Octopus for dinner?

Question

I wa thinking about making deep-fried octopus for dinner next week, but I don't know where to buy an octopus, how to prepare it (eg - removing the beak or genitals.) What do you suggest to serve with it? I was thinking rainbow trout and a lemon garnish.

Answer 1

go to a fish market  calamari (octopus) is very popular...

you would deep or pan fry--then serve a sauce or dip for it

Answer 2

Stop eating them!!! Leave them alone!!!

Answer 3

Octopus might be easier to find frozen.  You might buy some tempura mix to use to deep fry.  If I were to deep fry, I would choose calimari (squid) instead.  It is better suited to deep frying and is a lot cheaper.  Rainbow trout too?  Sounds good.

Answer 4

No. They are so cute. Leave them alone.

Answer 5

In the south (I am in Florida) I found the best luck in finding octopus is Winn Dixie. It is already cleaned so you don't have to remove anything. Just rinse it well. Now for cooking, I learned the hard way that it is best to tenderize it first and the best way is to boil it before you attempt any other cooking. I personally love simmering it in red wine to tenderize it, it gives it a nice flavor. After that, I sauté it in a pan with various different ingredients like garlic and onions, and I'll sometime add some heavy whip cream to make the sauce creamy .. It goes well with rice or rosemary potatoes cooked in the oven with garlic cloves and olive oil.

Answer 6

I have made squid but not octopus. For squid, the cooking time has to be really short or they will basically shrivel up into little rubber erasers. I made paella with the squid, and added it in at last minute.

I think you may be able to ask your butcher to remove the beak and so on for you. When I've made squid, I get the baby squid which are ready for cooking. I got them at Harry's, which is like Whole Foods, in the seafood department.

I would cut the octopus into small pieces- small pieces take less time to cook, and longer cooking time makes meat tougher.

Answer 7

The frozen octopus is more tender than the fresh...

If you have fresh octopus, beat the livin' daylights out of it for a few minutes...then proceed to boil it until cooked and tender (don't overcook or it will become rubbery).

In Spain we serve it in a salad....

Here's the recipe

Salpicon de Mariscos... for 4 to 6 persons

1lb of octopus

1 lb of mussels (fresh or frozen)

1 lb. shrimp

2 large red bell peppers

2 large green bell peppers

2 large sweet onions

3 firm red tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley (optional)

a tin of crabmeat or some surimi sticks (optional)

juice of two good sized lemons

red wine vinegar & oil (for sauce)

salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the octopus, mussels and shrimp, drain, set aside to cool in a large salad bowl. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Chop the peppers into small pieces (dice) or julienne. Cut the onions in half then slice finely (so the slices are half moon shape). Dice the tomatoes. Place all the veggies over the seafood in the salad bowl along with the chopped garlic and parsley. Add oil and vinegar to taste, toss and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours before serving. You may serve on a bed of lettuce leaves if you like.

You can also add the crabmeat or surimi cut in small pieces, and/or any other white fleshed fish cut into small bits....

This makes a great entrée, with your trout as a main dish, it would be an excellent meal.

Answer 8

I love octopus! but I eat it raw on a cracker with lemon. I never had it deep fried and I never prepared it. I just eat at a seafood restaurant

Answer 9

Hi there,  No one loves eating octopus more then the Greeks, and we have  a few recipes for it, if your going to deep fry it make sure you do not over cook it  because if you do it will be very tough, and do use the small ones for that, one of the best ways is to cook it in a stew,  cut it into bite size pieces, fry it in a little olive oil, add chopped onions, garlic black pepper, fry a little more, add a tin of chopped tomatoes,  bay leaf, a glass of red wine   and a glass of water cook at a medium heat until it gets soft , serve with buttered rice,  or on spaghetti , or with some fries,    as for buying it  you will find frozen bags of it  at some supermarkets and it all ways comes cleaned, so all you have to do is chop it up and stew it, also serve it with a salad ,  and  trout with  a lemon garnish sounds choice.

Answer 10

Think rainbow-and-lemon, trust me! Octopus, squids while savory just aren't enough as dinner. In Hong Kong for instance, we usually have it cooked a la Cantonese and they taste superb at the restaurants. They are rarely cooked at home. I think it's because the octopus-squid hasn't got much of a taste by themselves - rubbery and bland. Deep fried is a good way; beer batter bread crumb coated, they make savory snacks rather than a meal.