Bourbon Barrel Smoked Octopus

steps

Smoked Octopus

1. Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 1 hour and resist the urge to peek inside. Turn off the heat and let it rest for another 15 minutes. Again, don’t peek.
2. Remove the octopus from the liquid. Set up your cold smoker with bourbon barrel staves and cold smoke the octopus for 2 hours. Reserve until ready to serve.

Bourbon-Soy Glaze for Eel

1. Pour all the ingredients into a pot and cook on medium high heat for 10 minutes. Transfer to a jar and
   reserve warm until ready to use. Eel 12 ounces kabayaki eel.
2. Cut eel into 1-inch pieces. Glaze with the bourbon soy glaze and leave on a tray in a warm oven, about 175 degrees, until ready to serve.

Kalamata Foam

1. Pour all the ingredients into a blender and blend on high until well puréed. Strain through a fine sieve and chill. Pour into a sealed container and shake vigorously.

Garnishes

1. To finish the dish, place a little bit of potato purée in the bottom of a dish and top with the smoked octopus and the glazed eel. Add a little Kalamata foam on the plate along with a few thin slices of Kalamata olives and preserved lemon.
2. Garnish with fried parsley and serve.
3. Potato purée is a recipe that is so ubiquitous I do not include instructions for it here; any mashed potato recipe with lots of butter will suffice.)