler, fill it halfway with water and add salt. As soon as the water boils, the octopus is taken with special tongs and dipped into boiling water three times for 3-4 seconds. In this case, the tentacles noticeably shrink and become elastic, but the meat will then remain soft and not rubbery. Having bathed it in boiling water in this way, the octopus is put back into the pressure cooker, one large unpeeled onion is thrown in, the lid is screwed on and left to cook for 30 minutes. After half an hour, steam is released from the pressure cooker and the octopus is taken out.

In general, it is already ready to eat in this form, but you can go further and make “pulpo galego” (octopus in Galician). To do this, the tentacles are cut into small pieces (this is best done with scissors), sprinkled with salt, spicy pepper (a special mixture of hot red and sweet) and poured with olive oil. It turns out very, very tasty.

Bon Appetit everyone!

Seafood is very tasty and extremely healthy, but it is too troublesome. Seafood lovers find different ways to enjoy it: in a restaurant, at a resort or on major holidays. But there is a special category of culinary experts who strive at all costs to reproduce a chef’s culinary masterpiece at home. They know special markets where they can buy the freshest mussels and lobsters, they are personally acquainted with the sellers and even the fishermen who regularly supply them with raw materials for the next exotic recipe.

Unfortunately, if the distance from your home to the nearest body of salt water is more than 500 km, then most of these delicacies are sold frozen. You can complain for a long time about their loss of taste and other inherent qualities, but this will not change the circumstances. Therefore, if you cannot imagine your diet without seafood, you will either have to move closer to the coast, or learn how to handle such semi-finished products. Most likely, you can handle mussels and squid carcasses with or without an ice glaze, so we suggest you learn how to properly cook frozen octopus so that it turns out tasty and not tough.

Features of cooking octopus
Octopus is featured in the cookbooks of many maritime nations, from Asia to the Mediterranean to Hawaii. Cooking methods depend on the traditions of national cuisines. The Japanese eat fresh and even live octopuses, boil them in soup and add them to rice and, of course, in the form of sushi. Greeks bake in the oven and grill, fry and serve with olive oil and aromatic herbs. Regardless of the recipe, the meat of these cephalopods remains tender and rich in vitamins and microelements.

The only exception is recipes from the Far Eastern regions of Russia, where they are accustomed to drying octopuses and soaking them in salty brine. But as a snack for light beers, this product also has many fans. The only drawback that can ruin all the pleasure from this delicacy is careless processing of the carcass, after which ink and mucus remain. By purchasing prepared and frozen octopus, you are protected from these troubles.

Frozen octopus recipes
Almost all the same dishes can be prepared from frozen octopus as from freshly caught shellfish. You can try to preserve their natural taste as much as possible, minimizing heat treatment, or you can cook them in batter, grind them into minced meat or fry octopus cutlets. Octopus meat is an almost universal raw material. The only difference is that you will have to tinker with proper defrosting.

Take a bowl or basin of suitable volume, place frozen octopus without packaging on the bottom and leave at room temperature. You should not try to speed up the process by pouring warm water into the dishes or placing an icy carcass under the tap. You may come across advice to put the octopus into boiling water without first defrosting it - then it will thaw right during the cooking process. But this method is more suitable for experienced cooks who know the exact cooking time by heart.

Once the ice has turned to water and the octopuses are tender, drain the liquid through a colander, pat dry with paper towels, and begin cooking one of these recipes:

1. Boiled octopus. The easiest way to cook octopus as a meat component for lunch or for later use in more complex dishes. However, even here many nuances must be observed. Firstly, under no circumstances should the water be salted so that the mollusk does not acquire a “rubber” density. Secondly, you only need to dip the carcass into already boiling water, and immerse the octopus in it completely, tentacles first. Hold it by the head, and when you see that the legs are curled from the heat, lower the octopus completely into boiling water. Thirdly, have a timer so as not to overcook the shellfish: after 7-10 minutes the meat becomes too tough, so take it out a little earlier (the cooking time should ultimately be 5-6 minutes). However, if the moment is still missed, there is a way to correct the situation: leave the octopus to cook now much longer, and in about an hour it will soften again and become suitable for chewing.
   
