Grilled Octopus
Grilled Octopus is a Mediterranean delicacy, and today we're making this phenomenal Octopus recipe step by step with video. Tender and loaded with flavor, you'll fall in love with this delicious family recipe!
Ingredients
Octopus
- 2 octopus small-medium size, or your choice
- 6 cups water
- 1 onion cut in hlaf
- 4 slices lemon
- 1 Tablespoon peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Sea salt
- 1 cup fresh herbs combo of your choice
- 2 bay leaves
Marinade
- 1 cup olive oil Mina Moroccan Olive oil is our favorite
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup herbs minced: combo of oregano, thyme, dill parsley and rosemary
- 1 Jalapeño minced, or any type of chillies
- 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper
Instructions
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Prepare the octopus first by brining the water and all remaining ingredients (except for the octopus) to a boil.
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Once boiling, gently drop the octopus tentacles first until they curl up, then add the whole octopus in.
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Lower the heat to low and have the octopus cook on low simmer until it's tender. This may take between 45 minutes-1.5 hours depending on the size of it.
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Remove the octopus from the how water pan and use a knife to slice the tentacles into strips.
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In a shallow plate, add all the marinade ingredients.
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Add the octopus tentacles into the marinade and toss well to coat. Let it sit for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
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Preheat your indoor or outdoor grill and grill the tentacles flipping every 3 minutes for a nice charred crust. Brush with the remaining marinade for maximum flavor.
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Serve right away and enjoy
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Grilled Octopus Tips and FAQ
- You can use any size octopus for this recipe, we used baby octopus here. The cooking time is the only variable to consider.
- Make sure to have your fishmonger clean up the heads for you.
- If buying frozen octopus , defrost it well at first.
- Boiling the octopus makes it tender and cooked through so you don't need to worry about it while grilling.
- Make sure it's cooking on a gentle simmer.
- Avoid over boiling the octopus as it becomes dry and tasteless
- The marinade we used here is purely a Mediterranean one, a family recipe ❤️ However you can swap ingredients and make it your own!
- Let the octopus soak up the marinade for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
- Make sure not to discard the marinade as it will be used to brush the octopus with.
- An indoor grill or outdoor grill can be used for the recipe.
Why Make Octopus At Home?
It's much easier than you think! Plus you can customize the taste and flavors, and you're guaranteed tender octopus as you control cooking! Octopus is one of the pricey items on the menu, so make it at home and impress your family and friends!
What size octopus to use?
There's no perfect size, while we prefer baby to medium size octopus, I know some prefer the large size. As mentioned above, cooking time is the only factor to consider, not the size.
Why do you need to boil Octopus?
The main goal is to make it tender by breaking down the tissue collagen in the muscle into soft gelatin.
How long to Boil Octopus?
Baby octopus will require 45 mins-1 hour of boiling time. Medium sized octopus needs 1 hour-75 minutes, while larger octopus may need between 1 hour and half to 2 hours. You'll know as you feel how tender the meat is. Make sure the water is on a gentle simmer.
Can you cook octopus in advance?
You can boil the octopus a day in advance, and have it marinate in the fridge. Another option is to cook the octopus and freeze it without marinade, then defrost it and marinate it for a day before grilling.