Where to buy fresh octopus in NYC ?
Has anyone bought fresh (not live) octopus in NYC ? So far I have seen only frozen kind in my local fish store. I have bought and defrosted it, but it did not look very appetizing.
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11 Comments:
I would imagine many of the markets in Chinatown would sell fresh octopus; having said that, I have always been able to purchase it in fish stores that are in Italian neighborhoods (Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, anywhere in Staten Island)
italiagirl84 at 11:03AM on 08/10/09
italiagirl84, thanks for the suggestions, but I visited every store in S.I. (where I live) and never saw fresh octopus there. I suppose Chinatown is the most logical choice. I'll go there on a weekend.
Mr. K at 11:29AM on 08/10/09
whole foods...dean and deluca....that fancy fish market on bleecker
camdon at 11:29AM on 08/10/09
Wow, that's interesting. I grew up in Staten Island and always got my octopus at either the Top Tomato on Amboy, or Carlos' fish market on Richmond Ave (across from Pastosa). But, I generally buy it on Christmas eve...I've only purchased it once or twice when it wasn't Christmas eve, but that was a few years ago. (nice to meet a fellow Staten Islander here! I was born and raised in Oakwood; I moved to DC two years ago and basically hate it--except for my spouse, whom I do love. We do get up to Staten Island about once a month though, so I can visit my family and eat pizza!)
italiagirl84 at 11:47AM on 08/10/09
Carlos' is my goto fish place, the owner is great, and we have a really good relationship. But otherwise, Staten Island is like a dead zone for anything more exotic than your standard seafood choices. I will check out all the other suggestions though. Thanks S.E. readers !
Mr. K at 12:52PM on 08/10/09
In Manhattan, the place I go to for octopus, adult and babies, is Agata and Valentina. The babies are imported from Africa, the adult is local, I think.
Ortolan at 1:16PM on 08/10/09
Mr. K what are you trying to cook. I buy frozen all the time and cook/defrost it seasoned water and it tastes great. If you are worried about aesthetics then Octopus is definitely not the seafood for you. The trick to octopus is cooking it properly so that it is not tough.
nelson5757 at 3:31PM on 08/10/09
Nelson,
I eat octopus in all its forms (grilled, braised, Galitian, sushi, etc...), but never tried cooking it myself. The frozen one I bought looked pretty pathetic after defrosting. It's possible that I bought a wrong kind or just a bad one, so that led me to believe that starting from fresh may be a better idea. I want to simmer it until tender and then use it in a salad (per recipe that I have).
Mr. K at 4:08PM on 08/10/09
Mr. K buy it frozen, I get mine in Newark in the ironbound portuguese section. Use Portuguese eat alot of octopus. These Octupus are flash frozen at sea for optimal freshness. I wouldn't eat fresh octupus unless I caught it in the Meditterean Sea. So unless frozen I would not know how long its been dead. Newark fish markets have fresh octopus as well if that is really what you are looking for. But I always buy frozen and cook/defrost at the same time.
nelson5757 at 4:29PM on 08/10/09
Nelson, thanks a lot for a tip. So, you would put the frozen octopus in the boiling water without defrosting it first ?
BTW, I just found a place in Brooklyn called "Octopus Garden" which claims to have supplied octopus to Iron Chef America, and they sell retail.
I might go check them out this weekend.
Mr. K at 5:19PM on 08/10/09
Mr. K Yes but you want the water salted with one large onion chopped in half, parley stems, whole peppercorns. Cooking time depends on the size of the octopus
nelson5757 at 12:12PM on 08/11/09