Go to the Recipe: Tender, Silky Sous Vide Octopus
Long ago I took a trip to the Balearic Islands. Found a sweet little rock walled cove by Es Cubells and decided to hang out in the sun there. Some German kids came into the cove and started squawking about a “devil fish” in the tide pools. I took a look and saw it to be a rather large octopus. Perhaps a meter from head to arm tips. The kids were poking it with a tent pole so I took it out of the scalding tide pool and put it in the surf. It improved immediacy but would not go away. I took it out about 50 meters but it stayed with me. I swam over to a rock outcropping and there he was. Right by my feet. He stayed with me for 2 hours or so. I swam. He swam with me. I hated to leave him. On the way back to town I saw a woman in a white peasant’s dress sipping a glass of Cava at a café. She was stunning. Long black hair like the Andalusian girls have. Happy and loving that flute of wine. I drank a cup of coffee just to watch her and then she was off. Disappeared down a cobblestone road. What a day. I just met the coolest cephalopod in the world and its prettiest woman and had to leave them both. Since then I’ve never dined on people or octopuses.
I'm fairly confident you could find excellent recipes for both on this site!
Looking forward to trying this when grilling season is in full swing. It seems to be pretty low effort once prep/sous vide is done and the octo is chilled. Perfect for hosting guests, just drop on the grill when ready to eat...
What's the motivation for the blanch step? Keeping the skin attached?
I love octopus, I've used the 5h@77C that you recommend (took it from Keller's Under Pressure) for Galician style octopus (slice up the tentacles and top with smoked Spanish pimentón, good olive oil, and flaky salt). And do not think of dumping the juice that accumulates in the bag, it's great for risotto or (my favourite) Spanish octopus stew (make a sofrito with onion, pepper, and plenty of the same smoked pimentón, add potatoes, cook in the juice until the potatoes are done, and at the end fold up the chopped up "ugly" parts of the octopus such as head, end of tentacles, etc.)
Great recipe, i am excited to try it asap. One question why does the octopus Need 5 hours on 77°C but again 24h on 85°C? shouldnt it Need Shorter or about the same time?!
Blanching will nicely curl up the tentacles
This is my favorite thing I've read anywhere in 2017.
Would a normal consumer level vacuum sealer do the trick (Crenova/FoodSaver for example)?
Octopus tentacles curl themselves up quite well without blanching/chilling, it's just an effect of the heat. I don't think that's it...
yes
I was so excited about this I live in Seattle so went to Pike place market and bought 8lb of Octopus from Pure fish in Pike place and cooked 24hrs 85C. I am not too impressed with the results that I got, I am trying to improve for the next time, here are my thoughts:
1. My octopus was frozen, I kept it in the fridge for 3-4 days to thaw it and when it thawed it looked nothing like the picture, it had much more dark brown slimy parts (between legs) and really long tentacles that gotten very thin at the ends.
2. I think I shouldn't have chosen 24hrs 85C but instead chosen the 5hr option since it had gotten too soft for our tastes. We are used to Greek style a bit firm (I think they make the best Octopus ever)
3. Since it already had too many slimy parts when it was done it had gotten so soft that I couldn't even hold it with a tongs and put it on the grill it was breaking up.
So for next time I am definitely planning to use the 5hr 77C option and I really want to find the right kind of octopus, where did you buy your octopus in Pike place?
I previously have SV octopus at 75C for 6hrs before and here's what I can say for you:
1 & 3) I don't think the freezing would make octopus like that. However, the octopus I bought was much darker with a thick skin. Octopus skin seemed to break down to copious gelatin. That is why you it was slimy post cooking for you. I know many people wipe away the gelatinized skin with a towel, then sear. Maybe there's different types of octopi? Thicker skinned and light skinned ones as shown by chefsteps.
2) I've tried freeze thawing my fresh octopus and SV without freeze thaw. The freeze thawed octopus came out more tender at 6hrs.
The time/temp combos are more about achieving a certain texture, rather than simply achieving 'doneness'. (You'll notice that the lowest temp is also a 24 hour cook.)
It takes a loooooooooot of research to find the right combination(s), and I'm perfectly happy letting someone else do it for me.
