Tacos of Tender Octopus in Oaxacan Red Mole Sauce

Tacos of Tender Octopus in Oaxacan Red Mole Sauce

This deliciously tender octopus recipe combines the meaty, lush tender texture of octopus with a blend of chili peppers and velvety mole sauce.

 

Ingredients for 2

  • 2 Small Octopuses (approx. 400g/14oz each)
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
  • Sea Salt

 

Steps

  1. Set Anova Precision Cooker to 170F/76.5C.
  2. Clean octopus. Remove heads from octopus by cutting about halfway between the head and the tentacles. Remove the beak with the tip of your knife.
  3. Blanche octopus. Bring a large stockpot of water to the boil, without salt. Drop the octopus in the water for 2-3 minutes to firm them up.
  4. Immediately drop into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.
  5. Cut one octopus in half with 4 tentacles on each piece. Cut the second octopus into 8 pieces, or one for each tentacle. Add the octopus, olive oil, salt, and lime juice to a ziploc bag or vacuum seal bag.

Finishing Steps -- Sear and Dress

  1. Remove bag from the water bath. Scoop out the tentacles with tongs and save the water in the bag for soup or broth later.
  2. Heat a large skillet with a knob of butter until it's piping hot. Add the pieces of octopus to sear very quickly -- maybe 30 seconds each side.
  3. Toss the seared octopus in the mole Mayanshul gravy. This should be a fast coating in hot sauce. You don't want to keep the octopus cooking.
  4. Garnish and serve immediately. I used fresh cilantro, thinly sliced red onion.
  5. You can cut the octopus into small pieces and serve in a corn taco

 

 

 

Back to blog