# Octopus,bacon& leek .... thing?



## moikel (Jul 18, 2013)

I cant work out what it is yet. But the octopus was just to fine to walk past at the market. I was after sardines to make village style preserved under salt & weights then cleaned up & put under oil in jars.Sort of a poor mans anchovies.About a 5 week turn around.Got 5 kg,so got some work ahead of me tomorrow.They will sit whole in rock salt with chopped oranges ,lemons & bay leaf overnight.I will butterfly them tomorrow. 

Anyway back to the big O's. 

There is that classic Normandy mussels dish with leeks ,bacon,white wine & bits. I think thats the path I am headed down.I am using up the last batch of my speck as I have a new batch + 3 beef tongues to go into smoker over weekend.

I intend to use a lot of speck in this to get max smokey flavour. I  might even swap the leek for fennel .I will work it out .

Pictures soon.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jul 18, 2013)

Mmm extra tentacles please!


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## moikel (Jul 18, 2013)

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Thats it so far. These guys are Tasmanian so cold water to us. Best ones for my $ & best time of year to eat them. For you non O'pus eaters bear in mind these guys eat shellfish,scallop,clam etc,shrimp & fish so what do you reckon they taste like ?


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## moikel (Jul 19, 2013)

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Speck & a clove of jumbo garlic.













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Cleaned O's not a lot of waste & easy to work with.













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Ready to simmer for 40 minutes or so.

It went like this.Fried speck cut big in EVO. Took it out put cut up O in ,I cut the legs it in 4 ,& the heads in 3. Turned that around in pan until it coloured up. Took it out put cut fennel bulb x1 + chopped fronds ,leek x 1 ,garlic,lots of cbp,NO SALT. Fried that off a bit then put everything back in with chicken stock & white wine. I will put a fair bit of chopped parsley in later.I thought about a few other additions but then decided to keep it simple.

I put the speck rind in as well. Its sort of a twist on surf & turf, maybe pen & reef 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  Certainly smells good


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## moikel (Jul 19, 2013)

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Lovely colour,very tasty .Fennel was a good idea,very smokey,slightly sweet probably from the brown sugar in the bacon brine ,just got to add chopped parsley. Its definitely a keeper.I smoke what the chinese butchers sell as belly strip ,long bit about 2'x2 x 14'',with a bit of rib cartilage,soft bone to chinese.I then call it speck & use it chopped in all sorts of things.This dish I used it in biggish cubes. 

I left out salt in the cooking because the O'pus throws a bit when cooking.


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## moikel (Jul 19, 2013)

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Really nice plate of food
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. If you are not an eater of O'pus its a little hard to explain.Its clean,whiter ,dense ,sweet flesh that takes flavour well. In this case the smoky flavour from my home made speck really set it off.Fennel & leek together was a good choice.Fennel with seafood a bit of a no brainer but its the season here,cold weather ,cold water the mussels/clams /octopus are at their best & fennel & leeks are winter veg. 

Got plenty for lunch tomorrow.


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## Bearcarver (Jul 19, 2013)

Wow!!!    Another Awesome Moikel Meal !!!

Looks Great !!!

Bear


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## link (Jul 19, 2013)

This looks fantastic to me. I love Octopus but have never ventured to buy and cook one. After this I just may.Thanks


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## chef willie (Jul 19, 2013)

Looks interesting....may have to throw an O'pus in my next Cioppino


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jul 19, 2013)

Looks Fantastic Mick! Every once and while we catch one here and they are tasty!


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## smoking b (Jul 19, 2013)

I haven't had octopus in a long time & now I want some - yours looks great!  Nice job


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## Bearcarver (Jul 19, 2013)

In the movies, Octopus ate people.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Now people eat Octopus!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## smokinhusker (Jul 19, 2013)

Mick that looks great and I'd eat it any day of the week!!!!


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## r 12 (Jul 19, 2013)

Never thought about eating one those.


