Fishing Monthly Magazines : Grilled Pirates Bay Octopus with a hint of chilli

I remember one night floundering with a mate after work in the south of the state up to our waist in cool Tassie water when all of a sudden our battery and light stopped working.

We must have spent a good 10 minutes trying to get it going again, and when we did; I looked down in terror as a huge big red octopus was working his way up my waders.

Guess where he ended up the next night, that’s right, on the BBQ.

Here’s a really simple dish that when the octopus is prepared correctly, is a real tender treat.

I find it’s best to freeze the octopus whole, re thaw, then clean, using the tentacles only, then beaten with a wooden mallet between plastic wrap for a few minutes to get the best results.

Try some next time you catch one.

Facts

INGREDIENTS

SERVES TWO

400g Pirates Bay octopus cooked and cleaned

3 cloves garlic peeled and crushed

150mls sweet chilli sauce

150mls sweet soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 lemon halved and squeezed

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 long red chilli deseeded and chopped length ways

Sliced cucumber to serve

METHOD

Pirates Bay octopus, when purchasing from them direct, has the hard work of tenderising already done. It’s just up to you as how long and which style of cooking you prefer.

For this recipe you need to bring a 2L pot of salted water to the simmer, place the octopus in and cook for 12-15 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the heat, refresh under cold water and when cool, strip the skin from the tentacles, being careful not to remove all the suckers in the process.

With a sharp knife, cut into good bite size pieces and place into a bowl for marinating.

For the marinade, place all ingredients into a bowl, and mix thoroughly with a spoon. Pour marinade over the octopus and let stand for 15 minutes.

Heat the flat side of the BBQ or griddle pan to medium heat and place the tentacles on, turn regularly and don’t have the heat too high as the sweet sauces will caramelise too quickly or burn.

When the octopus is caramelised and hot the way through, place into a bowl and serve with fresh cucumber and a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Then the fun part, digging in!