Recipe for homemade octopus tentacles. Cooking little octopuses: the secrets of the best chefs. Harm of the octopus and contraindications

When there is not enough exotic and you want something new, the question may arise about how to cook an octopus. At the very beginning, I would like to remind you that the octopus is considered a delicacy famous throughout the world, which was found in the deep bowels of the oceans and has an exceptionally excellent taste.

It so happened that traditionally, most often, housewives are interested in how to cook small octopuses, because they have a very tender meat and special taste. Often, dishes from these predators are prepared in Asian and European countries. Next, consider how to cook an octopus.

It is necessary to approach the process very carefully, since a fresh mollusk must be cut very carefully, and this must be done along its body. Do not forget to remove all internal organs of the octopus. If it is too large, remove the skin from it before blanching it for a certain amount of time in salted water.

While the carcass is still hot, it is necessary to scrape the thin skin with a long knife. In addition, the tentacles must be separated from the head, cut into arbitrary pieces. Be sure to remove the eyes and beak.

We wash the octopus under the pressure of cool water, and then dry it with a paper towel. Meat that has undergone a certain processing should be lightly beaten with a kitchen hammer so that it is not so hard.

Frozen octopus is pre-defrosted in a natural way and cleaned from the skin.

Before you cook the meat, you need to pour the octopus with cold water, boil for about 20 minutes, it all depends on the dimensions of the product. To check its readiness, we carefully pierce it with a knife: it must easily enter the meat, like a knife through tender butter. Octopus meat can be cooked without the use of water, stewing for 35 minutes in ordinary olive oil, and add salt only at the end of cooking. If this method seems ordinary, then you can cook the octopus on the grill.

How to cook octopus cutlets?

Required components:

• prepared octopus;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• one bow;
• a little green;
• various seasonings;
• vegetable oil;
• a few breadcrumbs.

The first step is to remove the beaks from the presented mollusks. Then you can disassemble them and scroll with a meat grinder, adding peeled garlic, onion, and some fresh herbs in parallel. In addition, you need to salt the minced meat to taste. Of course, you need to mold cutlets of one form or another.

After that, you can already roll them in breadcrumbs and fry in vegetable oil for no more than 3 minutes, and you need to fry both on one side and on the other.

How to cook frozen octopus?

Components:

• 750 g frozen octopus;
• 175 g of wine (red, dry);
• 1 onion;
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste;
• 2 bay leaves;
• 5 pieces of potatoes;
• all kinds of seasonings.

Properly preparing an octopus that has been previously frozen is quite simple. An amateur in the field of cooking can also cope with this task. If the octopus is frozen, then you should first defrost it. After that, we cut off the tentacles, and the middle must be cut in half.

Take a saucepan and heat a large amount of olive oil there. Then fry a little onion, cut into small pieces. Next, lay out the octopus and fry it for several minutes. After some time, pour red wine and simmer until the alcohol has evaporated.

When the quenching is over, pour tomato paste pre-diluted with water. In addition, we put seasoning and throw bay leaves there. It is necessary to put out the dish under the lid for about an hour, and the fire should be small. After 40 minutes, add peeled potatoes to the pan, which we cut into small cubes in advance.

By the way, here you can use absolutely any side dish, in particular, spaghetti or buckwheat porridge. From now on, you do not need to wonder how to cook frozen octopuses.

After studying the presented recipe, proceed to cooking.

How to cook small octopuses with beans?

Components:

• 2 kg of small octopuses;
• 1 cup dry beans;
• 2 onions;
• 3 carrots;
• half a glass of wine (dry, white);
• butter;
• 6 tablespoons of olive oil;
• a bunch of fresh herbs;
• seasoning.

We start cooking small octopuses by soaking the peeled beans in cool water and after a certain time we start cooking. Throw octopuses that have already been defrosted into boiling water, then add a spoonful of vegetable oil and 1 peeled onion. Boil the softened beans in the 2nd saucepan.

In addition, we cook the clams themselves for about 7 minutes, and the beans for about 1 hour. After everything is cooked, you should take a deep frying pan, add oil and fry chopped garlic, carrots in circles and onions in half rings in it. We wait until the vegetables are reddened, and then pour in the wine and the remaining oil.

Then bring to a boil and add boiled octopus and beans. At the very end, put the seasonings, stir and simmer the dish for about 15 minutes over a quiet fire.