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## moikel (Jul 19, 2013)

Thank you for the kind words. They are good eating & you adjust methods to size.Smaller ones marinated & char grilled ,boiled & dressed,cold as salad,braised with chorizo & red wine. The list goes on. Very easy to clean.Really big guys are sold headless here maybe 3 kg in just the legs. But throw a lot of salt,so blanched first by a lot of cooks.

I suppose its what you are used to I know some folk on this forum who eat a few things that arent going to turn up at the supermarket anytime soon 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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These were 3 = 2kg & just the right size for that dish. At the market there were 4 different grades by size.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jul 19, 2013)

Mick I don't know a store anywhere near me that even has octopus! When I was in Hawaii I lives off octopi poke. The last one I caught we pickled half and smoked half. Super good!


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## moikel (Jul 19, 2013)

link said:


> This looks fantastic to me. I love Octopus but have never ventured to buy and cook one. After this I just may. Thanks


If you want me to post some  "how to" shots for cleaning just let me know. Really quick & simple ,you can just cut the head off if you want.I gut them & use the head as well but thats me.

I dont profess to be an expert but I understand that they are a sustainable fishery here to the point where if we didnt eat them we would have trouble because of the amount of shellfish they eat.Real buggers for getting into lobster pots in the XL sizes. Inshore free divers or  saltwater lake waders look for a pile of empty shells outside of their hidey holes.

At the market they throw them into a cement mixer with a couple of shovels of stones to tenderise thats why they always have their tentacles curled up. Way less work than banging against rocks by hand.


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## moikel (Jul 19, 2013)

Bearcarver said:


> In the movies, Octopus ate people.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Glad to see you are on the mend. I learnt to make bacon from your thread so only fitting that it goes into an Octopus dish that you liked.


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## moikel (Jul 19, 2013)

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One slow process,every year I  swear thats it 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





no more cleaning little fish.Sure enough I see them in season & buy 5 kg
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. layered salt ,sardine ,salt baking paper into lasagne trays(ceramic) then weights on top ,you get about 5 layers to a tray.Leave for 4 to 5 weeks in the cellar.Then wash in 50/50 water & vinegar ,dry then under oil with ,garlic,chilli,rosemary,preserved lemon rind.


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 20, 2013)

Dang Moikel, I need to stop by some time!


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## moikel (Jul 20, 2013)

If you are worried about toughness,freeze O,pus then defrost & start from scratch.Freezing tenderises them. Lot of Spanish recipes for O,pus. There is bit of a difference in species the big guys have different skin can be a little tricky,plunge into boiling water out into cold repeat x 3 skin will come off.
I do like them cooked with chorizo or bacon,paprika,onions,garlic,chilli or what the Galacians call " fairgrounds style" boiled then dressed with flavoured olive oil.


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## Bearcarver (Jul 20, 2013)

Moikel said:


> Glad to see you are on the mend. I learnt to make bacon from your thread so only fitting that it goes into an Octopus dish that you liked.


Thank You Much, Mick!!!-----I'm honored.

Bear


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## snorkelinggirl (Jul 20, 2013)

Hi Mick,

A little late to your octopus party!  I love your seasonal cooking!  As always, your dish looks fantastic. Great job!!!   

I'm glad you explained what "speck" is, I thought I was going to need to ask.  Did you think the smokey flavor complemented the octopus?  Interesting combination!

Hope you have a great Sunday!

Clarissa


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## moikel (Jul 20, 2013)

It just gets called speck here in the deli's.Its just cooking bacon.Got a big batch & 3 beef tongues in the smoker now.

I make it pretty smoky & it was a winner with the O'pus.I just followed that path in European cooking where they put some sort of cured pork with seafood.Mostly shellfish but there is that Spanish style that uses chorizo with O'pus.

Fennel is my favourite veg,I mostly eat in raw but its a lovely ingredient with seafood.Peak season now.

