Squid meat is very nutritious and healthy. Many different dishes are prepared from it, but most often salads. So that the squid meat does not turn out to be "rubbery", it must be boiled correctly.
Useful properties of squid
Squid meat has a delicate taste, it contains a lot of protein and polyunsaturated fats valuable for the body. Squid meat contains B vitamins, it contains a lot of potassium, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the heart. In addition, these inhabitants of the seas are rich in phosphorus, iodine and iron, so their meat is recommended to be included in the menu for all adherents of a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet.
Squid meat contains taurine, which takes part in the processes of fat metabolism, helps to reduce cholesterol in human blood, and regulates blood pressure. Vitamin E, as well as selenium, protect the body from aging, help the elderly to maintain a good memory for longer.
Squids are cheaper than many other seafood for the price, which makes them affordable for almost everyone.
How to choose fresh squid?
Squid meat is usually sold as frozen carcasses. Sometimes with tentacles. Like any frozen product, squid meat should not be thawed during storage and then cooled again. Improper storage spoils its taste, it has a bitter taste and an unpleasant smell of old fish. During cooking, such a product spreads under the hands and foams during cooking.
The squid carcass should be firm. The color of its upper rind is pinkish brown or grayish purple. Squid meat is white inside.
Important! When choosing squid in the store, it is better not to take peeled carcasses. At first glance, it seems that peeled is more convenient, you do not need to peel off the skin from them, you can cook faster. But the skin of a squid is the most important trait by which you can determine its freshness! If the skin is yellow or white-gray, if it is noticeable that the meat is not white inside, but has some shade, such a squid is most likely not fresh.
How to clean squid?
You can clean the squid very quickly by pouring boiling water over the carcasses or dipping them (literally for a second) into boiling water. Almost all of the film covering the carcass is immediately rolled up, and the remains are removed by hand under running cold water. You also need to remove the chitinous plates inside and peel the wings.
How to cook squid?
How much to cook squid? The main thing to remember is to cook squid meat for no more than 2 minutes! If kept on fire for longer, it becomes "rubbery". Squid meat is considered ready after its carcass completely turns white in boiling water.
The second important point is to cook in small portions, take one or two squid carcasses at a time, dip in boiling water, remove, then the next portion.
You can use different spices when cooking squid: black and white pepper, cloves, dill (fresh and dried), basil, parsley. The determining factor is taste and what dish the squid is cooked for.
Method 1. Boil water with salt and spices in a saucepan over high heat. Throw 1-2 squid carcasses into boiling water and hold for no more than two minutes. During this time, water usually has time to resume boiling. Remove the carcasses with a slotted spoon.
Method 2. Pour one and a half to two liters of water into a saucepan, add salt and spices. Dip thawed and prepared 1-2 squid carcasses into boiling water. Cover the saucepan and remove from heat. After 10 minutes, the meat will be ready. The water will cool gradually and the squid will not be hard. The method is convenient for a small amount of meat.
Method 3. When there is a lot of squid meat, then this method is quite good. Pour enough water into a saucepan to fit all the meat, add salt and spices. Dip the prepared squids into boiling water over high heat. Wait until the water boils again, cover the pan and remove from heat. After 5 minutes, the meat will be ready and the water can be drained.
If, nevertheless, trouble happened and the squids were digested, then not everything is hopeless. There is one trick on how to make them soft again: to do this, you need to cook them for a long time, about an hour (not less than half an hour). True, after such boiling, the meat will become much smaller and it will lose its nutritional value.
What to cook from squid meat?
Most often, salads are prepared from their squid meat, although you can use it as an independent dish, lightly sprinkling with lemon juice. Stuffed squid carcasses can be prepared with any filling, in addition, you can cook anything that can be made from regular meat: meatballs, pie fillings, etc.
A tasty and healthy delicacy, rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, was served in ancient Greece, calling this mollusk a winged fish. Low calorie content (86 calories per 100 g), high nutritional value and the ability to have a beneficial effect on the body have turned squid into a popular dish for those who want to lose weight and improve their health. How to cook delicious squids so that they decorate the festive table? There are many ways and recipes for preparing this seafood, but they are all based on some general points that every housewife should know about. Many are sure that cooking is very difficult, but this is a misconception, which you have to debunk in practice.
How to quickly peel squid?
Unpeeled squid are considered to be of higher quality, because after the factory cleaning, the molluscs are cooked and become tough. Residents of the Mediterranean know how to properly clean squid, frozen or fresh: first, they should be thawed at room temperature or in the refrigerator, then pour boiling water for one minute (during this time, the skin will curdle), drain the boiling water and place the squid in cold water. After that, you can easily remove the curled skin, remove the chord, entrails - and the squid can be cooked. This is the best way to keep the squid soft, tender and juicy.