Octopus recipes are often found in Mediterranean and Asian cuisines. According to the recipes of Asian cuisine, octopuses are often only boiled. Boiled octopus tentacles are the basis of many appetizers and salads. Before cooking, the octopus tentacles are washed in running water, poured with cold water and boiled for 5-10 minutes after boiling (depending on size). It is important that the octopus cools down in the same water in which it was boiled. The cooled octopus is taken out of the pan, the skin is peeled off and then cooked according to the chosen recipe. Octopus recipes mediterranean cuisine at the mollusk, the ink bag is first removed (it is not thrown away! This ink is used in many recipes), beak and eyes. After that, the carcass is washed, beaten with a meat mallet and cut into small pieces. More often, octopuses are fried in olive oil, and then stewed with vegetables and wine.

If for Russians an octopus dish is a real exotic, then in Portuguese cuisine- This is an ordinary ordinary dish, the preparation of which is worth learning. Now in local superstores you can buy octopuses of any size. They are usually chilled or frozen.

chapter: Portuguese cuisine

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 tentacles go along with the head as food. Boiled octopus tastes a bit like squid, but has more fine taste, and its meat has a pleasant pinkish tint.

Training

Before you start cutting the mollusk, it should be properly thawed. Frozen octopus is taken out of freezer and put in a deep bowl. Defrosting should occur naturally at room temperature; the use of a microwave oven for this purpose is unacceptable. After the carcass becomes soft, it will need to be gutted.

Some mollusks are sold with an ink bag located on the inside of the head, so the first stage of cutting is to clean the head and remove the ink cavity. After that, the eye part is cut off and the "beak" of the mollusk is removed. Next, the carcass is thoroughly washed under running cold water, while washing off all the accumulated mucus.

If the octopus is large enough, then in order to reduce the cooking time and more evenly cook the mollusk, it is recommended to gently beat it with a wooden mallet. In addition, large octopuses are recommended to be cleaned before cooking. To do this, hook the film with the tip of a knife and remove it.

Small clams do not need to be cleaned before cooking. From such instances, the film leaves very badly, so cleaning can only be done after heat treatment.

Cooking rules

Experienced cooks cook the mollusk with little or no water. At the beginning of cooking, only 200 ml of liquid is added to the bottom of the pan, waiting for it to boil, then the meat is placed and cooked with the lid tightly closed. In this case, the fire should be so small that the liquid barely boils. In the process of cooking, liquid is released from the octopus, due to which the carcass begins to boil in own juice.

In order for the octopus meat not to become 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 mollusk, in fact, must be boiled in its own juice. Otherwise, the meat will simply boil out and lose some of its palatability. It is a small amount of liquid that makes it necessary to cook the mollusk on a very small fire. If the flame is strong, then the liquid will begin to evaporate quickly, the octopus runs the risk of not having time to cook in it, and the liquid will need to be constantly topped up.

The lid of the pot should be tightly closed when cooking the mollusk. This will eliminate excessive evaporation, ensure better cooking of the meat and preserve its natural rich flavor. 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 “rubber”, 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, it is necessary to constantly be nearby and control the level of liquid at the bottom of the pan. If it is not enough water will have to be added. Moreover, it is necessary to add only boiling water, adding cold water Not recommended.

To give the meat more rich aroma it is recommended to add dill, celery, tomato, red pepper and onion to the pan. You can put cumin or cloves to taste.

The method discussed above involves the classic cooking in a saucepan, and the cooking process in a pressure cooker looks a little different. In order to cook the octopus in a pressure cooker, a little less than half the volume of water is poured into it, salt is added and brought 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 whole meat is immersed in water, a finely chopped onion is added and the lid is tightly closed. Triple bathing the carcass in boiling water will eliminate the appearance of a "rubber" effect and make the product softer. Professionals recommend putting a wine cork in the pressure cooker. The cork tree gives the meat unusual taste and makes it softer.

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

One more interesting recipe involves boiling the carcass in tomato sauce. For this, the octopus is cut into smaller pieces than in the previous recipe, olive oil, cut into rings, is added to the pan onion, green, black ground and hot pepper, a little cumin, a clove of garlic and 200 ml of water. Then crush 1 kilogram of tomatoes in a blender, add the resulting puree to the pan and put on moderate heat. In the absence of a chopper, you can use a large grater. The meat will be fully cooked after 30 minutes, after which it is served to the table either as a first course or as a dressing for boiled white rice. Top the dish with plenty of water delicious sauce in which the clam was boiled.

