Fusion

Pulpo Asado

Name: Pulpo Asado
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8 tacos
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lb Cooked octopus tentacles; 3 tbsp Olive oil; 3 cloves Garlic, finely grated; 2 tsp Guajillo chile powder; 2 tbsp Sour orange or lime juice; 1 tsp Mexican oregano; to taste Sea salt; 8 Corn tortillas; 1 Avocado, mashed with a pinch of salt; 3/4 cup Pickled red onion; 1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped; 1/2 cup Salsa tatemada or your favorite smoky salsa; 2 limes Lime wedges

Tender octopus tossed in guajillo, garlic, and sour orange, then charred hard over a screaming-hot grill until the suckers crisp and blister. Sliced into coins over mashed avocado with pickled onion, it is smoky, meaty, and just faintly sweet.

Time: 45 min
Heat
Yield: 8 tacos
Region: Yucatán

Ingredients

Charred octopus

To build

Per-100g nutrition (8 ingredients verified)

Ingredient	kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbs
Cooked octopus tentacles	71	15.9 g	0 g	0 g
Olive oil	900	0 g	100 g	0 g
Mexican oregano	0	0 g	0 g	0 g
Sea salt	500	25 g	25 g	25 g
Corn tortillas	188	3.1 g	1.6 g	40.6 g
Pickled red onion	36	0 g	0 g	7.1 g
Cilantro, chopped	23	2.1 g	0.5 g	3.7 g
Salsa tatemada or your favorite smoky salsa	33	0 g	0 g	6.7 g

Values are per 100 g of the listed ingredient. Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central (snapshot 2026-09-11). Ingredients without a verified match are omitted.

Method

Start with cooked tentacles — most fish counters sell them tender and ready. If starting raw, simmer a 2-lb octopus with a bay leaf and half an onion until a knife slides in easily, about an hour, up to two days ahead.
Whisk the olive oil, garlic, guajillo powder, citrus juice, oregano, and salt, then toss the tentacles to coat and let them marinate at room temperature.
Meanwhile, get a grill or cast-iron pan ripping hot — the char depends on serious heat.
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Lay the tentacles down and char without moving them until blistered and crisp at the suckers, about 4 minutes per side.
Rest briefly, then slice the tentacles into coins, seasoning with any marinade left in the bowl.
Warm the tortillas on the grill, swipe each with mashed avocado, and pile on the octopus, pickled onion, cilantro, salsa, and lime.