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  • Post #31 - December 25th, 2007, 11:04 am
    Post #31 - December 25th, 2007, 11:04 am Post #31 - December 25th, 2007, 11:04 am
    Does anyone know a good place to purchase fresh baby octopus? (Like the kind they serve at Greek Islands, which I thought was delicious!)

    Thank you!
  • Post #32 - December 25th, 2007, 11:40 am
    Post #32 - December 25th, 2007, 11:40 am Post #32 - December 25th, 2007, 11:40 am
    jiahuo wrote:Does anyone know a good place to purchase fresh baby octopus? (Like the kind they serve at Greek Islands, which I thought was delicious!)
    I saw baby octopi at devon market last night. It looked fresh. Do you have a favorite way of preparing it? I love octopus, but have never cooked it myself.

    Devon Market
    1440 W Devon Ave
    Chicago, IL 60660
    (773) 338-2572
  • Post #33 - December 25th, 2007, 1:13 pm
    Post #33 - December 25th, 2007, 1:13 pm Post #33 - December 25th, 2007, 1:13 pm
    I lived on Puget Sound near Seattle for four years. As soon as I got to know my neighbors, they told me to buy a wetsuit and taught me to skin dive. After about three years, Jacques Cousteau arrived in the Calypso for some shipyard repair work. He appeared on TV and explained that he and his crew were delighted to spend some time here because "Puget Sound is home to the largest octopuses in the world."

    I just about wet my wetsuit. Nobody ever told me that, and I had been swimming around with them for three years! :o

    Actually, they are so shy that they are almost impossible to see, let alone catch. They do make great chowder, though. The most common method is "bluestoning" where you take a cloth bag full of copper sulfate crystals and put it on a stick. thrust that into a crevice where you think there's an octopus hiding and out he comes, and you grab him. Or vice versa.

    They cannot stand the copper sulfate in the water.

    Before you try this in Lake Michigan, I should point out that it's COMPLETELY against the law. :roll:
    Suburban gourmand
  • Post #34 - December 25th, 2007, 1:30 pm
    Post #34 - December 25th, 2007, 1:30 pm Post #34 - December 25th, 2007, 1:30 pm
    I've seen them frozen at Super H-Mart.

    These are a fresh batch I purchased from another market, which came completely whole (including beaks, eyeballs, ink, guts, etc), but were delicious. I think I'll try the pre-cleaned next.

    Image
  • Post #35 - December 25th, 2007, 1:32 pm
    Post #35 - December 25th, 2007, 1:32 pm Post #35 - December 25th, 2007, 1:32 pm
    MikeLM wrote:Before you try this in Lake Michigan, I should point out that it's COMPLETELY against the law. :roll:


    Saltwater?
  • Post #36 - December 28th, 2007, 12:12 am
    Post #36 - December 28th, 2007, 12:12 am Post #36 - December 28th, 2007, 12:12 am
    Of course--Super H Mart. Thanks for the suggestions. I will see if I can find some. And I'll get up to Devon Market one of these days.

    Have never prepared baby octopus before, but I will search for different recipes. They serve a really good grilled baby octopus at Greek Islands in Chicago.
  • Post #37 - December 28th, 2007, 4:24 pm
    Post #37 - December 28th, 2007, 4:24 pm Post #37 - December 28th, 2007, 4:24 pm
    Saltwater?

    Yeah, pretty much just kidding. I've never heard about any octopusses in Lake Michigan. :shock:

    It is illegal in Washington State waters, at least. Several divers got busted each year by the octopus police, or whoever kept an eye on these things.
    Suburban gourmand
  • Post #38 - December 28th, 2007, 5:33 pm
    Post #38 - December 28th, 2007, 5:33 pm Post #38 - December 28th, 2007, 5:33 pm
    MikeLM wrote:Saltwater?

    Yeah, pretty much just kidding. I've never heard about any octopusses in Lake Michigan. :shock:

    It is illegal in Washington State waters, at least. Several divers got busted each year by the octopus police, or whoever kept an eye on these things.


    Just wondering if it's illegal to take octopus or just the method of capture?
  • Post #39 - April 27th, 2008, 6:12 pm
    Post #39 - April 27th, 2008, 6:12 pm Post #39 - April 27th, 2008, 6:12 pm
    In this article, a Pittsburgh chef named Eric Wallace says that the way to ensure tender octopus is to drop wine corks in the cooking water.