Something about removing collagen from the skin? I forget. This is a pretty normal blanch, but I've seen recipes that only blanch for 30 seconds or less. I'm not sure if they think they're just killing surface bacteria or what, but I'm not sure what the utility of such a short dip is.
I've done 85C for 4H following MC and it comes out tender but firm enough to toss it in the grill. It was been my favorite time/temp combination so far but I also will try 5H@77C. 24H@85C looks like a really long time, probably best served cold.
This doesn't address the origin of the octopus. My preference is for those from the Mediterranean Sea. I tried cooking some from Asia and had terrible results. Didn't SV it though, that could have helped. Any comments? Thanks
Just a small correction: we, Spaniards, don't add aioli to octopus... Just sliced potatoes, olive oil, paprika and salt.
Read David Chang way of doing it in his book Momofuku, its excellent and comes out brilliant, just change cooking to Sous Vide and no more than 4 hours if baby Octi - his Octi vinaigrette is to die for as well.
After much trial and error, I got consistent results with simmering octopus in 1 beer for about 1 hour. I use a super low simmer. I test the octo for doneness stabbing it in the thick parts with a fork. When it goes in easily, I know it's done. Too hot or too long will disintegrate the octopus and you will lose the skin and suckers which are the best tasting parts. Odd as it sounds, I can also tell that it's done when the kitchen smells like canned cat food. I am going to try the Chefsteps method to see how it works.
@Antonio Pérez I've met a few Spaniards who would beg to differ with you. Just because you don't, doesn't mean there aren't others in your country who eat it differently than you do, or how you're used to it.
Hi guys! Is there any tip for transforming the jouled octa to carpaccio style salad? shall I first press together in a cheese-clothy type of bag the octa and then sous vide it? Which temp profile would then be the best?
Chatted with Chef Steps support and learned that this octopus is Mediterranean octopus (aka Spanish), they purchased the one they filmed from Browne Trading out of NY (https://www.brownetrading.com/species-spotlight/octopus-from-spain/). I checked their site and looks like I need to pay $60 for shipping if I get it from them. I did some research and couldn't find any local stores in Seattle that sell Spanish octopus, does anyone know?
I came here just to ask the same. I was guessing that could be something related to safety, but i still curious to now why.
Hi. If it's baby octopus do I still blanch?
@brian I agree with Antonio as another spaniard. Alioli (as we call it in Spain) is not so typical to have octopus with. Of course you can argue that anything grilled goes well with alioli and there's nothing wrong with that (hey, you may also love to use ketchup, I won't stop you) but the real dish is Pulpo a la Gallega which consists of a wooden plate, thick sliced boiled potatoes (optional), chunks of octopus on top, a drizzle of raw virgin olive oil, sea salt and Pimentón de la Vera.
smoked paprika?
Omit the salt. I've just made one big octopus and for test I salted one tentacle bag with just 1/3 of the recommended amount to see if there would be any change in structure - none, and octopus came out overly salty. Tentacles that I haven't salted, just placed in a bit of olive oil came out great, and with same texture as salted one. ChefSteps, would you please reconsider the salt/sugar usage in your recipes as I find them excessive in any recipe that you have posted.
Found 77C for 5 hours to still be quite tough.
Have seen 85C for 4 hours referenced too with people saying that was quite tender
Ignore this man chefsteps! Salt 4eva!
Hi, check this link http://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Carpaccio-di-polpo.html
there are in markets octopuss frezed in salmuera (salt 2-5% and water) if your octopus is in salmuera you don't have to put salt.
I would like the answer to Sean's question also. Large octopus are not available in my area.
probar 95º 100 minutos. Previamente dejar el pulpo limpio en una salmuera de 1% de sal y 0,6% de azúcar, durante una noche en el refrigerador. Envasar al vacío e introducir en el baño térmico. Suerte!!!!
Does anyone know if I can prepare the bags, seal them and then store them in the fridge until sous vide time (say, the day after)?
Hi, in NJ we have restaurant supply stores called; Restaurant Depot where I’ve bought Spanish Octopus from. In your area, there’s gotta be a store similar —where chefs shop for restaurants. You have to be a member, but they’ll give a one day pass to most people.
