Sous Vide Octopus

4.70 from 10 votes

Sous Vide Octopus is slow cooked for 5 hours until ultra tender and then browned up in a hot skillet to get charred and crispy!

Prep Time10

Cook Time5 5

Total Time5 15

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 137kcal

Heat a sous vide water bath to 172F degrees.
Mix the seasonings together and rub all over the octopus.
Place in a vacuum seal bag with the chorizo and vacuum seal.
Cook for 5 hours. Remove from bag and pour bag juice in a saucepan.
Simmer the sauce for 3-5 minutes.
Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat.
Add 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or any high smoke point oil) and sear the octopus for 1-2 minutes a side, until it's slightly crisped.
You can also sear the octopus on the grill over high heat. Cook on both sides for about 2 minutes, until browned and slightly crisped.
Slice and serve drizzled with the sauce and a squeeze of fresh lemon.

You can use any size octopus for this recipe, as long as you’re using about 1 pound and it fits in your sealable bag.
To make it easier to handle and seal in the bag, you can cut the octopus into pieces.
Since octopus is naturally salty, and it’s paired with chorizo in this recipe (which is also salty), be careful adding more salt. That’s why the recipe only calls for ⅓ teaspoon of salt.
To avoid bacteria entering the bag while the octopus cooks, make sure the bag is sealed properly.
For safe and even cooking, the bag should be completely submerged in the water bath. If it starts to float, use something heavy to weigh it down like a wet towel or a sous vide sinker weight.
If air gets in the bag, you can just open it, let the air out and reseal it.
For a good sear, use a paper towel to pat the octopus dry after it comes out of the water bath.
The skin may start to come off as the octopus sears. To prevent this, you can chill the octopus in an ice bath first. (This is optional).
To crisp up quickly without overcooking, make sure your skillet is smoking hot. Only sear for 1-2 minutes as you don’t want the octopus to burn or dry out.
You can also sear the octopus on the grill for even better results. Heat the grill on high and cook on both sides for about 2 minutes, until browned and slightly crisped.