Time for preparing

Boiling a frozen octopus at home is quite simple, however, in order for the meat to be juicy and soft, it is necessary to observe the cooking time. So, the tentacles of a large mollusk should be boiled for at least 7 minutes, after which the film is removed from them and used to make salads. It is enough to boil the limbs of small young individuals for 3 to 5 minutes. Small individuals are boiled for 7 to 10 minutes, medium - about 20, and large - at the rate of 35 minutes per kilogram of weight.

In order for the process of cooking octopuses to go smoothly, it is recommended to follow a number of simple rules.

• It is necessary to dip the carcasses in boiling water gradually. First, the tentacles descend into the boiling water. Only after they acquire a pinkish color, the whole mollusk is immersed in the pan.
• In order for the film to lag behind more easily after heat treatment, the carcass should be placed in ice water for a couple of minutes.
• When buying a large and adult fresh mollusk, it is recommended to freeze it before cooking. After thawing, the meat will become much softer and juicier.
• Boil octopuses in unsalted water with seasonings. You can salt either a couple of minutes before cooking, or after cooking as part of other dishes.
• Octopus meat goes well with any cream and soy sauce, and it is recommended to serve it with side dishes of vegetables, rice and pasta.

Strict observance of cooking time and proper cooking octopus lets get excellent foundation for salads and second courses.

See the video below for how to cook octopus.

If until recently we saw exotic inhabitants of the deep sea only on TV screens, today they can be found on store shelves. And some make very delicious food! And how to cook an octopus so that it is tasty and healthy?

How to make the right choice?

First of all, you should choose an octopus.

• Frozen or fresh? If you want to extract maximum benefit and enjoy delicate taste, then it is advisable to choose a fresh one. But you will probably have to cut it, although you can ask the seller about it (he will probably have to pay). And if you want to save time and effort, you can also buy frozen octopus, in this form, carcasses are usually sold already completely cut and cooked even faster, and this is very convenient.
• Pay attention to the size. Small octopuses have more tender flesh, medium ones are more nutritious, but a large adult octopus weighing about two to three kilograms can be “rubber”.
• Rate the look. But such a criterion will be relevant only if you buy a fresh octopus. The surface of the carcass should be shiny, the color should be burgundy-brownish and uniform. No damage is allowed.
• Study the smell. It is specific, but quite pleasant. He definitely shouldn't give away "rotten stuff".

Proper cooking preparation

Preparation consists of several stages:

1. First, the carcass must be thawed if it is frozen. But this should be done only at room temperature, that is, in a natural way, and not in a microwave oven.
2. Next, rinse the octopus thoroughly under running cold water to remove all the mucus.
3. It is not worth cleaning the carcasses before cooking, the skin is removed very, very difficult, so it is better to get rid of it after heat treatment (then it will peel off quickly). But if the octopus is adult and large, then its shell will be quite dense, so that it can be scraped off with a knife already at this stage.
4. Now you need to cut the carcass (the frozen one will probably already be cut). To do this, it is more convenient to first cut off the tentacles, but this is not necessary. Next, cut off the lower part of the head, that is, the support on which the tentacles are held. In it you will find a mouth opening that looks like a tooth or a beak. It needs to be removed. To do this, first, as it were, squeeze it out, and then cut it out with a knife. Also cut out the eyes.
5. Now wash the inside of the head well to remove all offal, as well as ink, if any. Then you can turn it out and rinse again.
6. If the octopus is large, then it is advisable to beat it off before cooking.

How to cook?

If you decide to cook octopus for the first time, then the most in a simple way there will be cooking for you. But how long to cook it to make it tasty? Processing should be short, otherwise the meat will become stringy and tough, like rubber (this is a very common problem).

Your task is simply to exterminate all pathogenic organisms. Small octopuses only need to be cooked for about five to seven minutes, larger ones - about 20. But a large octopus can cook for about an hour.

You can check readiness with a toothpick. Pierce it with the largest part of the carcass, that is, the head. If the toothpick comes in easily and quickly, then the octopus is ready. If not, cook it some more. And after cooking, you can remove the skin.

How to cook?

How to cook octopus properly if you want to make more interesting dish? Below are some interesting options.

Option number 1

You can bake octopus with potatoes. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 kg of octopuses (or a whole carcass);
• 1 kg of potatoes;
• parsley;
• five cloves of garlic;
• three tablespoons of lemon juice;
• olive oil;
• salt to taste.

Cooking:

1. Potatoes need to be peeled, cut into slices and boiled.
2. Boil the octopus and cut it (small octopuses can not be chopped).
3. Grease the bottom of the baking dish olive oil.
4. Put the potatoes mixed with the octopus in a dish, sprinkle everything with lemon juice and olive oil, and sprinkle with minced garlic and chopped parsley. Don't forget to salt the dish.