I learnt my bacon making from Bearcarver ,I can buy the belly strips at the chinese butchers at a pretty good price. It gets used in all sorts of braises. The rendered fat mixed with the EVO was just perfect to colour the O'pus.

I personally think winter is the best time for O'pus I don't know that I have that much science to back it up. The guys I bought were just AAA grade,right species & the skin texture isn't slimy.They look better cooked than some other types.


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## moikel (Jul 21, 2013)

SnorkelingGirl said:


> Hi Mick,
> 
> A little late to your octopus party!  I love your seasonal cooking!  As always, your dish looks fantastic. Great job!!!
> 
> ...


Talking interesting combinations out to dinner last night & on the menu as a starter was seared scallop,jerusalem artichoke & crispy fried pigs ear . Didn't order it but I do have a bag of pigs ears in the freezer
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  We will go back there so I might try it, then work out how to recreate it at home


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## foamheart (Jul 21, 2013)

Howdee howdee..... we always had ears and tails with greens in the winter. If we were lucky got some neck-bones added. Its pretty good stuff.

Made a promise to myself in the service, every other payday, or once a month, I'd go somewhere local and eat a a fine restaurant and get the local cuisine. I met Octopus and snails in Spain. The swore to me that Octopus was a medicinal stew for upset stomachs. I figured the chef had just cooked to much. They brought it out and it looked a lot like a bouillase or a courtbullion. It was alright, it didn't trip my trigger but I think had they fried it like squid it might have been better. This octopus was tuff, so I assume like squid its either cooked fast or really slow and this must have been in the pot in the middle.

Thanks for the quick explanation about cleansing, don't think I have ever seen 'em in the Gulf. I was going to ask if the had that calcium/cartilage plate like a squid had.

BTW my favorite way to have pig ears is head cheese.

I love your and Clarissa's threads you two always make me smile. Thanks for sharing!


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## moikel (Jul 21, 2013)

Foamheart,I dont know who had the Eureka  moment at the fish market & decided to use a cement mixer to tenderize them but it works.

Great approach to food you had back in the days you were in the service.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  Bet you had some great meals.

Aussies didn't eat it here until the post WW2  migrants showed us what we were missing. It was bait until then. Our coastal aboriginal tribes hunted it,it is called jungka in some dialects.

But we also have a deadly poisonous little guy called blue ring octopus.Lives in tidal rock pools,its smaller than the palm of your hand.Will kill you stone motherless dead in no time at all if it bites you. Not edible.Warning signs at our beaches in case somebody thinks it something to take home to put in their fish tank because its so pretty. Pretty deadly is what they are


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## Bearcarver (Jul 21, 2013)

Moikel said:


> Foamheart,I dont know who had the Eureka  moment at the fish market & decided to use a cement mixer to tenderize them but it works.
> 
> Great approach to food you had back in the days you were in the service.
> 
> ...


Your O'pus looks awesome!!!

The only thing we have around here in Restaurants & Steak Hoagie Joints is side orders of  "Calamari".

I assume they get it breaded & frozen, then they deep fry it (too long).

We call it breaded rubber bands!!

Bear


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## moikel (Jul 21, 2013)

It gets served here in seafood joints.Big catering packs, frozen Asian squid. Dont eat it myself. We get really good stuff fresh in a few different sizes. Also hand jigged snap frozen from Indonesia which is really way better than I thought it would be.Lot of people fish for it here ,rod  & reel & a shrimp lookalike jig. Quite a skill ,worth learning
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





So many ways to cook it other than deep-frying in breadcrumbs but then I suppose thats the way with a lot of things.Some people buy supermarket bacon !


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## snorkelinggirl (Jul 21, 2013)

Foamheart said:


> Howdee howdee..... we always had ears and tails with greens in the winter. If we were lucky got some neck-bones added. Its pretty good stuff.
> 
> Made a promise to myself in the service, every other payday, or once a month, I'd go somewhere local and eat a a fine restaurant and get the local cuisine. I met Octopus and snails in Spain. The swore to me that Octopus was a medicinal stew for upset stomachs. I figured the chef had just cooked to much. They brought it out and it looked a lot like a bouillase or a courtbullion. It was alright, it didn't trip my trigger but I think had they fried it like squid it might have been better. This octopus was tuff, so I assume like squid its either cooked fast or really slow and this must have been in the pot in the middle.
> 
> ...


