Greek Grilling

#3 - Grilled Octopus - Oktapothi Eightfeet

3 – 4 lb Octopus

¾ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 ½ cups Red Wine Vinegar

3 T. dried Greek Oregano

2 T. Kosher Salt

2 cloves fresh chopped garlic

Two large Lemons

Pepper

Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

PREPARATION:

If your Octopus has come from “The Shrimp Dock” or a Sea Food Distributor, it has probably already been cleaned. If the Octopus has not been cleaned, remove and discard the ink sac, stomach, and eyes under running water. Remove the beak, at the bottom of the head where it joins the tentacles, with a sharp knife.

Take the raw octopus and cut off each of the eight legs. Cut into the body all the way to the beak, leaving the head remaining. Then quarter the head into four equal parts. (There should be zero waste).

COOKING:

Place the meat into a very large skillet and pour in the olive oil & red wine vinegar, chopped garlic and kosher salt. Place over high heat until mixture begins to boil. Then reduce heat to medium/low, cover and simmer for one hour. Uncover for the final ½ hour to allow the liquid to evaporate. NOTE: Octopus loses a lot of its volume during cooking, so expect that the finished dish will appear quite a bit less than the original quantity. (Up to 50% less!)

GRILLING:

Remove the Octopus from liquid and grill over charcoal or gas grill at medium heat. Grill two to three minutes on each side. Remove from grill and slice the legs at a 45 degree angle in ½ to ¾ inch thick pieces and place these pieces and the body pieces on a serving platter. Pour olive oil and red wine vinegar and squeeze both lemons all over. (Approximately ¼ cup olive oil, 1/8 cup red wine vinegar and juice of two lemons). Sprinkle oregano, salt & pepper to taste and serve.

COMPLIMENTS:

This dish can be served as an appetizer before a meal or as the main course of a light meal. A Greek Country Salad of cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, Feta Cheese & Kalamata Olives along with bread to soak up the delicious juices make a great light dinner!