Option number 2

Try stewing octopus at home using sour cream and milk. Prepare:

• 500 grams of octopus;
• 2 glasses of milk;
• half a glass of sour cream;
• five tablespoons of flour;
• three tablespoons of white wine;
• a tablespoon of lemon juice;
• three cloves of garlic;
• two tablespoons of olive oil;
• salt and pepper to taste.

How to cook?

1. Octopuses need to be boiled for about 10 minutes, adding to the water lemon juice and also wine.
2. Now clean the carcasses and cut into portioned pieces if they are large.
3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, fry the garlic.
4. Add milk, and when it is hot, dissolve the flour in it.
5. Boil the sauce until boiling, then add sour cream.
6. Now lay out the octopuses.
7. Put pepper and salt in the pan, simmer the dish for five minutes and remove from heat.

Option number 3

Can cook delicious salad. Here's what you need for this:

• 500 grams of octopus;
• 4 potatoes;
• head of red onion;
• 10 cherry tomatoes;
• lettuce leaves;
• 60 grams of pitted olives;
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil;
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice;
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar;
• a teaspoon of liquid honey.

Cooking:

1. Boil the octopus, peel and cut.
2. Potatoes need to be boiled in their skins, peeled and cut into cubes.
3. Cherry cut into halves.
4. Onion cut into half rings.
5. Just tear lettuce leaves.
6. To make the sauce, combine vinegar, oil, lemon juice and honey.
7. Mix the ingredients, salt and season with sauce.
8. Salad ready!

1. You need to lower the octopus only in boiling water. Moreover, true experts advise doing this gradually: first, immerse the tentacles, and when they slightly change color and begin to curl, you can lower the whole carcass.
2. During cooking, in no case do not add salt, it will harden the pulp. For taste, you can use some fragrant seasoning.
3. If you do not want to beat the octopus, then you can freeze it, this technique will also allow you to soften the meat.
4. It is desirable to reduce the fire to a minimum, the carcasses should literally languish in barely boiling water, and not boil in a bubbling broth (then the taste will go bad).
5. To make the pulp more tender, you can add a cork from a bottle of wine (of course, not plastic) during cooking.
6. Octopuses go well with a variety of sauces, especially cream and soy sauces.
7. You can serve dishes with any side dishes, for example, with vegetables, spaghetti, rice.
8. To quickly remove the skin, after heat treatment, you can pour cold water over the octopus.

Choose the most the best recipe and be sure to surprise the household and guests with an unusual and tasty dish!

Feb 5, 2016 Olga

Octopus does not require long cooking. Small frozen octopuses need only 5 minutes of boiling in boiling water. A whole octopus weighing 2 - 3 kg is recommended to cook for 25 - 30 minutes over low heat in salted water. Larger "octopuses" can cook for about an hour. A chef's fork will help you assess the readiness of the octopus: pierce the thickest head of the carcass with it, if the fork easily enters the meat, the octopus is ready. Boiled octopus is combined with garlic and onions, tomatoes and rice, olive oil and wine, lemons and, as well as herbs.

Fried octopus

Usually, everything does not end with frying the octopus; after several minutes of frying, pieces of “sea meat” are stewed in sauce or dressing. An exception is octopus kebab or octopus on a spit. To prepare this original dish first you need to marinate large pieces of octopus 6 - 8 cm long and about two cm wide. For marinade, it is better to use onions, soy sauce, olive or vegetable oil. The pieces should be marinated for about forty minutes, and then laid out on a wire rack or strung on a skewer or skewer and fried over a fire.

Braised octopus

First, the octopus pieces are lightly fried, and then stewed for 20-25 minutes. Octopus tentacles stewed with vegetables and spices are an integral part of such dishes as linguine with seafood, that is, they will complement any pasta, and also boiled and rice.

Baked octopus

Before baking, the octopuses must be peeled (see the method of cleaning in the chapter on preparation) and lightly beaten with a hammer. Place the prepared carcasses on a baking sheet and send to the oven preheated to 200 ° C for 10 minutes, then coat the carcasses with sauce, for example, oyster sauce and send it back to the oven for 10 minutes, but increase the temperature to 250 ° C.

Advice!

Buy octopuses weighing up to a kilogram - they have softer and more tender meat.

Large octopuses should be lightly beaten before cooking.

To soften octopus meat, freeze it shortly before cooking (for a day or two).