Do all , prepare it (I use (77°C 20hours), sous vide it and put the bags in the frige, then just prepare a 65°C bath and reheat for 10 minutes Terminate them, plate and serve, it will be at the frige up to 7 days. Restaurant tip Saludos!
SERGIO, LO COCINAS PIRMERO EN SOSUS VIDE, LUEGO EN ESAMIMA BOLSA LO GUARDAS EN EL REFRI? AGUANTA HASTA 7 DIAS? GRACIAS!!! SALUDOS!!
Trata con el pulpo de Mexico, lo llaman pulpo Maya, de Yucatan o Campeche. Pruebalo y veras que es un pulpo muy tierno.
Yes, the sous vide Andalusian needs a big pot and a massive grill to finish though.
Can I cook the octopus sous vide, then chill it and hold it for a day? I want to cook it tonight but finish it tomorrow night.
Edit: I want to use the 5 hour time/temp.
Does it help to brine the octopus before sous vide?
Yeah, you can do that. I cooked at a place that did that all the time.
The first temp makes no sense to me. Collagen doesn't break down into gelatin until it reaches 160°F/70°C. There's no amount of time at 140/60 that could cook it properly. You would have to further cook it - braise it or whatever - in order to make it edible, at which point you might as well just braise it to begin with. Anyone here tried that time/temp combo?
I have bought precooked Spanish Octopus at Uwajimaya in Portland but they originated in Seattle I believe. The sell tako from Japan. I find the tako too chewy. The Spanish was cooked perfectly. They have bigger raw frozen octopus but I think it is Asian.
As is noted in Modernist Cuisine, a lot of what you've read in cookbooks about how collagen converts to gelatin is inaccurate. In fact, it will occur as at temps low as 122°F, but will take longer, and low temps have the advantage of causing less shrinkage of collagen fibers, giving a juicier result. There are actually several processes involved, not just the temperature-dependent denaturation of collagen fibers and fibrils, but also the action of endogenous collangenase enzymes at lower temps.
hi. I followed the instructions and got wonderful results, the octopus was excellent!. However... I have a question. I weighted the octopus right before putting it in the sous vide, it was close to 800 grams. After the five hours, I ended up with 250 grams of octopus and 550 grams of liquid in the bag. Is this what I should normally expect or the guys that sold it to me did a wonderful job filling it with water to increase its weight?
Hello. I cooked about 1kg of octupus tentacles using the 77C 5h combination. The texture was perfect and the starter ended up stealing the show, you could cut it with just the fork.
Instead of olive oil I used Brazilian azeite de dendê for a more exotic flavour and broiled it in the oven just before serving. To go with it a made a coconut and allspice souce and a topping of tomato-onion-lemon vinaigrette
Very clever. I'll try.
Can you tell us how to make the coconut/allspice sauce?
The same happened with me. I think salt promotes the octopus to loose water and 5 h at 77oC is too much time. I'll try againg without salt and test 4 h and 4h30 at sous vide. I've eaten octopus in Galicia and the spices were added only after cooking.
No recipe is fool-proof, but this one is pretty fool-resistant. I add some herbs in the bag (rosemary, most recently) and then serve the octopus on a bed a salad, with a creamy chipotle-spiked sauce on the side.
Octopuses or octopodes, please, not "octopi".
+1
Nice
Is the 85C for 24HR a typo? I tried and it's way too soft and soggy.
I went the 140 °F / 60 °C for 24 hours route. It was my first attempt at sous vide ever.
It worked magically. Texture was amazing. Like, imagine the texture a hot dog has? very similar. Just soft enough to be easily cut with a fork, but not softer. Best octopus i ever had.
It is in fact correct, if you would like it firmer I would go with the 60°c option in the joule app.
Blanch for 10 minutes? Do you mean seconds?
I want to make a octopus ragu. Can I Sous vide it to speed up the base process and then finish by reducing or do you think it will get tough.
I blindly bought a 4 lb octopus from a seafood pickup market this week. It is frozen right now. Is there a way to cook it sous vide and portion it out and freeze it again so I have cooked octopus for future dishes?
You can freeze cooked octopus no problem.
