Seared Octopus - It's Really Easy!

I was at Costco with my sister one day when I visited Boston, and we happened to walk by the seafood section. I’m a huge fan of octopus, and despite their hefty price tag, I’m always tempting to order at restaurants. We saw that octopi were on sale and decided to get some first, and figure out how to cook the octopus second.  

One quick lookup over at the Serious Eats's guide on octopus and we were ready to roll. We didn't even have to salt the octopus - it was naturally salty, perhaps because of the seawater? It's incredibly easy to cook and yields spectacular results on our first try.

Seared Octopus

INGREDIENTS
1 octopus, about 800g-1kg
1-2 tablespoons of Olive oil, plus more for drizzling 
Lime or lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Coarse salt, for serving (optional)

STEPS

1. Set the octopus into a pot of boiling water set over high heat and bring it to a simmer. Cook until a paring knife is able to pierce through the thickest part of the tentacle easily. An octopus weighing 1kg would take about 1 hour; ours was about 800g and took 40 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the octopus from the boiling water and let the octopus cool completely. 

2. Refrigerate the octopus. This ensures the fragile purple skin doesn't get rubbed off, and should be done even if you plan to serve the octopus warm subsequently. When refrigerated, the octopus can be kept for up to 3 days. 

3. When ready to serve, the octopus can be carved up to separate the head from the tentacles. The tentacles can be sliced into 3-4 inch pieces. On the underside of the head, you will find the hard beak of the octopus - it should be cut and thrown away. Eyes should be removed. The octopus can be served cold as it is now, or seared (step 4). 

4. Over a frying pan set over high heat, add olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the octopus slices. Sear one side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, then flip it over to sear the other side. Serve immediately, with wedges of lime or lemon for seasoning. It goes well as a dish by itself, or as part of a salad.