One of many nicest meals throughout our trip in Yucatán, Mexico, was a lunch at La Palapa del Tio Fito in Campeche. From the massive reed shack on the waterfront it isn’t instantly obvious that they actually know how one can prepare dinner. I ordered the Octopus Poc Chuc. Poc means to roast and Chuc means charcoal in Mayan, so that is octopus roasted over charcoal. Earlier than it’s marinated in Seville orange juice with herbs and parcooked. Tomatoes and purple onions are roasted above the charcoal as effectively. The tomatoes are become a salsa and the onion is marinated in Seville orange juice. The salsa is sweet and smoky. As typically in Yucatán, it’s served with corn tortillas, refried beans, habanero, and avocado. At Tio Fito it additionally got here with some charcoal grilled Mexican chorizo, in addition to a wedge of Seville orange.
I’ve parcooked the octopus sous vide, as that ensures it will likely be tender with most taste. Octopus will all the time shrink significantly when it’s cooked; that may’t be averted, even with sous vide.
Seville oranjge is a extra bitter/bitter sort of orange thatis used lots in Mayan cooking and could be substituted by a combination of normal orange juice and lime juice.
Elements
Serves 4 as a principal course
- 1.2 kilos (3 lbs) octopus (tentacles or entire octopus)
- 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano (or common oregano)
- 2 Tbsp recent minced thyme
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- juice of 1 orange and 1 lime, or juice of two Seville oranges
- olive oil to rub the octopus earlier than roasting
Sides
- 4 plum tomatoes
- recent cilantro
- salt
- 2 purple onions, quartered
- juice of 1 orange and 1 lime (or 2 Seville oranges)
- refried beans
- corn tortillas
- habanero salsa (click on right here for the recipe)
Directions
To make the marinade, combine the oregano, thyme, garlic powder, black peppercorns, and orange/lime juice.
Place the octopus in a big bowl with the marinade and blend effectively.
Octopus is usually bought with added salt. When you have recent octopus with none added salt, that is the suitable time so as to add salt.
Vacuum seal the octopus utilizing a chamber vacuum machine, or use a ziploc bag and the water displacement technique. The octopus with the marinade is just too moist to make use of an exterior vacuum sealer like a FoodSaver.
Prepare dinner the octopus sous vide for 4 hours at 85C/185F.
Take the cooked octopus out of the bag and discard the liquid. Enable the octopus to chill.
Pat the octopus dry with paper towels and rub it with olive oil earlier than grilling. Begin a charcoal hearth and wait till it’s good and scorching.
Roast the tomatoes and onions first, as they take extra time and the octopus overcooks simply. The tomatoes and onions will prepare dinner extra simply by utilizing a canopy that may mood the warmth from under and can flip the grill into an oven.
The tomatoes are accomplished when the pores and skin is a bit charred and bursts.
Take away the pores and skin and place the tomatoes in a blender or meals processor, along with a teaspoon of salt and a handful of cilantro (leaves solely).
Mix on low velocity or use the ‘pulse’, to finish up with a rough salsa. Style and modify the seasoning with salt if wanted.
The onions are accomplished if they’ve softened considerably and have been charred.
Chop the onions and marinate them with orange/lime juice and salt.
Grill the octopus shortly over excessive warmth, with out utilizing a canopy, till flippantly charred. Don’t overcook the octopus, as a result of then it can end up dry.
The octopus ought to be crispy and barely charred, however not burnt to a crisp.
Serve the octopus with corn tortillas, refried beans, avocado, the purple onion, tomato salsa, and habanero salsa.
Wine pairing
At wine pairing dinners I’ve organized at residence for family and friends, we’ve tried the next wines with this dish:
- Vidal-Fleury Condrieu AOC 2019 (100% Viognier, France, Rhone)
- Vidal-Fleury Côtes du Rhône AOC 2021 (75% Viognier, 25% Grenache Blanc, France, Rhone)
- Ceraudo Grisara 2020 (100% Pecorello, Italy, Calabria)
- Domane Wachau Gruner Veltliner Smaragd 2021 (100% Grüner Veltliner, Austria, Wachau)
- Vermentino di Gallura DOCG Surrau Sciala 2021 (100% Vermentino, Italy, Sardinia)
- Castro Candaz Ribeira Sacra DO La Vertical 2020 (100% Godello, Spain, Galicia)
All of those are full bodied white wines with comparatively low acidity and never too dry. The very best mixture was the Condrieu, a implausible wine and likewise implausible with the dish. The identical vineyard additionally produces a less expensive Côtes du Rhône of just about the identical grape varieties from virtually the identical space, however not from the world of the Condrieu appellation contrôlée and subsequently at a lower cost level. That wine is just not as complicated, however matches the dish virtually as effectively. The Vermentino and Pecorello have been additionally good matches for the dish. The Godello and Grüner Veltliner didn’t work as effectively when utilizing the spicy habanero, as a result of the acidity in these wines accentuates the spiciness.