    Anybody ever heard of that? It was a new one on me, but a little Googling confirmed it as a traditional practice. Harold McGee confirms my sense that it probably doesn't work, however.
  • Post #40 - April 28th, 2008, 1:09 am
    Post #40 - April 28th, 2008, 1:09 am Post #40 - April 28th, 2008, 1:09 am
    All I can say is I've heard the same and seen it done a few times. I've never personally cooked octopus but I know that it's a common thing.
    GOOD TIMES!
  • Post #41 - June 3rd, 2019, 10:17 am
    Post #41 - June 3rd, 2019, 10:17 am Post #41 - June 3rd, 2019, 10:17 am
    On my short list of things I want to do this summer: charcoal grill fish and octopus.

    Any tips I should consider?

    Thanks!

    Regards,
    Cathy2
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #42 - June 3rd, 2019, 10:50 am
    Post #42 - June 3rd, 2019, 10:50 am Post #42 - June 3rd, 2019, 10:50 am
    not real tips but i've had good success with the long simmer - cool down - marinade - short high heat grill approach to cooking the large octopus for sale at fresh farms on toughy
  • Post #43 - June 4th, 2019, 5:27 am
    Post #43 - June 4th, 2019, 5:27 am Post #43 - June 4th, 2019, 5:27 am
    Second the above.
    For baby, you can go directly to the grill but be fast.
    As Posted for large, slow poach and then grill briefly.
    Fresh Farms Mediterranean are the best.
    -Richard
  • Post #44 - June 4th, 2019, 6:36 pm
    Post #44 - June 4th, 2019, 6:36 pm Post #44 - June 4th, 2019, 6:36 pm
    I grill "baby octopus" several times a year. I buy it at Caputo's on Harlem and Grand in Elmwood park. They are much bigger than the ones pictured above from 2007, with the tentacles being a little smaller than my little finger and the bodies a little smaller than a golf ball. They are sold in the fresh fish counter and are already tenderized. The only prep. is removing the eyes and the beaks and marinating overnight. Throw them on the grill keep turning until they have the nice char.(you can tell when they are done). I usually slice them up, put them on a hot sizzle pan, use a drizzle of evo and squeeze of lemon. Usually gone before I get any so I sample from the grill.
    "I drink to make other people more interesting."
    Ernest Hemingway
  • Post #45 - June 4th, 2019, 6:50 pm
    Post #45 - June 4th, 2019, 6:50 pm Post #45 - June 4th, 2019, 6:50 pm
    we like to sous vide octopus w a little ginger and scallion and then sear it in cast iron or flash grill.
  • Post #46 - September 16th, 2021, 8:05 pm
    Post #46 - September 16th, 2021, 8:05 pm Post #46 - September 16th, 2021, 8:05 pm
    Costco cooked octopus.

    Lightly coated cooked octopus in oil, grilled to a nice char along with red/green pepper. Let steam, de-skinned peppers. Dressing of shallot, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, fresh oregano, s/p. Diced celery, cubed potato, shallot, olive, feta. Mix mix mix, let hang out for a while.

    Turned out nice, got a thumbs up from my mildly picky bride.

    click to enlarge
    Image
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    Costco cooked octopus, count me a Fan!
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #47 - September 16th, 2021, 8:34 pm
    Post #47 - September 16th, 2021, 8:34 pm Post #47 - September 16th, 2021, 8:34 pm
    Man, my Costco doesn't get any of the cool stuff. I've never seen that, duck, and other things people find wonderful.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #48 - September 19th, 2021, 2:23 pm
    Post #48 - September 19th, 2021, 2:23 pm Post #48 - September 19th, 2021, 2:23 pm
    Yeah, I'm with JoelF. My Costco in Burlington VT never does anything cool. It's all, like, Midwest. In Montréal there are 7 Costco stores and each one is different, according to the neighborhood. But of course I haven't been able to cross the border since COVID, so I'm limited to the ever so boring Vermont Costco's fare.

    At least they usually have hanger steak or flap meat...

    Geo
    Sooo, you like wine and are looking for something good to read? Maybe *this* will do the trick! :)
  • Post #49 - September 20th, 2021, 7:14 am
    Post #49 - September 20th, 2021, 7:14 am Post #49 - September 20th, 2021, 7:14 am
    The always-excellent Taqueria Chingon has recently started serving an al pastor octopus taco. A nice change of pace variation on the theme.

    https://www.facebook.com/taqueriachingo ... 24634/?t=4

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