Perfectly Tender Sous Vide Octopus Recipe

Sous vide octopus is easy and yields some of the best results of all the methods we've tried.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Editorial Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated May 11, 2023
Bagged octopus tentacles being cooked with a Joule immersion circulator in a clear cambro container.

Serious Eats / Liz Clayman

Why It Works

  • Quickly blanching the octopus, an optional step, helps set the tentacles into beautiful curls before they get sealed in the plastic bags.
  • Breaking down the octopus in advance makes for more manageable bagging.

Why cook octopus sous vide? There are a few reasons. First, it's foolproof: just prepare your cooker and forget it for the next several hours. Second, it's hands-off once you do the initial setup. And third, the results are absolutely excellent, producing tender octopus every single time. As long as you have the time to do it, this is one of the best ways we know.

To develop this recipe, we tested a range of temperatures, from 140°F (60°C) all the way up to 185°F (85°C), and times from 5 hours up to 24. Our favorite by far was 175°F (79°C) for five hours. Once cooked, this octopus is ready to be eaten warm or cold, or can be seared or grilled to crisp and brown the exterior.

The recipe below offers instructions for serving the cooked octopus cold or seared. If you'd like to grill your cooked octopus, follow the instructions here.

September 2019

Recipe Details

Perfectly Tender Sous Vide Octopus Recipe

Prep 10 mins
Cook 5 hrs 15 mins
Active 60 mins
Total 5 hrs 25 mins
Serves 4 to 6 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 1 (2 1/2-pound; 1kg) whole octopus, rinsed well (including inside head cavity); see note

Directions

  1. Preheat a sous vide cooker to 175°F (79°C). If you want to guarantee a good shape for the octopus tentacles (this is optional, but visually nice), bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Using tongs, dip the octopus into the water just until the tentacles hold a more rigid and graceful curl, not more than 30 seconds. Drain.

  2. If necessary, using a sharp knife or good kitchen shears, divide the octopus into manageable portions that can be bagged more easily (small octopuses can be kept whole). You can choose how to do this: separate the tentacles individually, or keep them in clusters of 2 or 4. If you do decide to break down the octopus, remove the hard beak that sits at the point where the tentacles converge in the body, as well as the small eyes just below the pouch-like head. Make sure to bag and cook the head pouch as well; it's not as delicious as the tentacles, but it's still good.

  3. Place octopus pieces in zipper-lock or vacuum bags and seal using the vacuum sealer or the displacement method.

  4. Submerge in water and cook for 5 hours. Remove bags, chill rapidly in an ice-water bath, then refrigerate until ready to use. (Chilling helps set the skin so it doesn't fall off later, so it's good to do even if you're planning to serve the octopus warm.)

  5. To Serve Cold: Cut tentacles and head into pieces and add to a seafood salad or ceviche.

  6. To Sear: Heat a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add octopus pieces and cook until well browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Turn and brown on other side, about 3 minutes longer. Season with salt and serve as desired.

Special Equipment

Immersion circulator, zipper-lock or vacuum sealer and bags

Notes

While this recipe calls for a specific size of octopus, it truly works for octopus of any size; the only limitation is how much you can fit in your immersion circulator.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The chilled octopus can be refrigerated in the bags for up to 3 days.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
310Calories
4gFat
8gCarbs
56gProtein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories310
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g5%
Saturated Fat 1g4%
Cholesterol 181mg60%
Sodium 869mg38%
Total Carbohydrate 8g3%
Dietary Fiber 0g0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 56g
Vitamin C 15mg76%
Calcium 200mg15%
Iron 18mg100%
Potassium 1191mg25%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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