How to cook peeled and unpeeled squid properly
Add salt, peppercorns and bay leaf to the water, wait for the water to boil, dip the squid carcass in it and take it out after 10 seconds. As soon as the water boils again, do the same with the second carcass, with the third and with all subsequent squids. To understand how to properly cook squid fillets, you just need to try this method, and then you will understand why all the previous methods were unsuccessful. It turns out that long heat treatment (for 3-5 minutes) deprives the taste and nutritional properties and turns them into gum that cannot be chewed.
There is another way how to properly cook frozen squid (you must first defrost it, of course) - you need to boil water with salt and spices, put the shellfish there and immediately remove it from the heat. You need to insist this yummy for 10 minutes.
And now we will tell you how to properly boil frozen squids without defrosting: you just need to put them in boiling water for one minute, turn off the heat, and then hold them in water for another 3-4 minutes.
How to fry squid properly
Before frying, the squid should be boiled in one of the above ways, cut into rings or strips, dipped in ice cream (beaten eggs with sour cream, salt and spices), roll in breadcrumbs and fry in vegetable or butter for no more than five minutes.
Some novice cooks are interested in how to properly cook calamari fried in batter. This very simple dish is done in the same way - boiled and chopped shellfish are lightly marinated, dipped in batter and fried in a large amount of oil.
Delicious squids can be cooked in the oven or on a wire rack, but they must be pre-marinated for several hours in lemon juice with garlic, pepper and paprika. Then the squid should be put on a wire rack and baked, pouring over the remaining marinade.
How to stuff squid correctly
First, the squids are washed, poured over with boiling water, then peeled and lightly beat off each carcass. Next, you need to fill the carcass by two-thirds with a filling, which is suitable for mushrooms with eggs, vegetables with rice, shrimps with cheese, green beans and onions, apples and cottage cheese. The edges of the carcasses are fastened with skewers, after which the squids are stewed in the oven with a little water, and five minutes before they are ready, they are sprinkled with cheese and put in the oven again until golden brown. The finished dish is poured with nut, tomato, cream, sour cream, wine, soy or onion sauce.
In many recipes for cooking squid, you can find unexpected combinations - squid with minced meat, with bread and sprat, with crab sticks and corn, with nuts and dried fruits.
Each national cuisine has its own secrets of cooking squid, but there is one main rule. Do not overload the squid with spices and spices, as they intensively absorb the aroma of the surrounding products, and the dish may turn out to be too saturated. How to cook squid properly is just the beginning. It is important to choose the right side dish (rice, vegetables, pasta) and serve the dish correctly, garnishing it with fresh vegetables, lemon, herbs and olives. In Southeast Asia, squid is eaten raw, sprinkled with savory sauces, but such an extreme is not for those who love to cook and enjoy delicious food!
A squid is a cephalopod that lives in different seas and oceans. Most often, squid and their close relatives, shrimp, are small in size, about 25-50 cm, but in some cases, squids can reach incredible sizes.
The meat of this clam is very beneficial for health, but not everyone knows how to cook squid so that they are soft. There are also many other ways to prepare this delicious clam.
Why are squids useful?
The properties of this mollusk have been studied by leading experts for many years, because the popularity of squid is becoming higher every year. Numerous studies have confirmed the beneficial effects of daily squid consumption on cardiovascular health. Squid, entering the human body, does not turn into harmful cholesterol, but helps to normalize the level of this substance in the blood. When splitting squid meat, it releases many useful substances that contribute to the healing of the body and strengthening of blood vessels. So, regular use of squid can significantly reduce the likelihood of developing a heart attack and stroke.
Squid contains many vitamins, as well as calcium, zinc, iodine, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, copper and other important macro and microelements. The proteins contained in squid contribute to muscle growth and development, and are also high in energy value. Squid does not contain harmful purine substances that negatively affect metabolism.
Also, squid meat has a beneficial effect on the human brain, having some anti-sclerotic effect. With regular consumption of squid meat, a person's memory improves and mental activity increases. In addition, squid helps to remove accumulated salts of heavy metals from the body and cleanses of toxins. The positive effect of eating squid on human reproductive function and excretory systems has also been proven.
How to peel squid?
Many experts recommend buying not peeled or frozen, but chilled squid with head, skin and entrails. By their appearance, it is much easier to determine the freshness of the shellfish. But often, following this advice, people are faced with a new problem, considering the acquired squid how to clean and cook these marine life, they do not know a lot, and squid uncleaned from the insides and skins will be tough and tasteless.
