How to cook squid for tender meat

How to quickly peel squid

If you have squid with heads and tentacles, then first you need to get rid of all inedible parts.

Take the squid carcass in one hand, with the other grab the head near the eyes. Pull gently - along with the head and tentacles, you will remove some of the viscera. The rest can be removed when you skin.

The tentacles are usually discarded with the head, but they can be used. To do this, you need to cut them off near the eyes. Be sure to remove the squid's mouth at the same time - it is hard, hiding among the tentacles.

But usually everyone does not have to bother with this. In stores, as a rule, they sell frozen squid in a semi-cut form: without heads and tentacles.

Carcasses (biologists would say - a mantle) are covered with a red and white film, which is troublesome and long to clean with a knife.

To quickly clean the squid, you need to douse them with boiling water, hold them in hot water for about a minute and rinse them under running water. Some housewives treat carcasses as with pasta: pour boiling water in a colander and immediately turn on cold water.

Under the influence of high temperature, the skin will come off the carcass easily and quickly. You only have to remove its remnants when rinsing. Then the squid can be cut lengthwise to remove the chitinous plate and entrails.

But you can not violate the cylindrical shape of the mantle: the insides and chitinous plate are easily removed with your fingers. Whole squid can be stuffed or cut into rings.

How to cook squid

Method 1. "Cold start"

Place the peeled squid in a saucepan with cold water. Place the utensils on the stove and turn on medium heat. When the water warms up, add a little salt, and when it boils, immediately turn it off and catch the carcasses.

Like many other seafood, squid does not tolerate heat treatment well. If the clam is cooked for a long time, the meat will be tough, like a rubber sole.

The main secret of cooking squid is not to overcook it.

It is important not to miss the boiling point. You literally need to stay close to the pot.

Method 2. Boiling in hot water

Bring lightly salted water to a boil. When the first bubbles appear, start the squid. Boiling will stop for a while, and as soon as it resumes, you need to turn it off immediately.

Here, too, it is very important not to overexpose the meat in boiling water.

Method 3. Pouring boiling water

Many consider this method to be the most correct and argue that squids cooked in this way are the most tender and delicious.

You need to fill it three times. The first is the time when you pour boiling water over the squid to get rid of the skin.

The second time, you need to leave the peeled shellfish in boiling water for one minute. After that, rinse the carcasses with water and boil the kettle again. After the third pouring (holding time is also 60 seconds) and rinsing, the squid are ready to eat. You can add salt to the bowl each time you pour it.

Some housewives cut or stuff them right away. Others remove the transparent film from the carcasses.

Method 4. Combined

The highlight of this method is that the squid is cooked right away. The skinning stage is combined with the boiling process.

Salt boiling water: about 1 tablespoon to 3 liters of water. Place thawed squid in it. You will see how the mantle of the mollusks will become voluminous and the red and white film will come off them.

Wait until the interrupted boiling resumes, and note 1, 5-2, 5 minutes. Simmer the squid with a vigorous boil, uncovered. After the specified time has elapsed, the pan must be removed from the heat and covered with a lid.

Let the squid cool for 10-15 minutes. After that, rinse them under running water, remove the remnants of the skin, entrails and chord plate.

Alternatively, you can immediately put the carcasses in a bowl of cold water, thereby stopping the heat treatment.

Boiled squid can be used in salads, fried in batter rings, stuffed with various fillings.

The described methods of cooking squid are very simple and take a minimum of time. Try all four to figure out which calamari is most tender for your taste.

Do you know other secrets of cooking squid? Share in the comments.