Preparing and Cooking your Octopus for use in any Recipe, How to Make it Tender

Need recipes?
To cook a perfectly tenderized octopus, there are several methods used in the culinary world, but Chef Tony demonstrates his traditional and preferred technique in this episode. Once the octopus comes out (nice and tender, hopefully) then it is ready to star in almost any favorite recipe that calls for octopus, such as the salad that this one eventually became.
Let us know if there is a recipe or technique that you would like to see covered in future episodes. Ciao!

@askcheftony - TWITTER

[dimyssg]

I've tried your method - it's sensational!! Thank you so much for sharing. I will never be scared to cook octopus again. :)))

[helenrennie]

Thanks Tony! I scraped the slimy stuff off, rinsed, dried, and it was a lot better. Coated with olive oil, garlic, and spanish smoked paprika and grilled. Awesome! It's now my 3 year old's favorite food :) You are so great that I am adding you to the "featured channels" on my channel.

[TOO_RAW]

I'm currently preparing Ecuadorian style octopus ceviche with an octopus i caught with my bare hands yesterday hahah. Thank you for the video

[Idolo]

I followed your instructions about a month ago and it came out excellent. Today I'm cooking it again thanks for the recipe 👍👍👍👍👍

[COYOTEA]

We ( My Family ) always cooked the Octopus in the boiling water with some Vinegar & some fresh Lemons in it, & it always came out great, Not rubbery or over done etc.

[auniquedesigner]

Thank you for all the little tricks. All those elders in my Italian family are now gone so I appreciate your sharing the little "tricks" to help make cooking more pleasurable.

[juliamoore]

Thanks for sharing your tips about cooking octopus. I especially enjoyed your family cooking tips like the corks in the water and the vinegar bread. (and the shot of the family cat) It brings heart into the craft.

[christiantangerine]

I'm trying to make japnaes takoyaki in quarantine, and it really helps seeing this video! I've never seen these hacks before. Thank you for your content.

[jennyfilips]

Hubby bought home octopus to cook and I have no idea how to do it, I loved this video with such great tips, thank you so much. I liked the bread part as well.

[helenrennie]

I cooked octopus for the first time yesterday. Thank you so much for all your tips. It came out fabulously tender. The only issue I had was with the outer membrane turning slimy. I did cook it for an hour, but I don't think it's due to overcooking. A few minutes after I started cooking it, the pink skin turned to mush. Any time I touched it with tongs to turn it, the skin would get scraped off. Any advice? It was a frozen octopus, from the Mediterranean. Was this due to freezing?

[isabelmartins]

Hello, I am in Portugal and I cook my octopus like this: 6 or 7 (small or medium octopus, it depends) minutes in the pressure cooker, no water, just an onion into the pot, together with the octopus. No salt, either. When you open the pressure cooker you'll find lots of water from the onion and the octopus. It is tender and delicious. Try it and tell me what you think. Thank you.

[aeolusjr]

Wow thank you 🙏🏼 this help a lot I was my kids and my wife and Nephews where thrilled

[DarkSparkCannabis]

Thanks Chef Tony, I thawed my 2lb octopus before watching this, and your prep. techniques made it turn out amazing. I literally can cut the meat with my fork!

[raymondwess]

Didn't have any wine corks but his method of tenderizing the octopus works minus the corks only it was delicious! Thanks chef!

[TVNostalgia]

This is absolutely awesome. Octopus or squids as snacks are also incredibly tasty. But, this way you prepared is also very good. You can also make a sauce with "coconut milk" (don´t know the name in english) or even "dendé oil". Or cook it on it´s own ink mixed with white wine. For the head you can simply stuff with a mix of shrimp (cutted in tiny pieces - no peel) and tiny pieces of salmon (tuna also works) inside.

[JoannaAquaPM]

Thank u! Your video helped me to cook it to perfection. And the bread trick saved my apt from smelling like fish market. I will now always use it when cooking smelly products.

[vygalnix]

There are a lot of information that noobs chef complain about. He is taking the time to explain to you what, why, when, and how. If you can't appreciate it, then your cooking won't benefit from his wisdom.

[AlexaCBrown]

Today, is our 2nd time, making your octopus, it is perfect!!!! Thank you for this, and looking forward to your other recipes!!
We will always follow you, and your grandfather's cork ingredient 😚💌💝🥰☀️

[chhundara]

Looks delicious and so tempting, loved the way you have prepared it very well beautifully presented nice healthy sharing

[GenePavlovsky]

I'm now in Porto, Portugal, figured I'd try to make a grilled octopus. Your video helped a lot. I went to a nearby bar and asked them for a couple of red wine corks. They asked me why and I mentioned your video. The barman said he used to work in a restaurant and that's indeed what they did when they cooked octopi. So this seems to be a well-known trick. My wife, who is from South Korea, tells me in Korea and Japan they put tea leaves in the water. Tea also contains tannin, so I guess it's the same idea...