How to Cut an Octopus
Octopus is a delicious dish that is quick and easy to prepare. You can buy cleaned octopus, or for a really fresh treat, you can clean it yourself. Octopus can be cut and cleaned with little effort. Octopus has a tendency to be tough and chewy; tenderize a fresh octopus by beating it on a rock. About 40 hits should do. If you are at home, use a meat mallet to tenderize the flesh. Scoring the surface of the flesh will also tenderize the octopus. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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1
Tenderize the octopus by beating it on a rock or with a kitchen mallet.
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2
Rinse the octopus body and tentacles to remove salt and sand.
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3
Lay the octopus on your chopping board. Locate the eyes at the bottom of the head and just above the tentacles. Hold the head in one hand and cut between the eyes and the tentacles.
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4
Cut a slice off the bottom of the head to remove the eyes. Discard the eyes.
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5
Clean the head by slicing along the back of the head which is opposite the eyes. Use your hands to remove the dark brown innards. The innards and ink sacs are held in place with small fleshy tubes. Use your fingers to break through the fleshy tubes. Remove the innards and discard.
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6
Rinse the head in clean water and peel the skin from the head. If you are struggling to grip the skin, sprinkle some salt on your hands. You can also parboil the body for five to 10 minutes and then peel the skin off when the head is cool enough to handle.
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7
Locate the beak in the middle of the tentacles and push it through to remove it. You can push on either side to remove the beak. Discard the beak. If the octopus is very large, you may need to cut around the beak before pushing it through.
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8
Cut large tentacles into rings and small tentacles into bite-sized pieces.
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Tips & Warnings
Score the flesh with a knife to help with tenderizing.
Marinating the flesh also helps with tenderizing.
References
Resources
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