Roasted Octopus with Tangerine Sauce, Bacon, and Oregano

Top dish at Gato

Category
Appetizer
Cuisine
Spanish
Serves
4
Time
2 days
From
Bobby Flay

octopusseafoodtangerinebacon

Adapted from Bobby Flay: Chapter One

This dish was the runaway favorite at Gato. I never thought l'd have a restaurant where every table would have octopus on it-but that was the case, there's a version of this dish on the menu at Amalfi in Las Vegas, where, once again, it's crazy popular. Getting the octopus texture just right (incredibly tender on the inside, crusty on the outside) is a long process. It's poached, marinated, grilled, and then warmed through in the oven before it's plated, but it's worth the work. Promise.

Ingredients

  • 1 (750ml) bottle white wine (Gavi or something similarly crisp and fruity)
  • 2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
  • 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
  • 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 heads garlic, halved horizontally
  • ⅓ cup whole black peppercorns
  • 1 (2-pound) octopus (or 8 tentacles)
  • 5 tablespoons neutral oil, such as avocado or canola
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves
  • 6 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
  • 4 slices bacon, cut into lardons
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 Padrón or shishito peppers
  • Good-quality extra-virgin olive oil, such as Castillo de Tabernas, for finishing

Makes about 1 cup

  • 2 cups fresh tangerine juice
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 anchovies
  • ½ finger chile, coarsely chopped
  • ¼ cup neutral oil, such as avocado or canola Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Octopus

  1. In a large pot, combine the wine, celery, carrots, tomatoes, onion, garlic, black peppercorns, and 2 quarts water and bring to a boil over high heat.
  2. Dip the octopus into the boiling liquid for 10 seconds and lift it back out. Repeat the process three times.

Finally, submerge the octopus in the liquid and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cover and poach the octopus in the liquid until tender, about 1½ hours.

  1. Remove the octopus from the poaching liquid and allow to cool before handling, about 10 minutes. Remove and discard the head. Cut the tentacles from the body and reserve the body for another use.
  2. In a medium baking dish, combine the octopus tentacles, 4 tablespoons of the neutral oil, the parsley, and 4 tablespoons of the oregano leaves. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  3. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Heat a grill to high.
  4. In a sauté pan, warm half of the tangerine sauce over medium heat.
  5. In a large sauté pan, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve the fat in the pan.
  6. Drain the marinade from the tentacles and remove and discard the aromatics. Dip the tentacles in the reserved bacon fat and place on the hot grill to char, about 3 minutes on each side. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the tentacles to a large ovenproof sauté pan, toss with the heated tangerine sauce, and place in the oven for 5 minutes.
  7. Brush the Padrón peppers with the remaining neutral oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the peppers on the hottest part of the grill. Turn every 30 seconds until they are slightly charred and blistered on all sides.

Transfer to a plate and set aside.

  1. Drizzle some of the remaining tangerine sauce on each of four medium plates. Sprinkle some of the remaining oregano leaves around each plate. Place a tentacle on each plate and sprinkle with some of the bacon. Finish with a Padrón pepper, a drizzle of finishing oil, and some freshly ground black pepper.

Tangerine Sauce

  1. In a medium sauté pan, combine the tangerine juice and honey and cook over medium heat until reduced and syrupy, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
  2. In a food processor, combine the reduced juice with the vinegar, mustard, anchovies, and chile and process until smooth. With the motor running, drizzle in enough of the avocado oil to create an emulsified sauce. Season with salt and pepper. This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.

Notes

  • you can buy tentacles at asian markets or pre-cooked tentacles at Costco or Wild Fork
  • you can use sous vide instead of poaching. Add the tentacles and aromatics to a bag and seal. Cook at 171F for 5-6 hours. Finish on the grill as in the recipe
  • this is probably too much tangerine sauce, maybe cut in half?
  • you can buy tangerine juice in most major grocery stores these days