Fremantle is pretty famous for its Octopus and I have always loved it pickled. You can imagine my excitement when I was able to recreate it at home! It's easy to get fresh, sustainable and local Occy here and as always I encourage you to look around for the best source in your area!
I N G R E D I E N T S
1kg raw octopus tentacles
1 cup of granulated salt
Cooking liquid
300ml White Wine
~700ml Water (enough to mostly cover)
1 large Shallot
Stick of celery chopped into small chunks
Small bunch of parsley (~5 decent sprigs)
Large pinch of fresh oregano leaves
Pickling liquid
200ml White wine vinegar
200ml Water
~ 2 tbsp sugar
2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of oregano
1 tsp whole peppercorns
1 red chili cut into slices [half a chili with few seeds is still very mild and a good starting point - add more if you prefer some heat!]
M E T H O D
Place the octopus in a large bowl and cover with the cup of salt. Firmly massage the salt into the tentacles for a few minutes to help loosen the slime (full disclosure - it feels a bit gross). Leave the bowl to stand for 10 minutes.
While you wait, measure out all of the cooking liquid ingredients into a large saucepan
Once the 10 minutes has passed, really thoroughly wash the octopus under running water to remove all the salt and slime. Add it to the saucepan and pop the lid on.
Bring the saucepan to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for approximately 45 minutes or until tender.
Remove from the heat and allow it to stand until the Octopus has cooled.
Once cooled, remove the tentacles from the cooking liquid and cut into ~3cm sized chunks.
For the pickling mixture, bring the white wine vinegar, water and sugar to the boil in a small pot, then remove from the heat.
Layer your octopus chunks, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, peppercorns and chilis into a sterilised 1L jar, and pour over enough of the hot liquid to cover. Move it to the fridge once it's cool enough to handle.
Allow at least 12 hours before eating to allow the flavours to combine. My test batch lasted in the fridge for well over a month, however it tasted at its best within the first few weeks.
There you have it! Don't forget to tag @fermentandpickle so we can check it out!
Happy Pickling =)