There’s a jar of beautifully marinated octopus that you can buy from the main grocery store near here. Unfortunately at $12 for a small jar, I only buy it once a year. But I’m absolutely addicted to it, and since buying octopus is well priced, I thought I’d give this a go. Larger octopus is also available, but since I’m starting out, I’d rather try baby octopus (it makes me less squeamish).

Meanwhile, octopus is a fussy thing when it comes to cook time. You don’t want it undercooked (ugh) but overcooked and you may as well chew a car tyre. Tasty. After lots of researching online (some say cook it low and slow, others the quick blanch technique), I’m pretty sure I have the right timing. It worked out well for me anyways!

How to make your own pickled baby octopus

 

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Prep time

168 hours

Cook time

3 mins

Total time

168 hours 3 mins

 

Author: Bryt

Ingredients

• 2 cups defrosted cleaned baby octopus
• 1 cup vinegar
• ½ c canola oil
• 1 tsp dried chilli
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Start by bringing a pot of water to boil and at the same time, turn on the grill or bbq.
2. Once the water is boiled and the grill is hot, plunge the baby octopus in to the boiling water to blanch for 1 minute.
3. Then remove, and place on the grill, cooking it for another 1 minute either side.
4. Remove from the heat and place the octopus in a jar with a sealable lid.
5. In a frying pan on the stove, toss together the chilli, garlic and oregano with a bit of canola oil to start to release the flavours.
6. Pour in over the octopus, then top with the rest of the vinegar and canola oil.
7. Give it a good stir, then make sure the octopus is before the surface (otherwise fill with more vinegar and oil to top).
8. Place in the fridge for a week before eating.

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