2. Octopus in tomato sauce. Take 1 kg frozen octopus, 4 ripe tomatoes and 3 tablespoons of tomato paste, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 large cloves of garlic, half a chili pepper, a bunch of fresh parsley, a quarter of a lemon, salt and ground black pepper. Fry finely chopped garlic and seedless peppers in oil in a thick-walled duck pot or cauldron. Add tomato paste, chopped tomatoes without skins and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat. Stir the sauce regularly. Place the defrosted octopuses in the thickened sauce and stir, add ground pepper and a little salt. Monitor the condition of the tentacles - they will signal that the dish is ready by curling into dense lumps. Now put out the fire, put finely grated zest and parsley leaves into the pan. After 5-10 minutes, when the dish is covered, it can be served with a side dish of rice or baked vegetables.
   
3. Octopus with beans. To prepare this completely independent dish, you will need a 2-kilogram octopus, a glass of dry beans, 2 large onions, 3 medium carrots, half a head of garlic, half a glass of dry white wine, a little lard or butter, 7 tablespoons of olive oil, a bunch of fresh herbs , salt and ground pepper (you can use white or a mixture of peppers). Pre-soak clean beans in cold water. While it is swelling, place the thawed octopus carcass in a pan of boiling water, adding a whole peeled onion and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Cook the soaked beans in a second pan. The octopus is cooked for 6 minutes, the beans for about an hour. Prepare a third pan or saucepan, fry chopped garlic, carrot slices and onion rings in oil or lard. When the onions are browned, pour the wine and remaining olive oil into the vegetables and bring to a boil. Cut the boiled octopus into equal pieces and at the same time place the beans in the pan with the sauce. Add salt, add a pinch of pepper, stir and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. When serving, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.
   

In addition to these detailed recipes, you can experiment by adding boiled shellfish to salads and cereals, or cooking in a simple saucepan or pressure cooker. If you do not salt the octopus during cooking and do not exceed the cooking time, the meat will be tasty in any combination and type of serving.

Boiled octopus meat is a tasty and easy-to-prepare delicacy that can easily be made at home (for example, for a salad), but the main thing is to know how to cook it correctly so that the meat turns out tasty and soft. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how and how much to cook octopus in a pan at home.

The cooking time for octopus depends on its size and whether it is boiled whole or just the tentacles. Let's take a closer look at how long to cook octopus in a pan on the stove:

• How long does it take to cook fresh octopus? Fresh large-sized octopus (on average more than 3 kg) is cooked for at least 60 minutes, and medium-sized octopus for 25-30 minutes.
• How long does it take to cook octopus tentacles? Octopus tentacles need to be cooked for 7-10 minutes until cooked.
• How long to cook baby octopuses? Small octopuses can be cooked 5-10 minutes before they are ready.
• How long does it take to cook frozen octopus? Frozen octopuses are cooked the same amount as fresh ones (if they are not large), it is better to defrost large specimens first.

Note: depending on the purpose of cooking octopus, it is better to give preference to small specimens, as they are faster to cook and the meat is more tender (the meat of large octopuses must be beaten before cooking to make it softer).

Having found out how many minutes to cook the octopus until cooked, we will further consider the process of cooking it in order to know how to cook it so that the meat is soft and completely cooked.

How to cook octopus in a pan

Cooking fresh octopus is not a complicated process, the main thing is to do everything sequentially, from preparing it for cooking and ending with the cooking itself (it is important to cook over medium heat in a small amount of water). Let's take a step-by-step look at how to properly cook octopus in a pan:

• If the octopus has been frozen, it must be defrosted in advance (applies to medium- and large-sized specimens), and it is better to defrost it in the general section of the refrigerator or at room temperature.
• A thawed or fresh octopus must be prepared for cooking: cut off part of the head, cut out the beak and eyes, as well as the section with ink and giblets, then rinse thoroughly in cold water to remove mucus.
• Pour cold water into a saucepan of a suitable size (so that it covers the octopus carcass by 1-2 cm) and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Place the prepared octopus in boiling water, wait for the water to boil again, reduce the heat (the water should boil slightly) and cook it under the lid for 25 to 60 minutes (depending on the size of the individual).
• 5 minutes before the end of cooking, salt the water to taste.
• At the end of cooking, check the octopus for readiness, remove the pan from the heat and let the carcass cool in the water so that the meat is more tender and juicy.

