Greek grilled octopus

Χταπόδι στο γκριλ

Jan 28, 2025

∙ Paid

I’ve been cooking a lot of octopus lately; I always do so during the summer when my cravings change and I yearn for fish and food that evokes memories, as well as quick and easy recipes that don’t require a lot of time or effort.

Octopus to me is the epitome of summer. It’s the food I grew up eating at our summer house by the sea outside of Athens and the sort of mezes I always order when I’m at a seaside restaurant in any coastal part of Greece.

I love cooking octopus and I never got why people are afraid of it. As with anything else —a good beef steak, a hamburger patty, a nice piece of fish— it has its technique, but that’s it. Nothing too complicated, nothing too hard.

Whether it is cooked in its own juices or in water, it all comes down to how long you cook it and checking it periodically. Granted, not all octopuses were created equal and some are tougher than others, so checking it with a fork after a certain amount of time and knowing how its texture needs to be when it’s done cooking, is all you need to know.

I have shared with you a couple of octopus recipes in the past, both Greek; one for braised octopus with pasta, and another for boiled octopus with vinegar, olive oil and oregano, and this one is yet another amazing octopus preparation; the grilled octopus. I usually grill it (essentially griddle it), but you can use an open grill/bbq as well.

The octopus, cooked this way, is soft and juicy on the inside and beautifully charred, crusty and almost caramelized on the outside, just like it should be. It is the perfect mezes to have with a horiatiki salad, lots of grilled bread, some potato fries and other seafood, and of course with a glass of wine or ouzo.