Fried Calamari

The Best Fried Calamari at Home

Ingredients

•       A home fryer, or 6qt heavy pot

•       Candy thermometer that reads up to 400F

•       2 quarts of frying oil of your choice, or enough oil to cover the squid completely when frying.

•       Breading Basket – To shake off excess breading from the squid.

•       12qt bowl – for the breading

•       1.5 cups of Seafood Breading

•       2 pounds Fresh Cape Cod Squid Cleaned – Defrosted if frozen.

•       A plate lined with paper towels to absorb the oil from the fried squid.

•       Lemon wedges, marinara sauce, tartar sauce, & French fries – or your choice!

Cooking Instructions

Small batches are recommended! 
Serves 3-4 People; Cook time: +/- 2 Minutes per batch.

1.    Clean the Fresh Squid, continue reading below for step-by-step instructions.

2.    Heat 3 inches of oil to 350 Degrees F in your home fryer stovetop pan. Use the thermometer to check the oil temperature.

3.    Into a 12qt bowl, dump the breading.

4.    Prop the basket up to one side of the bowl.

5.    Moisten the squid with water before dropping them into the bowl with the breading.

6.    Drop about ¼ of the squid in the breading and carefully - with your fingers – coat the squid with breading making sure all the pieces are covered and separate.

7.    Toss the breaded squid in the basket, and lightly shake the basket with the squid in it to remove the excess breading before frying. Make sure the squid is completely coated, separated from one another, and doesn’t get stuck together.

8.    Transfer the ‘shaken’ squid into the fryer basket and carefully drop it into the 350F frying oil. Cook for approximately 2 minutes until golden brown, remove the squid from the frying oil.

9.    Carefully spread the squid on the paper towel-lined plate and repeat steps 6 & 7 to cook the rest of the squid in small batches. Do your best not to overcook!

10.Serve fried calamari (squid) while hot with tartar sauce, fries, and lemon wedges.

SQUID

Available May & June

STORING YOUR FRESH SQUID

We recommend eating fresh squid as soon as you receive it. If you wish, you can freeze your squid to prepare for a later date. Freezing squid is very easy to do and will freeze & defrost very well. You can store fresh squid for up to 3 days in a refrigerated environment. When the squid's skin starts to turn pink or red, the squid is not good for consumption.

HOW TO CLEAN SQUID

1.    When you receive your fresh squid, you will need to clean it & prepare it.

2.    Grab the body and the head of the squid. Gently pull the head and tentacles from the body, the insides and ink sac should come out.

3.    Slice the head below the eyes to separate the head and tentacles. Save the tentacles & discard the head and the insides of the body.

4.    If you plan to eat the tentacles, you must remove the beak. The beak is a small cartilage located at the base of the tentacles that connects the head of the squid. 

5.    Within the squid’s body, remove the long small thin piece of cartilage. You can grab it with your fingers and pull it out with ease.

6.    Optional: Grasp the thin spotty skin on the body of the squid and peel it back toward the tip and discard. The skin is edible, but most chefs remove it for a more appealing presentation.

7.    Thoroughly wash the body and tentacles one more time before cooking. Pat the squid afterward.

8.    You can slice the body to make rings for fried calamari or use the whole body for stuffing. Squid cooks very quickly, be careful not to overcook it!

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