Note: the readiness of octopus meat can be easily checked with a toothpick; if it is easily pierced, it means it is cooked.

How to cook frozen baby octopuses

Unlike large octopus, small (baby) octopuses are even easier to cook, and if they are frozen, they do not need to be defrosted before cooking (the cooking time does not change). Let's take a closer look at how to cook small frozen octopuses in a pan:

• Pour cold water into the pan, add salt to taste and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Carefully immerse the frozen small octopuses in boiling water, wait until the water boils again, then reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid and cook the octopuses for 5-10 minutes (on average 7 minutes).
• Leave the pan with the finished boiled octopuses off the heat and let them cool in the water for 15-20 minutes, after which we drain the water and use them to prepare other dishes.

In conclusion to the article, it can be noted that knowing how long and how to cook octopuses, you can quickly and tasty cook them at home for use in many seafood dishes. We leave our reviews and useful tips on how to cook soft octopus in a pan in the comments to the article and share it on social networks if it was useful to you.

10 months ago

Today, you don’t have to go on an overseas tour to try this delicacy. Such seafood (frozen or even fresh) can be bought in a large supermarket, but the problem is that it often turns out not very tasty at home. If you don’t want to spoil an expensive product, then first find out how long to cook the octopus.

Hour X: octopus cooking time

If you don't like the taste of the octopus, it wasn't cooked correctly! After all, this process has its own subtleties. An experienced cook knows exactly at what point the heat treatment process should be stopped so that the shellfish does not become “woody”, but also does not remain raw.

If this is your first time trying to cook this inhabitant of the deep sea, the easiest way is to boil it. But how long should you cook octopus so that it is soft and juicy, and does not resemble “rubber”? The cooking time depends on the size and condition of the original product.

On a note! To make sure that the dish is ready, just take a toothpick and pierce the head of the clam with it. If you can do this effortlessly—easily and quickly—then the meat is ready.

Octopus meat is considered a delicacy and is widely used to prepare a variety of dishes. The mollusk is almost the only representative of the order of cephalopods, in which, along with the head, tentacles are also used as food. Boiled octopus tastes a little like squid, but has a more subtle taste, and its meat has a pleasant pinkish tint.

Preparation

Before you start cutting the shellfish, it should be properly defrosted. The frozen octopus is removed from the freezer and placed in a deep bowl. Defrosting should occur naturally at room temperature; using a microwave for this purpose is unacceptable. After the carcass becomes soft, it will need to be gutted.

Some mollusks go on sale with an ink sac located on the inside of the head, so at the first stage of cutting, the head is cleaned and the ink cavity is removed. After this, the eye part is cut off and the “beak” of the mollusk is removed. Next, the carcass is thoroughly washed under running cold water, washing away all the accumulated mucus.

If the octopus is large enough, then to reduce the cooking time and cook the shellfish more evenly, it is recommended to carefully beat it with a wooden mallet. In addition, it is recommended to clean large octopuses before cooking. To do this, you need to hook the film with the tip of a knife and remove it.

Small clams do not need to be peeled before cooking. The film comes off very poorly from such specimens, so cleaning can only be done after heat treatment.

Cooking rules

Experienced chefs cook shellfish with virtually no water. At the beginning of cooking, add only 200 ml of liquid to the bottom of the pan, wait for it to boil, then place the meat and cook it with the lid tightly closed. The fire should be so low that the liquid barely boils. During the cooking process, liquid is released from the octopus, due to which the carcass begins to cook in its own juice.

