personally i have found that freezing a larger octopus helps to tenderize it. i have never tried your method, papa...but it sounds kind of fun. at the restaurant i'm working at now, we get very large octopi (maybe 5-8 pounds). they come in fresh, but we freeze them, then defrost when we need them. we blanch or steam it first, then braise it for a couple hours very slowly until it's fork tender. then we pull out the octopus, puree the braising liquid, and serve it both as a primi with pasta and as a secondi with just a big peice of octopus and the sauce.
papa i agree with you in favoring octopus over squid. it has a much more hearty, meaty texture, and takes to so many ways of cooking. i hardly ever order squid in restaurants because it's so easy to overcook and i've eaten some really tough, stringy squid. i'd love to try the air-dried octopus the way you described.
i also agree that barbecuing/grilling is the best way to go. the smoky flavor of the grill really accents the natural flavors of octopus, and you get those crispy little charred tentacle-ends....
logose, you're dead on about pulpo gallego which is traditionally a galician dish, but is pretty much widely availiable all over spain. grilled octopus sliced thin, lots and lots of garlic, spanish olive oil, lemon, and coarse grey salt. i had this at a galician bar in madrid and it was the best, melt-in-your-mouth tender octopus i have ever eaten.
__________________
eddie |