This is a whole raw frozen octopus with an average weight of 4 to 6 pounds. It is sold raw, packed frozen, and must be fully cooked before serving.
Whole octopus is ideal for grilled octopus, Italian seafood salad, octopus with potatoes, seafood pasta, antipasto platters, and Feast of the Seven Fishes cooking. This product is packed in Spain from Atlantic-caught octopus.
For full preparation instructions, use our
Spanish octopus cooking guide.
Frozen octopus is not a drawback. Freezing helps naturally tenderize the meat, which is one reason whole octopus is commonly sold frozen and then cooked slowly before grilling or slicing for salad.
The goal is tender meat with skin and suction cups intact. The slow cook makes it tender, and the final hot sear gives the outside the char and flavor people expect from great grilled octopus.
This product needs a two-step cooking method: slow gentle cooking first, then a hot sear or grill finish. Do not treat the grill as the full cooking step. The octopus should already be tender before it goes on the grill.
The Basics:
Thaw in the refrigerator, rinse and check the octopus, simmer gently until knife-tender, cool and dry well, then sear over high heat with olive oil, lemon, parsley, and sea salt.
Based on the supplier label, a 3 oz raw serving contains approximately:
This is whole raw frozen octopus packed in Spain and caught in the Atlantic Ocean. The supplier label lists FAO 34, which is a seafood traceability area used to identify where the octopus was caught.
This whole raw octopus ships frozen with insulated packaging. Because this is a frozen seafood product, please follow your tracking carefully and refrigerate or freeze the package immediately upon delivery.
Some softening may occur during transit. If the product arrives cold to the touch with ice crystals still present, place it in the freezer or refrigerator right away. If there is a delivery concern, take clear photos of the package, label, and product condition as soon as it arrives.