The 8 steps to perfect octopus
First freeze your octopus. Abbie Reid walks us through the process.
Making octopus taste like crayfish is a 50 to 60 hour process and a true ‘‘labour of love’’. If anyone could transform a fishing byproduct like octopus into a visual and culinary feast, it would be Inati’s chef and owner, Simon Levy.
The Cuisine Top 100 Christchurch restaurant’s menu is divided equally between ‘‘earth’’ (vegetarian), ‘‘land’’ (meat) and ‘‘sea’’, which reflects Levy’s determination to push his guests’ boundaries. Among the unconventional dishes on offer are a ‘‘pig’s head’’ plate that includes the tongue, ear, brain and jowl of the pig (picking which bit is which is almost impossible); ‘‘boeuf-nuts’’ (doughnuts filled with braised beef cheeks), and ‘‘duck trumpets’’, which are house-made waffle cones filled with blackberry jam and duck liver parfait.
Every plate is designed to surprise and delight, the charred octopus with chilli and lemon ($18) chief among them.
‘‘Octopus is not used much,’’ Levy says. ‘‘It’s really hard to get people to try it. Everyone prefers their deep-fried calamari.’’ But it’s a dish his regulars order over and over again.
A far cry from the over-processed, completely unrecognisable deep-fried bar snack, Inati’s octopus is the real deal. It arrives looking completely, disconcertingly recognisable, with dark red tentacles and confronting suckers still intact. Diners can probably imagine it swimming around off the South Island’s West Coast or Kaikoura, and Levy says guests sometimes ask if the suckers will attach to their tongue when they eat.
They needn’t worry. It’s a delicate, meaty dish, with zings of lemon, a buzz from the chilli, a savoury fish head emulsion, and a generous smear of Inati’s signature hot sauce to tie it all together. Citrus and chilli are a classic seafood pairing, and it’s often classic flavours that work the best.
Its preparation, which balances a desire to transform the octopus with the desire to preserve its flavour, involves eight steps, beginning with freezing.
While many restaurants avoid freezing protein as it breaks down the texture of the meat – a no-no for anyone dealing with delicate steak, for instance – freezing is key for octopus, Levy says. That breakdown is instrumental in making it palatable.
Once out of the freezer, it is thawed, brined, poached and cleaned, before being slow-cooked, chilled again, then pan seared to order.
The team has found that the amount of time needed for processing octopus changes with the seasons. In warmer months, when the octopus swims in warmer waters, it takes longer to achieve the perfect dish. Come winter, the prep time is shortened, as it reaches maximum tenderness much more quickly.
The dish’s laborious process was designed through a process of trial and error, but the proof is in the eating. It’s been on the menu for more than a year, and Levy now buys 60kg a week.
‘‘Once people have had it, that’s one of the dishes they’re having again,’’ he says.