So I had my first taste of Octopus last weekend. I had it in an appetizer with citrus cured Tuna and shrimp with mango salsa and red caviar. The Octo was surprising in flavor...once I got past the texture. It had an odd cinnamon flavor to it, as my wife noted...kind of nutty or musky too, I thought. I'll probably try it again...

Anyone else have any favorite octopus dishes?

Octomatt :octopus:

Interesting! I've yet to bite into an octopus (to my knowledge :) ). Tell me more about the texture... unsettling?

Back in the days when I still ate cephs, I had Octopus in a Sicilian style seafood salad, which also included calamari and shrimp. As I recall the Octo had a rather rubbery texture, but tasted OK -- like the calamari. Now that I'm a were-squid, I no longer practice cannibalism, even in my biped form. Chacun à son ceph....

:squid:
Me

in chunks octo can be a bit chewy...(moreso than clams) although as sushi, it wasnt as obvious....i guess its the way it was cut.... ive never detected any particular flavour when eating octo, so i guess its like several things, being as good as the sauce...


:tentacle: The Yog Shaggoth of Calamari :tentacle:

Wkiboko

The texture of the octo I had wasn't as chewey as some of the (bad) calamari I've had. I will say that I prefer (good) calamari over octopus. Still, quite good...it had been boiled, then cured in the same citrus as the shrimp and tuna. Yum...

WOO HOO! That last post popped my rank up from Bimac to Vulgaris!

:D

Personally, I much prefer tender chunks of marinated thigh from cows to the severed arms of innocent cephalopods. But I grew up on a dairy farm, and have a deep abiding hatred of cows. I smile everytime I pass a butcher...
Greg

dont get me wrong, i put more than my share of beef away each week, but i still like seafood.... the trick with octos and squid and any other squishy sea creature for that matter is not to over cook.... maybe i should try phil's ammonite recipe one of these days :lol:


:cthulhu: :heart: :beer:

Ooh, overcooking is a real risk with squid and octos. If you are boil an octopus too long, which is easy to do, it will become tender again if you keep boiling it for thirty minutes. I prefer octopus grilled whole.

If it swims, I want to eat it, and octopus and squid are both very good eating. But like so many on TONMO, I too have pretty much stopped eating octopus except in one or two exceptional seafood restaurants, where you can have them perfectly prepared. Hunger is setting in ...

:octopus:

Melissa

"moo"
Smack! Whap! Whisk whisk! Hack hack!
Chew.
Yummm.

'nuff said.
Greg

eww, why would anyone even think about eating an octo?!? :bonk:

I would rather eat "two-legged mutton" than an octopus...fish flavoured bubble gum doesn't appeal to me!
Now, where is that pesky cow... :twisted:
Greg

eww, why would anyone even think about eating an octo?!? :bonk:

to hijack a quote: "because it is there"


:cthulhu: :heart: :beer:

thats mean :(

Whats up with the irrational cow hatred Greg?

My family owned a rather large spread of dairies in Minnesota...so I spent a lot of time smelling cow-cr&*...and having to deal with the buggers.
Not hatred, just love to eat them.
Boy, am I MAD !
Greg :x

I know what that smells like......Beef is my favourite meat, just for the record :)

Yep good stuff. But I will eat anything and everything if given a chance...although I don't care for the 100 year egg thing, or for live worms...
Hard to beat a nice rare T-bone! :D
Greg

Century eggs? We kinda like to eat em down here, they ain't half bad.

I've only had the hundred year eggs in soup, and didn't even notice them. My friend ordered everything in Chinese, and then said "Since you have a cold, I told them to put a preserved egg in your soup. It's good for you." I'll probably have that again very soon for the year of the monkey. Why is there no year of the octopus?

Melissa

When Tonmo goes Fear Factor this is the result. :madsci:

BTW - I am a meat and seafood broker so please keep eating it ALL up.
Thanks!!!!!!! :D

Well, if you like all of that, try the fermented Palolao worms...I hear that they taste great!
Just think of the banquet at Tonmocon.... :shock:
Greg

BTW - I am a meat and seafood broker so please keep eating it ALL up.
Thanks!!!!!!! :D

SO what kind of discounts are you willing to offer us? (but more importantly me :twisted: )

Worms? eww.....I hate those stuff like snails. Anyone for chicken feet in dark soy sauce? By the way the fish egg sacks that the guy in fear factor ate is nothing. Try those at Japanese restaurants, they are delicious.

My parasitology prof. went to the area where they eat these worms, and brought back some specimens, as well as a slide show...this is how the annual feast goes:
Obtain annelid worms. soak in a mixture of goat milk and seawater for 3-7 days until fermented and mostly dissolved.
Have young pre-pubescent boys chew up betel nuts and spit resulting saliva into large cups during this curing time.
Serve worm mixture over goat meat, with cups of betel spit to wash it all down with.
Enjoy!

Greg

Whats up with the saliva part?

Well, the juices from the nut are somewhat intoxicating when digested, and I guess the elders don't want to have to waste time chewing the awful tasting stuff, so they have the young boys do it and then drink the resulting saliva mixture.
sounds grotesque to me, but who am I to judge???? After all, I like Light beer !
Greg

:shock: Have they ever heard of a blender, juicer or strainer?

Alright I can handle everything until the darn lite beer. :bonk:

SO what kind of discounts are you willing to offer us? (but more importantly me )

Well Kiboko, I have a herd of BSE infected cattle that are really cheap right now if anyone is interested.

Since we are talking meat here for a sec thought I would share a international ad campaign to raise the awareness of pork consumption.

This an actual billboard that I believe the words meanings may have been redefined in the translation.

:lol:

Well, if you insist.

Oh, I've never tasted seafood before, not even fish, well does breaded fish sticks count?? :elvis: :heee:

Not eaten fish before??? Well actually fishsticks do count.

Well Kiboko, I have a herd of BSE infected cattle that are really cheap right now if anyone is interested.

I'll give you 39cents a pound for standing rib roast, mad cow or not... if it is bse+, i guess ill pass on the oxtail.....

o.V - i find that extremely hard to believe... where do you live?

I've only had the hundred year eggs in soup, and didn't even notice them.

IMHO, hundred-year eggs are an acquired taste. I used to like 'em, but lately I've been turned off to them. They have practically no texture, but the taste is rather gamey or liver-like.... sorta rancid. (Well, that's what they are, ain't they?) Then again, my husband cannot fathom what I love about broccoli rabe -- "How can you eat that awful bitter stuff?" But I can't get enough of it. Go figure.

A little off-topic (and a little off in general),
Tani

Then again, my husband cannot fathom what I love about broccoli rabe -- "How can you eat that awful bitter stuff?" But I can't get enough of it. Go figure.

A little off-topic (and a little off in general),
Tani

Next we'll be discussing brussel sprouts, marmite/vegemite and krill patties again :twisted:

J

While I was away, we ate no cephalopods, but saw some very good looking (from a culinary perspective) squid at the market.

Melissa