Immediately you need to separate the head from the squid. Tentacles and a kind of mantle with wings are edible. You immediately need to turn the squid inside out and remove the insides. Inside there will be an elongated pocket containing a vein of transparent color. This vein is a kind of squid backbone. Finding and pulling it out will not be difficult.
Next, you need to cleanse the calamari body from the skin of a gray-pink or pale lilac color. The easiest way to do this is with boiling water and cold water. The squid is immediately scalded with boiling water, and then quickly dipped into cold water. The skin will begin to peel off on its own and can be easily removed.
Frozen squids are sold without a head or tentacles. To clean them from the film, you need to without defrosting, throw into boiling water and immediately pull out. The skin of the squid will quickly peel off after applying cold water, but you must not forget about removing the spine of the mollusc.
Squid recipes how to cook?
Many people are wondering how to cook squid to keep it soft. The first rule is the cooking time, it should not exceed 2 minutes. If you boil these seafood for not even a couple of minutes more, they will become "oak". A completely whitened carcass in boiling water will tell you about the readiness of the squid. The second rule is the amount of squid boiled at one time. It is not recommended to cook more than 2 carcasses at a time, because from the moment the first and last carcasses are pulled out, a certain time also passes. To enhance the taste of squid, you can use a wide variety of spices (basil, dill, pepper, cloves, and others).
How to cook squid correctly
There are several ways to boil these shellfish. When the water in the container begins to boil, boiling, you need to add a little salt and selected spices. Then put a few squid carcasses in boiling water and boil for 2-2.5 minutes. When doing this, be careful not to burn yourself with the spray of boiling water. When the required time runs out and the water resumes its seething, the squid can be pulled out with a slotted spoon.
The second recipe involves boiling squid in a container filled with 1.5-2 liters of water with spices and salt. When the water boils, pre-thawed squids are dipped into it. As mentioned, you should not take more than 2 carcasses at the same time. Immediately after this, the container with the squid is covered with a lid and removed from the heat. After 10 minutes, the squids will reach on their own in gradually cooling water. Since the water will self-cool due to the lack of heating, the squid will not become "rubbery". In this way, it is very convenient to cook small portions of molluscs, since it is practically unnecessary to cook squids, they will come to readiness themselves.
With a large amount of squid, it is better to use the third method of cooking. Initially, you need to put all the squid meat in a container prepared for cooking and fill it with water so that it covers the meat. Further, salt and selected spices are added. After the squid is drawn out, and the water is put on fire and brought to a boil. Squids return to strongly boiling water with spices and are covered with a lid. When the water starts to boil again, and this will happen in about 2-3 minutes, the squids are removed from the heat. After 5 minutes, you can open the lid and take out the finished squid. The proposed method may be ideal for people interested in how to cook squid for salad.
Even knowing how to cook squid so that they are soft, many manage to digest them. If the shellfish nevertheless become tough during cooking, there is no need to rush to throw them away. It is necessary to put the clams again to cook for about 25-60 minutes. But with such digestion, the meat will significantly lose in volume and lose most of its beneficial qualities.
How to cook squid rings?
Sliced squid is a versatile dish, served both as a snack and as various original combinations. Before cooking peeled squids, cut into rings, you need to defrost them first, because most often they are offered in a frozen version. It is imperative to defrost squid rings at normal temperature without using a microwave. When all the ice has melted, you need to wash the rings under running water. Take a little water into the container and bring it to a boil. It is advisable to add a significant amount of salt. Further, the container with salt water is removed from the fire, and shellfish are thrown into it. It is enough to hold the rings in boiling water for 10-25 seconds for their complete preparation.
How to cook frozen squid in the microwave?
Initially, the clams should be thawed at room temperature. After that, the bodies are washed with running water and dried thoroughly with a paper towel.
The seafood should be cut into rings or small strips and placed in a cooked dish. To the squid, add 15g of wine, preferably white, 18g of soy sauce, a little salt and selected spices. Shellfish are cooked in a microwave oven on the maximum possible mode for 1.5-2 minutes. After cooking, the seafood is garnished with parsley and served with a side dish such as white rice.
How to cook squid so they are soft in a pressure cooker?
Fresh and peeled shellfish is taken whole or cut into small pieces, you can use rings. If the squid was bought frozen, it must first be defrosted. The chopped shellfish are placed in a pressure cooker container and filled with water so that it completely covers the squid meat. You need to add a significant amount of salt to make the water brackish. Rosemary, various herbal mixtures and types of peppers are also added.