To prevent octopus meat from becoming tough as a result of cooking, the carcass should only be placed in boiling water. The amount of liquid in the pan should be minimal. This requirement is due to the fact that the shellfish, in fact, must be boiled in its own juice. Otherwise, the meat will simply boil down and lose some of its taste. It is the small amount of liquid that makes it necessary to cook the shellfish over very low heat. If the flame is strong, the liquid will begin to evaporate quickly, the octopus risks not having time to cook in it, and the liquid will need to be constantly added.

The lid of the pan must be tightly closed when cooking shellfish. This will eliminate excessive evaporation, ensure better cooking of the meat and preserve its natural rich aroma. You can cool the cooked octopus in the same pan without removing it from the broth. From being in hot water, the meat will not lose its taste and will not become “rubbery”, like, for example, squid. It is recommended to salt the octopus at the end of cooking, a few minutes before the carcass is ready.

However, when using this method, you must constantly be nearby and monitor the level of liquid at the bottom of the pan. If there is not enough water, you will have to add water. Moreover, it is necessary to add only boiling water; adding cold water is not recommended.

To give the meat a richer flavor, it is recommended to add dill, celery, tomato, red pepper and onion to the pan. You can add cumin or cloves to taste.

The method discussed above involves classic cooking in a saucepan, but the cooking process in a pressure cooker looks a little different. In order to cook octopus in a pressure cooker, pour a little less than half the volume of water into it, add salt and bring to a boil. Then, using tongs, the octopus carcass is completely immersed in boiling water three times in a row. Moreover, each immersion of the mollusk in boiling water should last no more than 3 seconds.

After the third dipping, the meat is completely immersed in water, a finely chopped onion is added and the lid is tightly closed. Bathing the carcass in boiling water three times will eliminate the “rubber” effect and make the product softer. Professionals recommend putting a wine cork in the pressure cooker. Cork gives meat an unusual taste and makes it more tender.

Octopus cooked in wine sauce produces a very unusual taste. To do this, you need to take a carcass weighing 2-3 kg, cut it into several parts, put them in a pan and add half a glass of red wine and water. It is necessary to cook the shellfish for at least 40 minutes, after which you should turn off the heat, add a little salt, close the lid and let it brew for 5 minutes.

Another interesting recipe involves cooking the carcass in tomato sauce. To do this, cut the octopus into smaller pieces than in the previous recipe, add olive oil, onion cut into rings, green, ground black and hot pepper, a little cumin, a clove of garlic and 200 ml of water to the pan. Then grind 1 kilogram of tomatoes in a blender, add the resulting puree to the pan and place on moderate heat. In the absence of a chopper, you can use a coarse grater. The meat will be completely ready after 30 minutes, after which it is served either as a first course or as a dressing for boiled white rice. The top of the dish is generously poured with a delicious sauce in which the shellfish was cooked.

Cooking time

Boiling frozen octopus at home is quite simple, but in order for the meat to be juicy and soft, you must follow the cooking time. Thus, the tentacles of a large mollusk should be boiled for at least 7 minutes, after which the film is removed from them and used for preparing salads. It is enough to boil the limbs of small juveniles for 3 to 5 minutes. Small individuals are cooked for 7 to 10 minutes, medium ones for about 20, and large ones for 35 minutes per kilogram of weight.

To ensure that the process of cooking octopuses goes smoothly, It is recommended to follow a number of simple rules.

• It is necessary to gradually dip the carcasses into boiling water. First, the tentacles are lowered into boiling water. Only after they acquire a pinkish color, the entire mollusk is immersed in the pan.
• In order for the film to come off more easily after heat treatment, the carcass should be placed in ice water for a couple of minutes.
• When purchasing large, mature fresh shellfish, it is recommended to freeze it before cooking. After thawing, the meat will become much softer and juicier.
• Octopuses should be cooked in unsalted water with seasonings. You can add salt either a couple of minutes before cooking, or after cooking as part of other dishes.
• Octopus meat goes well with any creamy and soy sauce, and it is recommended to serve it with side dishes of vegetables, rice and pasta.

Strict adherence to the cooking time and proper preparation of octopus allows you to obtain an excellent base for salads and main courses.

To learn how to cook octopus, watch the video below.