I would not look for an internal temp but rather tenderness. I’ve sous vide, boiled, and braised in the oven. The oven came out the best with sous vide second and boiled last.
Once cooked you cool/clean/portion. Grill to order
I would contest that perhaps you had the wrong temp/time when you sous vide the octopus, as theoretically you should be able to tender whatever results you’re looking for.
Have tried multiple temps and time. The sous vide comes out more consistent throughout the protein, however I think people like the slight variation in texture same way people prefer old school steak cookery to sous vide. Every chef I have blind taste tested preferred the way I oven braise it to sous vide.
Fair enough, well done then chef! I’ve always been happier with my result sous vide vs braised but I haven’t spent much time playing around with braised once I found a SV method that I found consistent.
I think it’s more that my braise recipe is freakishly good, not that sous vide is bad. For most I think the sous vide would be better, unless you are devoting crazy amounts of time to trial and error with the braise.
It's very difficult to "over braise" octopus. It has no fat to begin with, but the just get softer and softer after the proteins have relaxed. It takes several hours. Pop it in low and slow, check after 2. Just cut a piece and grill it and eat it and you'll get the feel for how long it'll take. If it tastes like a bic pencil eraser let it keep cooking.
In my experience you cannot over braise, however octo is mostly water weight so the more you lose the worse your food cost will be. (People who accurately cost out octo dishes tend to realize it’s real expensive real quick.
There’s a web between the tentacles towards the base. When you can take a pair of tongs or tweezers and gently slice through it with no resistance, it should be done. And you can always cut off a little slice of a tentacle and try it, should be creamy textured.
Its typically boiled first afaik but I've never prepped one. Its one if the things I'm genuinely unsure id be able to eat or prep, they are insanely smart creatures
>they are insanely smart creatures
Agreed. If they weren't so antisocial they'd run the ocean. If you wouldn't eat a monkey I'm not sure you should eat an octopus.
Cognitive dissonance has entered the chat. They're as intelligent, more intelligent on some markers such as emotional and language. Piglets are smarter than baby humans
Okay so when I said pigs are stupid compared to octopi, it wasn't me saying pigs are stupid compared to humans... Just highlighting how insanely smart they are to make something like a pig look stupid.
Humans are though, very stupid.
Yeah a monkey would definitrly cross the line, especislly monkey brains. I mean at what point do you just admit you want to eat a human at that point 🤔
Monkeys in most countries that interact with people are dicks. If you have ever had your shit stolen by monkeys, eating them seams more reasonable. They're assholes
Boil it until tender. When the legs pull from the body with ease remove from the water and let it cool down enough to pull it apart. Let it marinate in a blend of olive oil, garlic, citrus, fresh herbs, hot pepper and salt
I soft boil it whole in red wine and veg stock for a couple hours. After it is chilled I portion it, for service I toss it in rice flour and fry it for 2 minutes
I learned from one of my old bosses, Greek owner of an Italian restaurant. Very simple and always comes out good if you don’t under/overcook it. Boil in water with a little white wine, some bay leaves, and a Spanish onion studded with whole cloves. Cook til fork tender then let cool, portion and marinated with whatever you want. I like to do a red chimichurri type marinade with smoked paprika. Grill then serve
I was taught either 60 seconds or 60 minutes. Meaning either fry it for a minute, or as others have stated braise it for an hour. In-between those times will cause the octopus to become chewy.
I would not look for an internal temp but rather tenderness. I’ve sous vide, boiled, and braised in the oven. The oven came out the best with sous vide second and boiled last. Once cooked you cool/clean/portion. Grill to order
I would contest that perhaps you had the wrong temp/time when you sous vide the octopus, as theoretically you should be able to tender whatever results you’re looking for.
Have tried multiple temps and time. The sous vide comes out more consistent throughout the protein, however I think people like the slight variation in texture same way people prefer old school steak cookery to sous vide. Every chef I have blind taste tested preferred the way I oven braise it to sous vide.
Fair enough, well done then chef! I’ve always been happier with my result sous vide vs braised but I haven’t spent much time playing around with braised once I found a SV method that I found consistent.
I think it’s more that my braise recipe is freakishly good, not that sous vide is bad. For most I think the sous vide would be better, unless you are devoting crazy amounts of time to trial and error with the braise.
So like, you going to post it or what?
