Maritime Cephalopods

Maritime Cephalopods

Octopus (pulpo), cuttlefish (sepia) and squid (calmar) need to be cooked very carefully to ensure that they are soft and tender.

Octopus
Octopus tastes great (without skin and jaws) boiled, fried, stewed and grilled. Octopus or pulpo take a long time to cook. With larger specimens the meat should be beaten soft to tenderise it before cooking.

Cuttlefish
Although cuttlefish with 10 tentacles can grow up to 65 cm, the smaller the cuttlefish, the more tender the meat. The cuttlebone (calcareous shell inside), the jaws and the intestines as well as the ink sac must be removed before cooking. The cuttlefish can only be grilled or fried – or stuffed – after it has been prepared in this way.

Squid
Before cooking, the skin, jaws, eyes and the intestines as well as the transparent bone must be removed. Squid are eaten raw as sushi or sashimi as well as cooked. They should either be boiled, fried, grilled or deep-fried for a short time, i.e. not longer than two minutes, or stewed for 30 to 45 minutes. Otherwise, the meat becomes slightly hard, tough and rubber-like. You should beat larger specimens until they are fibrous before cooking them.