Prior to cooking, you’ll need to clean your octopus to prepare it, if you’ve purchased it fresh from a market stall. Ideally you need to clean it, working through each tentacle individually, to remove any unwanted residue. If not already done for you, you’ll have to remove the innards and the eyes before cleaning the head.
To remove the beak, look for the point where the tentacles converge and push it out from underneath or cut with a small knife. You should be able to ask for help at your local grocery store, if they have a well-equipped seafood counter. Some chefs will ask for only the tentacles to make the cleaning process simpler at home, if new to cooking with octopus.
The elegance of this recipe lies in the simplicity of the seasoning and flavors. A squeeze of lemon enhances the slightly sweet and salty taste of the octopus, brightening the flavors. And fresh parsley brings a clean and peppery touch to the dish. You could also add a dash of red chilli pepper flakes, for a kick of heat, or crushed garlic cloves, for added Mediterranean-inspired flavors.
How to Tenderize Octopus Before Grilling
If you’re wondering what’s the best way to prepare octopus for grilling, then you need to ensure it’s fully tenderized first. Octopus can be tough and chewy, if you don’t soften the meat. Pounding the tentacles with a wooden spoon, or meat mallet, breaks down tough muscle fibers and begins the process of softening the meat.
Next, poaching the meat for an hour ahead of grilling softens it further, giving it the ideal texture for grilling and charring. An old kitchen myth suggests that adding a wine cork to the water for poaching tenderizes the meat even further, but this is widely thought to still be a myth without scientific backing.
If you’re planning to serve this dish for a large group of friends and family at your next backyard grill, you can actually boil the octopus the day before, and let it rest in the fridge overnight, fully covered, to save time on the day.
Mediterranean-Inspired Plating Ideas
Charred Spanish octopus is a dish commonly found across the Mediterranean, and it’s an elegant plate that lets the raw ingredients shine, with a light charring to tenderize the meat and add a smoky element.
In Greece, charred octopus is often plated alongside feta cheese, roasted peppers, hummus, and pita bread for a medley of Mediterranean flavors. Or you could try chopping your charred octopus and mixing it into a traditional Mediterranean salad, with fresh cherry tomatoes, and thinly sliced red onions.
