Dear Cvixen,
I often order fried calamari in restaurants. Until recently I wasn't sure exactly what it was. Now that I know it's squid, I'm
curious about which part of the squid it is. Sometimes I order squid and get little rings other times I end up with tentacles. Where do the rings come from? If I buy squid from a fish market, how do I clean it for cooking? Can't you stuff a squid? How does that work? Help, inquiring minds want to know!
Kelly
Brentwood, CA
Dear Kelly,
The squid is an amazing little creature. It's anatomy is something to behold and requires it's own vocabulary to understand exactly how to clean and prepare them. I suggest you go to this Giant Squid site, click on the Squid Recipes button and discover the way to clean a squid. She gives a great diagram and instructions on separating the body from the legs, discarding the beak and quill (or pen) while reserving the ink sack for other uses (see what I mean
about the vocabulary?).Basically the squid is made of a long tube shaped body, a hard cartilage ring which attaches the body to the tentacles. The whole thing is covered in a thin layer of reddish purple membrane. Sometimes this is removed before cooking, sometimes not (follow your recipe's directions). By the way, you can often buy squid pre-cleaned at a quality fish market.
Recipes for stuffed squid are stuffing the long tube like body which makes a great little container. The rings are also made from body by slicing it laterally - crosswise into your desired thickness. If you've seen calamari steak, it is also made from the body, by slicing the body down one side and opening it up into a flat odd shaped piece. Calamari is often scored with a sharp knife into a diamond pattern. This helps to keep it from curling so much when you cook it. Cooking the little
beasts can be tricky because they are prone to turning into a rubbery
mass. The best rule I've learned for preventing tough calamari is: Thirty Seconds or Thirty Minutes. Fried calimari cooked for 30 seconds over high heat, is delicious... one minute more and it's inedible. So if you find yourself with tough squid, add some liquid, make a stew and cook it for half an hour. It will then soften up and become tender and
delicious.
Enjoy!
Vickie Mc - Culinary Vixen
Dear Cvixen,
I'm trying to use cooking oils that are better for me and my
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