my first octopus

so i am stuck here in the dominican republic. my boss, instead of cancelling his vaction with friends, decides to fly here and try to enjoy his vacation at the resort where our boat is docked and has been docked for three weeks.

luckily we meet edward who takes us to la marketa for groceries.

i am elated to find a close to "real" store here although the russian section bewilders me..

i stumble upon a frozen two pound octopus caught in the local waters here off the DR. this makes me happy! i buy four!

i cook on a boat and at most times i am in remote places. i find almost all my cooking resources online. so this is where i find my info on how to cook an octopus. i find a few different variations of techniques. i decide to boil it. i want to make sure the meat is nice and tender.

i make a stock with an onion. red wine. celery stalks. generous salt. and some peppercorns.

i have read that the octopus is done when you take a knife to the upper leg portion nearest the head and pierce with a knife. it should gently slice in. like a potato.

after boiling it you can do whatever you like with your octopus!

i let the octopus simmer on the stove top covered for about forty-five minutes. this will depend on the size of the octopus. remember the octopus will still continue to cook in the water after you have removed it from the heat. i let it cool for about twenty minutes before moving the octopus to a colander in the sink to cool. once cool you can move to a cutting board. i didn't keep the head. i'm sure there are many uses for it however.

i hope to learn more about this.

the "skin" and "fat" of the octopus still confuses me a bit. some sites tell me to rub off the skin layer. in doing so i accidentally removed some of the suckers off the tentacles.

i will have to learn more about this as i love those things!!