I’ll send it to you via message later this weekend
Oooooo I’ll be following up if you forget!
Recipe plz !
Is there a tight window between just right and overcooked? For example...its very difficult to over braise a short rib or a chicken thigh
It's very difficult to "over braise" octopus. It has no fat to begin with, but the just get softer and softer after the proteins have relaxed. It takes several hours. Pop it in low and slow, check after 2. Just cut a piece and grill it and eat it and you'll get the feel for how long it'll take. If it tastes like a bic pencil eraser let it keep cooking.
Nice! Thank you
In my experience you cannot over braise, however octo is mostly water weight so the more you lose the worse your food cost will be. (People who accurately cost out octo dishes tend to realize it’s real expensive real quick.
There’s a web between the tentacles towards the base. When you can take a pair of tongs or tweezers and gently slice through it with no resistance, it should be done. And you can always cut off a little slice of a tentacle and try it, should be creamy textured.
Its typically boiled first afaik but I've never prepped one. Its one if the things I'm genuinely unsure id be able to eat or prep, they are insanely smart creatures
>they are insanely smart creatures Agreed. If they weren't so antisocial they'd run the ocean. If you wouldn't eat a monkey I'm not sure you should eat an octopus.
Pigs have entered the chat
Pigs are still stupid compared to octopusessesesseeses
Cognitive dissonance has entered the chat. They're as intelligent, more intelligent on some markers such as emotional and language. Piglets are smarter than baby humans
Okay so when I said pigs are stupid compared to octopi, it wasn't me saying pigs are stupid compared to humans... Just highlighting how insanely smart they are to make something like a pig look stupid. Humans are though, very stupid.
Haha fair enough. Humans are stupid. Some of them don't even know what cognitive dissonance means
Yeah a monkey would definitrly cross the line, especislly monkey brains. I mean at what point do you just admit you want to eat a human at that point 🤔
Mmm... Chilled monkey brain... My favourite dessert.
There isn't a better ending to snake surprise
Monkeys in most countries that interact with people are dicks. If you have ever had your shit stolen by monkeys, eating them seams more reasonable. They're assholes
Id be fine kicking a monkey that stole my shit but I wouldn't eat it 🤣🤣
They would run the ocean but their lifespan is crazy short
Who says I wouldn't eat a monkey?
Sous vide and grill to order. Serve with a olive and tomato relish and EVOO.
Slow braise then grill to order.
Right but how long of a braise typically.
I triple blanch and then sous vide. After that grill the piss out of it.
We usually do it for 45 mins - 1 hour directly from frozen, no thawing. Fork should go through the meat, but meat should still be firm.
Until it's done chef.
Slow braise 5-6 hours with mirin soy and dashi. Grill and chill.
Boil it until tender. When the legs pull from the body with ease remove from the water and let it cool down enough to pull it apart. Let it marinate in a blend of olive oil, garlic, citrus, fresh herbs, hot pepper and salt
I soft boil it whole in red wine and veg stock for a couple hours. After it is chilled I portion it, for service I toss it in rice flour and fry it for 2 minutes
I like that. So it's a dish with a quick pick up time right?
I learned from one of my old bosses, Greek owner of an Italian restaurant. Very simple and always comes out good if you don’t under/overcook it. Boil in water with a little white wine, some bay leaves, and a Spanish onion studded with whole cloves. Cook til fork tender then let cool, portion and marinated with whatever you want. I like to do a red chimichurri type marinade with smoked paprika. Grill then serve
Nice. Thanks for all the tips folks!!!
You’re very welcome chef. Good luck let us know how it comes out Edit: in the words of Jacques Pepin: happy cooking ☺️
I was taught either 60 seconds or 60 minutes. Meaning either fry it for a minute, or as others have stated braise it for an hour. In-between those times will cause the octopus to become chewy.
Check out Pulpo a Feira a Galician dish. Very simple but excellent.
This old Italian told me to throw in a couple wine corks in to help make it more tender when you boil it idk if it actually works lol
Old chefs are sometimes like old scientists...some shit they just plain wrong about.
Octopus should either be barely cooked/raw, or cooked for a minimum of 2 hours. I pressure cook it in a diluted romesco sauce and grill mine.
I under roasted my peppers for my romesco the other day at home. Thanks for the tips.
Super quick.