Fried Calamari

Have you ever really looked at a squid?  Who was the first person to look at this strange looking molllusk and decide that it was a delicious food to eat?  

I'm a big fan of calamari but I never would have guessed that the deliciously fried rings that I enjoy so much would ever have come from something that looked like this.  🦑 It's not always a bad thing to be blissfully unaware when it comes to what most of my seafood looks like before it hits my plate. 😂 

I don't fry very much of our food.  The occasional perch filet or a chicken cutlet is about all that gets deep fried in my kitchen.  (Very unusual for a girl who lives in the South by the way.)  Since I'm somewhat inexperienced at frying things - I tend to use the same technique for everything that I fry.  I coat the food in flour, dip it in an egg wash, cover it with bread crumbs and put it in hot oil.  Simple right?  Apparently, not.  I recently learned that the technique for frying calamari is quite different from frying a chicken breast or french fries. 

According to Cook's Illustrated, frying calamari quickly is the key to keeping it from getting rubbery and tough.  They published this very simple and straightforward recipe in their January/February magazine and it was exactly what I needed to tweak my own calamari recipe.   Dredge the calamari in milk instead of egg, add baking powder to the flour mixture and fry the squid hot and fast.  Simple changes that transformed my calamari from bland and elastic to tender and delicate.  

Fried Calamari
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound squid, sliced crosswise 3/4" thick
2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

Whisk together milk and salt.

Combine flour, baking powder and pepper. 

Add squid to milk mixture toss to coat.

Transfer to flour mixture and toss to coat evenly.

Shake off excess flour and place on wire rack placed on baking sheet.  Let sit 10 minutes. 

Heat oil to 350 in dutch oven.  Add half of squid and fry for 3 minutes. 

Use spider to transfer to a wire rack lined with paper towels. Transfer to a 200 degree oven to keep warm.

Return oil to 350 and repeat with remaining squid.  Transfer to platter. 

Serve calamari with lemon wedges or marinara sauce. 

I never had very much luck with homemade calamari so it was always reserved for a special appetizer when we went out to eat.  Now that I've perfected homemade fried calamari, we can have it ALL THE TIME.  (This could be dangerous.) 😂

​​Ciao!

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