Thank you, Foamheart!  A really nice compliment! 

I love pig's ears in head cheese as well. That little crunch of cartilage is such a fun surprise!  However, I haven't made head cheese in a couple of years.  The last time, when I tried to remove the cooked and cooled pig head from the stock pot, I reached into the pig mouth with my hand in order to lift the pig head out by the jaw.  Dang but that jaw actually closed, and the stupid pig head bit me!  Didn't break my skin, but left me a bit traumatized.  Now when I get a pig's head, I debone it and roll the deboned head up to make porchetta di testa.  Safer!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Have a great day!
Clarissa


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## snorkelinggirl (Jul 21, 2013)

Moikel said:


> Talking interesting combinations out to dinner last night & on the menu as a starter was seared scallop,jerusalem artichoke & crispy fried pigs ear . Didn't order it but I do have a bag of pigs ears in the freezer
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I love jerusalem artichokes!  Sounds like a delicious starter!  I've never tried frying pigs ears....I guess you must braise or poach them until tender first?  Can't wait to see the post on this!


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## Bearcarver (Jul 21, 2013)

SnorkelingGirl said:


> Thank you, Foamheart!  A really nice compliment!
> 
> I love pig's ears in head cheese as well. That little crunch of cartilage is such a fun surprise!  However, I haven't made head cheese in a couple of years.  The last time, when I tried to remove the cooked and cooled pig head from the stock pot, I reached into the pig mouth with my hand in order to lift the pig head out by the jaw. * Dang but that jaw actually closed, and the stupid pig head bit me!  Didn't break my skin, but left me a bit traumatized.  *Now when I get a pig's head, I debone it and roll the deboned head up to make porchetta di testa.  Safer!
> 
> ...


Holy @#$%^& !!!!

Sounds like the makings of a "Horror" Flick---"The Attack of the Dead Pig Head".
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





No doubt would traumatize anyone!!

Bear


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## snorkelinggirl (Jul 21, 2013)

Bearcarver said:


> Holy @#$%^& !!!!
> 
> Sounds like the makings of a "Horror" Flick---"The Attack of the Dead Pig Head".
> 
> ...


Ha!  Yes, I may not have physical scars, but I do carry the emotional scars. I was home alone at the time. Tears were shed, curse words were uttered. Not my proudest culinary moment.


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## moikel (Jul 21, 2013)

SnorkelingGirl said:


> Ha!  Yes, I may not have physical scars, but I do carry the emotional scars. I was home alone at the time. Tears were shed, curse words were uttered. Not my proudest culinary moment.


Revenge of the pig head
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. Lot of people wont eat anything that looks like it came from an animal & your cooking pig head ,way to go!

On an Aussie version of the English River Cottage TV show,the chef come small acre farmer cooked a pigs head for the farmer he bought his pigs from. Cut in half ,braised low & slow. Butchers daughter looked at me sideways with that" your on your own mate " look.

I think I  can sell the pigs ear scallop dish.I think if you boil them ,cool then egg & breadcrumbs then fry. I think if I cut them into neat sections it will work.

I figure I have built a bridge between nose to tail & seafood sections


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## snorkelinggirl (Jul 21, 2013)

Moikel said:


> Revenge of the pig head
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I've seen pictures of crispy pig ear salad where the pig ears were sliced into rectangles. They looked a lot like fried wonton skins.  I definitely think you can get away with that!


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## foamheart (Jul 21, 2013)

As much as everyone loves fried pig skins, cracklins, the crisp hog skins, how could fried pig ears not be a hit. But would you leave the cartilage in? Bite and pull?


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