Octopus Alla Karvouna Charcoal Grilled Octopus Recipes

GRILLED OCTOPUS WITH CELERY AND CANNELLINI BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• To make the octopus: Coat a large saucepan with olive oil and toss in the garlic, carrot, celery and onion. Season with salt and crushed red pepper and bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Cook the veggies until they are soft and aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the vinegar and fill the pan with water. Season with salt, toss in the bay leaves and bring the water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the baby octopus and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the liquid and let cool. (This part can sooooooo be done ahead.)
• To prep the salad: Coat a large straight-sided saute pan with olive oil, toss in the onions, season with salt and crushed red pepper. Bring the pan to a medium heat and cook the onions until they start to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Toss in the beans, chicken stock and celery and cook until the stock has reduced by a little more than half. Turn off the heat and reserve the bean mixture.
• Preheat the grill. Cut the heads off the octopus and cut the legs into sections of 2 legs. Oil the legs and place them on the grill to slightly char and heat up the octopus.
• In a large bowl, toss the arugula and celery leaves with the lemon juice and olive oil and season with salt. Divide among 4 serving plates and spoon some of the warm bean mixture onto the arugula. Arrange the legs between the plates. Drizzle with big fat finishing oil.
• Drain the beans from the soaking water and place in a medium saucepan. Toss in the garlic cloves, bay leaf, carrot, celery, thyme and onion. Add water to the pan until it covers the beans by about 2 inches.
• Put the pan on a high heat and bring the water to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer until the beans are very soft and tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Turn the heat off.
• Season the water generously with salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain the beans from the cooking liquid and remove the veggies, bay and thyme and discard. Yield: 2 1/2 cups cooked beans.

GRILLED OCTOPUS

Steps:

• Fill a large pot 1/2 full with water. Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt, peppercorns, and the wine cork; bring to a boil over high heat.
• Meanwhile, place octopus on a cutting board. Using a wooden spoon or meat mallet, pound the octopus multiple times, starting in the middle and moving down each tentacle to tenderize the meat.
• Dip tentacles into the boiling water 3 times, holding them in the boiling water 2 to 3 seconds each time, until the tentacles curl up. Submerge entire octopus in the boiling water. Bring water back to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until octopus is fork-tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 30 minutes.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Grill octopus until charred on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Remove from heat, slice into pieces, and place on a serving platter. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, squeeze lemon over top, sprinkle with parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

GRILLED OCTOPUS

Steps:

• Combine octopus, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, 1 teaspoon salt, garlic and 1 lemon, cut in half, in saucepan along with water to cover. Turn heat to medium, cover, and bring to boil. Adjust heat so that liquid simmers slowly, and cook until octopus is tender, for 30 to 90 minutes, depending on whether you're using two smaller octopuses or 1 larger one (check for doneness with point of sharp knife). Drain, discarding everything but octopus. (You can prepare this 24 hours in advance up to this point; cover, and refrigerate octopus.) Set aside.
• Start charcoal or wood fire, or preheat gas grill; fire should be quite hot. Grill rack about 4 inches from heat source. Cut octopus into large serving pieces, brush it with half the olive oil, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Grill it quickly until outside browns but inside is not dried out. Cut remaining lemon into wedges.
• Brush octopus with remaining olive oil. Serve with lemon wedges, hot or at room temperature, garnished with parsley.

GRILLED OCTOPUS IN RED WINE MARINADE

Steps:

• In a large casserole combine octopus, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves, salt, pepper, thyme, red wine and water. Bring to a slow boil and simmer 45 minutes, or until octopus is very tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from heat and let octopus cool in its broth.
• Set aside 1 1/3 cups of broth for sauce. When octopus is cool enough to handle, remove it from broth and rub it well to remove purplish skin. Rinse tentacles in broth as they are cleaned. Drain octopus and transfer to a large bowl.
• Make marinade: in a small bowl combine marinade ingredients. Pour over octopus and toss to coat. Marinate, covered and refrigerated, for at least 24 hours, and up to 3 days.
• Make sauce: in a small saucepan combine strained reserved broth, olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar. Reduce by half over high heat. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in parsley. Keep warm.
• Prepare a charcoal broiler. Drain tentacles and pat dry. Grill 4 minutes, turning frequently, until lightly charred and heated through. Serve 2 tentacles per person, with sauce spooned over, garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.

GALICIAN-STYLE OCTOPUS

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Dunk the octopus in 8 times, fully submerging it. Then simmer the octopus until tender when pierced with a skewer, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in a separate pot until tender.
• Cut the octopus into tentacles with scissors (discard the rest), then sprinkle with the sea salt, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the sweet and hot paprika. Serve with the potatoes.

OCTOPUS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Squeeze in 1 lemon and add the rinds to the water. Holding the octopus with tongs, dip the octopus into the boiling water 3 or 4 times, until the tentacles begin to firm and curl. Then, submerge the octopus in the water and cook for 40 minutes, uncovered.
• In a large bowl, mix the oregano, vinegar, oil, and salt together. Remove the octopus from the boiling water, place it into the oregano mixture, and let lightly marinate for a few minutes.
• Heat the grill to medium high. Grill the octopus until browned and crisped on the edges, turning every 5 minutes for 15 minutes. Remove from the grill, place on a platter, and cut into pieces. Squeeze the lemon over the octopus and sprinkled with some dried oregano.

GRILLED BABY OCTOPUS

Steps:

• Boil octopus in salted water until cooked through (check inside with a paring knife), 15 to 20 minutes. To a metal bowl add oil, oregano, pepper flakes, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper, then add octopus and toss.
• Preheat a grill to high heat.
• Place octopus on the grill for 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer back to bowl and back to grill. Repeat this step a few times. Finally, put octopus back in bowl and add balsamic vinegar. Toss well, then serve over baby greens.