Food Network
Our take on the best grilled octopus gets inspiration from the wonderful octopus dishes found all over the Mediterranean. It dresses tender, charred octopus with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, red wine vinegar, garlic and herbs. Much has been said about the best way to tenderize octopus, with different cooking methods (boiling, braising, sous vide, pressure cooking, etc.) and old tricks such as putting a cork in the water. We decided to test two methods that don’t require special equipment: poaching the octopus in water and braising the octopus in its own juices. While both yielded tender results in about an hour, most tasters preferred the flavor of the poached octopus. Once the octopus is cooked, you can keep it in the marinade overnight if that’s convenient; all you’ll need to do before serving is give it a quick char on the grill and garnish it. You could simply serve it with some lemon wedges, but a garnish of celery, olives and almonds add excellent flavor and texture for an impressive light meal or dinner-party first course.