Saturday, April 21, 2007

A perfect afternoon to BBQ


mister anchovy's bbq suggestion of the day (OR, what we had for dinner)

BBQ Octopus

Start with a plump octopus. Depending on where you live, you may have to use a frozen octopus. Fortunately, frozen ones bbq up just fine.

I cut the octopus up into 8 sections. I have no idea what to do with the pouch-shaped body section, and so I confess I don't attempt to do anything with it. Marinate the arms for a while with half lemon juice, half olive oil.

Fire up the charcoal grill, good and hot. Grill the octopus on very high heat. Let the tentacles get a little brown and crispy. I grill a plump octopus for maybe 20 or 25 minutes, depending on the heat and the size of the octopus.

When it's ready, cut it into bite-sized pieces (I leave the ends longer and the thicker parts smaller. Place all the pieces into a bowl. Add a generous handful of chopped up basil. Squeeze some lemon over it, and drizzle it with excellent olive oil. Then toss and enjoy.

6 comments:

Timmer said...

Yeah baby!

Red said...

Mmm... that sounds delicious!

But there must be something that can be done with the body, no? It seems like such a waste of an octopus life to use just the tentacles... Have you tried slicing it into rings (like squid rings, effectively) and bbq-ing it? Or maybe it could be stuffed with vegetables and breadcrumbs?

Wandering Coyote said...

Yum! I saw something similar to this on David Rocco's Dolce Vita. We're having calamari tonight. Shan bough whole squid and cleaned them up herself. Can't wait!

mister anchovy said...

OK, the challenge is out there....who can tell us what to do with the pouch-like body part of an octopus?

Gardenia said...

A plump octopus? Yer barbecuing octopus? Next, I want to know what is in the plumped up body - if it is like oysters it could be poopoo. In which case, you need to put it in your garden. Oh well, this from a person who eats crawfish ettouffe...hope I spelled that right

mister anchovy said...

Oh oh, I'm in trouble now. I consulted my friend Pedro who loves octopus. He said, "What do you mean you don't know what to do with the body and head?....they're the best parts...the tenderist. Wait'll I tell my family. They'll get a great laugh out of this at the dinner table.