How can I tenderize octopus effectively at home?

Question

What are some at-home methods I can use for tenderizing octopus? I’ve heard multiple ways of doing it.

Answer 1

You guys are the best Food/Cooking content at the moment hands down!

Answer 2

I was invited to a dinner party by a friend once, she served Octopus, I was sick for 3 days afterwards, there is no way I could ever face another bite of it. Your knowledge of food science and food history is just wonderful, you are only a young lad and your have so much knowledge to share and willing to share too. Well done Sir.

Comments

Octopus probably had nothing to do with your food borne illness. Your friend’s food handling was most likely the culprit. Probably didn’t wash hands after using the toilet. I would try octopus again, but I’d never eat anything else that person cooked.

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Lol... I don't think it was lack of toilet hygiene, but do agree it was something other than the octopus. Usually (like at a restaurant), food poisoning comes from chemical cross-contamination, such as in the detergents they use. This is especially true if the onset is quick, as bacterial or viral sickness takes a little while for the load to build. This or some other cross-contamination happened at your friend's place... Or probably it was the octopus, as I'm sure you ate other stuff as well. A salad, perhaps. Lettuces and such are far more prone to food borne illness type than most anything else.

Answer 3

I love octopus. And while them being tender is the best, I honestly I also like them when they are on the opposite end of tenderness

Comments

same

Answer 4

I'm not even a seafood person, but Octopus, butter and chilli is one of the finest foods on earth!

Comments

I'm curious about it. Never had. I'm pretty open minded about food.

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’s fantastic. Like squid but much meatier and more toothsome

Answer 5

Best food channel.

Answer 6

Thank you so much for showing the home steaming method! I was able to buy frozen octopus but I did not steam it and it was horrible. Yes, I had heard that freezing it was the best method but they left out the steaming trick! You dang Chefs always got a special trick dontcha?

I want that method served over hand-stirred polenta with lots and lots of butter!

Answer 7

Once I am in London I need to visit you guys. You have become my favourite Food content creator, and especially thanks for all these in-depth explanations. Awesome work.

Answer 8

I’m reading a lot of professional cooking contents lately. I have never seen something like that before. Now that would be the dish I’d never hesitate to spend my money on. I hope I’ll visit London and also have that experience in person. Brilliant!

Answer 9

Thanks! I got two large spanish ones in the freezer, so testing this weekend!

Answer 10

My favourite Portuguese dish is polvo a lagareiro. Different to the dish you showed which is also spectacular. Polvo a lagareiro is super simple to make, plenty of recipes online and the result is magnificent.

Answer 11

I love how you guys share techniques and experience and create actually really amazing content (even production-wise), when you are running multiple great restaurants at the same time. For example, just this amazing tip with octopus terrine pizza... I can see many local small bistro's trying this. So cool :)

Answer 12

Would love a Morel guide since its in season and im foraging as many as i can lol

Answer 13

Definitely gonna try that terrine. Thanks!

Answer 14

Love it, best i've had was in Cyprus. Didn't know it could be this easy.

Answer 15

Soy jefe de cocina gallego y aqui el pulpo es religión.
Para que no se le caiga la piel al poner el pulpo en la olla con agua hirviendo tienes que "asustarlo",es decir meterlo y sacarlo tres veces consecutivas.
Desconozco la razón pero llevo 40 años cociendo pulpo y funciona.

Answer 16

As a Galician, I'd swap the garlic sauce for good quality potatoes and simple seasoning as they amplify the delicate flavour to the utmost degree :) Polbo á Feira, though admittedly simple (sliced octopus over Galician cachelo potatoes boiled in the same water, served on a wooden platter and drizzled with olive oil, paprika and coarse salt), is a must-try if visiting Galicia, where it's cooked in large copper cauldrons, and best enjoyed while attending the weekly markets (fairs) it's named after: a national treasure.

Answer 17

I developed a taste for octopus when living outside of Naples and also in S Korea for several years, thank you for some great ideas for preparing a tasty snack!

Answer 18

His joy when getting the pizza out. Love this!

Comments

it was amazing

Answer 19

I’d like the record to show - I had sorta weird feelings about eating octopus for this reason, but then you made this comment about pigs and it genuinely opened my mind up more to the idea. Cheers.

Answer 20

This is the only channel out of more than a hundred I have notifications turned on for.