Name: Pickled Baby Octopus
Prep time: 48 h 30 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h
Yield: A few as nibbles
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: ■ 1 kg baby octopus – cleaned | Most baby octopus is already cleaned when bought.For the Marinade:■ 350ml extra virgin olive oil |■ 2 cloves garlic | Finely sliced.■ 250ml red wine vinegar | A good quality aged vinegar is ideal.■ 80ml sherry vinegar | This is very flavoursome vinegar, adored by French chefs in particular.■ 2 tsp. dried oregano | Fresh doesn’t impart as much flavour.■ 2 tsp. lemon juice | Freshly squeezed.■ 2 pieces lemon zest | Each piece about 5cm x 1cm.■ 4 Szechuan peppercorns | Crushed.■ 8 black peppercorns | Coarsely ground.■ a drizzle extra virgin olive oil | A drizzle to coat the octopus.

Introduction:

Diving for the illusive Jules Verne cephalopod, the monster of the deep, and probably twenty thousand leagues above (and below) what I should be diving for, I was suddenly attracted by a mysterious wailing; a wailing that dreamily emanated from a distant island, a tropical oasis in the midst of the ocean. Unnerved and helpless I drifted towards the haunting sound, and as my vision focused in on it’s source I became aware that this island was a fantasy adorned with a veritable feast of all my favourite marine delights: lobster, sea trout, banana prawns, oysters, monkfish, sea urchins, snapper, Atlantic salmon, sardines, octopus, mussels…the list was endless. With only metres to spare before landing on this paradise, I was swept away by an unknown of the deep, taken down and down into a helical vortex only to emerge moments later sat in a café and wondering how I can introduce the next recipe on the blog…

And as I struggled to introduce the majestic recipe for pickled octopus, my mind wandered and suddenly I found myself diving for the illusive…

Pickled Baby Octopus

Serves: A few as nibbles Prep Time: 30 minutes + 2 days marinating Cooking Time: 2 hours 2 hours

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.0/5

( 2 voted )

Ingredients

■ 1 kg baby octopus – cleaned | Most baby octopus is already cleaned when bought.
For the Marinade:
■ 350ml extra virgin olive oil |
■ 2 cloves garlic | Finely sliced.
■ 250ml red wine vinegar | A good quality aged vinegar is ideal.
■ 80ml sherry vinegar | This is very flavoursome vinegar, adored by French chefs in particular.
■ 2 tsp. dried oregano | Fresh doesn’t impart as much flavour.
■ 2 tsp. lemon juice | Freshly squeezed.
■ 2 pieces lemon zest | Each piece about 5cm x 1cm.
■ 4 Szechuan peppercorns | Crushed.
■ 8 black peppercorns | Coarsely ground.
■ a drizzle extra virgin olive oil | A drizzle to coat the octopus.

Method

I have written a post about Cooking Octopus, Squid and Cuttlefish and the science behind it. I recommend giving it a whirl if you are interested as to why this is cooked for so long.

Preheat your oven to 90 deg C (195 deg F) – it’s essential to use an oven thermometer as if the temperature is too high the octopus will over-cook.

Prepare a pan of boiling water and add the cleaned octopus. Blanch for 20 seconds and then immediately remove from the water. Add to a dry pan, cover the pan with a lid and then put in the oven for 2 hours, regularly checking the temperature of the oven.

To prepare the marinade, add all the ingredients to a bowl and then stir gently to disperse; we are not looking to emulsify the oil and other liquids, however.

Remove the octopus from the oven and drain the juice. The juice (or jus) is quite gelatinous and extremely flavoursome. It can be reduced to a very rich sauce or used to flavour other sauces or soups. I usually freeze it for later use.

Let the octopus cool for 10 minutes and then carefully add it to the marinade. Gently coat the octopus in the marinade, cover the bowl with cling film and then refrigerate for two days. This allows for the pickling process to occur and means that the octopus becomes infused with those lovely herby and zesty flavours.

After two days remove the octopus from the fridge and if the marinade has set just allow it to come to room temperature so that it liquefies. Pick out and eat the octopus.

Additional Notes

Great served on a platter as an appetiser.

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6 comments

Andrew May 23, 2013 - 9:08 pm

I really value your blog with its detailed recipes and techniques. This is one recipe I would not have otherwise thought to try…and it comes with a story. Thanks for this.

Next lot of baby octopus I stumble upon at the markets now has a purpose.

nicholas May 24, 2013 - 12:15 am

Hey Andrew, thanks for checking out the blog and for your words of encouragement.

This recipe is a fantastic way to eat baby octopus. I intend to try it with a larger octopus and see if I can get it as tender as the baby version.

Sue August 6, 2016 - 5:01 pm

Opened the jar of baby octopus for the taste test, and it is a winner! Very tender, (but not mushy) tangy and peppery. I would never have tried the long slow oven technique without your instructions. Now to try this with a big one…

Nicholas Ross August 8, 2016 - 9:15 am

Hey Sue,

It’s great that you’ve made the pickled octopus and it’s worked out well for you. Thank you for leaving a comment.

With a larger version a 2kg octopus will probably need 4-5 hours at the same temperature as this recipe. Did you see the post on cooking octopus and squid on here. Link below:

https://www.duckandroses.com/1486/cooking-octopus-squid-and-cuttlefish/

This gives a little science behind cooking the cephalopods and why long cooking is necessary. Good luck!

Joseph Mifsud November 16, 2017 - 8:13 pm

Thank you for sharing your knowledge on how to prepare octopus.
Can I use your method to tenderize the octopus before using it in a stew? or will it over cook and go rubbery your advice would be appreciated
Regards Jo

Nicholas Ross November 16, 2017 - 11:23 pm

Hey Jo,

Thanks for your comment. That’s a good question.

When cooking octopus for a stew I recommend very gentle simmering of the octopus for an hour or so and then cooking it further in your stew. In essence the octopus in a water based liquid will not rise above the boiling temperature of water i.e. 100 deg C, so it will not overcook (go rubbery). The longer you cook it the more tender it will be. The length of cooking depends on the size of the octopus. For the larger varieties a good massaging of the octopus and a longer cooking time is required.

The oven method above cooks the octopus to a really tender state so it may even be too tender if cooked in a stew as well. Check out this Greek style octopus stew I put on Duck and Roses recently. Link here: https://www.duckandroses.com/4038/crazily-good-octopus-and-red-wine-stew/

Good luck, Nick

Pickled Baby Octopus