Sous vide octopus has been on my brainstorm list for years now. I don’t see it on a lot of menus in Seattle, but when I do I always have to try it. It’s typically grilled and served as an appetizer at Spanish restaurants.
Finding raw octopus legs is really difficult in Seattle. I went to 3 different stores before I finally found frozen, ready to eat octopus legs at our local Whole Foods. This kind of threw a wrench in my plan because I wanted to sous vide the octopus. All the online recipes for sous vide octopus use raw octopus.
My first attempt was at 171 degrees F for 5 hours which is the cook time for raw octopus, this is NOT the same for the precooked ones I bought. The goal of the sous vide is to break down some of the chewiness of the octopus, but instead this first attempt just made it chewier.
My second attempt was 120 degrees F for 2 hours and the octopus came out nice and tender! Then, I thought, maybe if I did it longer at the lower temp it would get even softer. I was wrong. After 5 hours at 120 degrees F, the octopus got chewy again. Looks like the magic number is 120 degrees at 2 hours!
Make sure your cast iron is really hot before you sear your octopus. You want a quick sear to get a nice crust without overcooking the octopus.
Keep your romesco on your octopus, not the floor,
Your favorite alternative chefs, K & T
Sous Vide Octopus
Ingredients
½ pound octopus, raw or precooked and thawed
1 tsp olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Kosher salt
Romesco
- 2 tbsp raw almonds
- 3 oz roasted red pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic minced
- 1 tbsp crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley
- ¼ lemon worth of juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Parsley
Instructions
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Prep sous vide to 171 degrees Fahrenheit for raw and 120 degrees for previously frozen.
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In a large ziploc bag add octopus, rosemary, and salt.
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Sous vide for 5 hours if from raw, sous vide for 2 hours if previously frozen and precooked.
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Blend all romesco ingredients together until the sauce is smooth.
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Heat up cast iron or grill to high heat, sear octopus quickly on each side.
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Serve octopus with romesco and garnish with chopped parsley.