I called this “Squid Surprise” because it was so full of surprises. I was surprised it took all day to make. I was surprised when the whole big trayfull of it was gobbled up in just five minutes. And I was amazed by how good it was.
True, it’s just ordinary fried squid rings, available in any seafood restaurant. But it was my only culinary triumph, never to be repeated.
1 pound frozen squid
breading, whatever kind you like
If you are sane you can buy frozen squid rings. But back when I made this dish, they weren’t so easy to come by. I had to settle for a solid block of whole frozen squid.
Thaw under cold running water. It will take you quite a while to thaw the squid to the point that you can separate them.
Cut off the heads (actually, you can use them–and most people do), dig into the tubes, and remove all the guts. Be sure to remove that thing that looks like a piece of cellophane. It serves to stiffen the squid’s body, and tastes like cellophane.
Now cut the tubes into rings. This, too, will take a while. And once you’ve got all the rings you want, apply the breading.
Next, fry them. I used a frying pan full of oil. Yes, it spattered all over the top of the stove.
How long to fry them? Depends on how you want them to taste. Keep tasting as you fry, and once you’re satisfied, stop frying.
Place them on paper towels to sop up the oil.
If the breading you used has its own flavors and spices, voila. It it was plain, you can flavor the rings with lemon juice. Or you can just enjoy the delicate flavor of the squid as is.
Like I said, it took me all the livelong day to do this, and the people at the party wolfed them down in just a couple of minutes–which is why I never did it again.
The tentacles are delicious when fried, too. Don’t throw them out — assuming you ever do make fried squid again.
By the way, I’ve seen frozen uncooked cut-up squid rings in one of our local supermarkets. If you can find those, you won’t have to go through all the bother of cleaning the squid. (I think you can also find them in Asian grocery stores.) But then you won’t have the tentacles, alas.
Sometimes I order fried calamari from our local Italian restaurant, tentacles and all. But I never tasted other squid rings quite as good as the ones I made, just that one time.
What kind of breading did you use?
It was a long time ago, and I think–not sure, but I think I used either just plain flour or some breadcrumbs my mother had handy. It wasn’t anything with special flavoring, although of course that could be used.
Remember, we are talking about some guy who doesn’t know shinola about cooking, and yet by happy accident happened to make something very tasty.
Lee, you make them sound delightful, but I still wouldn’t be up for trying them. I don’t eat calamari or oysters or mussels or snails either lol, although I do like steamed clams 🙂
Love squid! I fry them whole in Greek oil. Then add a little vinegar. Next time, I’ll try your recipe as eat them as a snack.
OOPS – meant after cleaning them & leaving the tentacles on,
Yes, cleaning them first is sort of a must… unless you’re a fish.
Cheap shot – LOL