Cooking shellfish is carried out in the "Steam" mode for 1 minute. The specified time is enough for cooking seafood and preserving all the taste and useful qualities. If the squid was taken whole, it must be chopped after cooking and well seasoned with sauce or mayonnaise. To improve the taste, you can add olives and salt.
How to brew peeled squid in beer?
For these purposes, it is better to use squid rings, since it will take longer to cook whole squid in beer, which will affect the taste. Pour half a liter of any beer, preferably light beer, into the prepared brewing container. The beer should be gently brought to a boil over low heat and the frozen squid (in rings) toss in without first defrosting. Boil squid in beer no longer than 40 seconds, and then quickly remove it with a slotted spoon and remove excess liquid. Ready-made squids are salted and served as a snack for beer.
How to cook frozen squid to be soft in milk sauce?
Initially, seafood is defrosted at 18-23 degrees without using a microwave oven. If the seafood is packaged in a factory bag, you can simply fill the entire bag with cold water and hold for about half an hour. At this time, you can start making milk sauce. Wheat flour (230-250 gr.) Should be fried in butter (butter) until an amber hue appears. Next, carefully add milk (700 gr.), Without ceasing to stir. Cook the sauce over scarlet heat for 6-7 minutes. In this case, you need to try so that no lumps of flour remain. At the end, add nutmeg, dry herbs, pepper (preferably white) and salt.
The clam is cut into rings and sprinkled into the cooking sauce. After 4 minutes, the clam in the sauce must be removed from the heat. The resulting sauce must be poured over the previously cooked noodles (pasta) and put this interesting dish in the oven for half an hour. It is served hot, garnished with parsley.
How to cook squid to be soft in garlic sauce?
Melt 50g of butter in a skillet and then add 2-3 cloves of garlic. The garlic must first be cut lengthwise, dividing it into several parts. Frying garlic is carried out for 1 minute, and then squid (1 kg.) And ¾ glass of white wine are added. Next, make the fire very small, and close the pan with a lid. After 2 minutes, add another clove of garlic, coarsely chopped parsley and 35-40g of fresh lemon juice to the squid. The dish is salted and peppery to taste, and is also garnished with lemon zest. After steeping for 2 minutes under the lid, the dish is completely ready for use.
Mediterranean cuisine is famous for its recipes for preparing a variety of shellfish dishes. Seafood is rich in easily digestible proteins, iodine, phosphorus and iron.
Beneficial features
Squids occupy a special place in the list of cephalopods. Their meat is recommended for those who are trying to lead a healthy lifestyle, to have a full and varied diet. A large supply of potassium, B vitamins, and valuable fats allows you to maintain a stable heart, maintaining health for many years.
How to cook squid correctly? How to prepare a delicious and healthy dish from these seafood? We will now tell you in detail. Unfortunately, there are practically no freshly chilled seafood in Russian stores, so gourmets have to be content with what they have - a frozen semi-finished product. Most often, in the fish departments, you can buy squid carcasses or tentacles that have already been peeled. However, do not rush to buy. The convenient semi-finished product was exported, most likely, from Asian countries, where it underwent mandatory processing with chemical enzymes. This preparation allows you to keep the products in a marketable condition as long as possible. But this process does not contribute to the preservation of useful, nutritional and taste properties. Therefore, when planning to cook healthy food, you need to know how to cook squid correctly and which ones are best to buy.
How to cook frozen squid? In the same way as fresh, but they must be properly defrosted before cooking. You should not put the shellfish in hot water to speed up the process. This can destroy nutrients and significantly impair the taste of the product. The frozen squid should be placed in the refrigerator. At a temperature of about five degrees, soak the seafood for two hours, not allowing it to completely thaw. The product that is not completely defrosted is easier to process. Thawed squids should have a slight sea smell of iodine, which confirms their freshness and freezing in compliance with the technology. If the shellfish have no smell at all, or, even worse, they smell like old fish, this indicates that the product has been frozen and thawed several times. During the cooking process, such pulp will creep and acquire an unappetizing grayish color. You can eat such seafood, but there will be very little benefit from this food.
How to clean squid properly?
Having defrosted the semi-finished product to the desired condition, you should proceed to the next stage - cleaning. If the squid is entirely unprocessed, then the head and tentacles should be pulled from the carcass with a sharp movement. Together with them, the insides will also be separated. All that remains is to remove the chitinous plates and remove the thin skin from the carcasses.
When it is possible to acquire decapitated squids, they usually lack tentacles either. The hostess is left with only external processing. If the product was not completely thawed, but retained the light strength of the tissues, then this will greatly facilitate the process of cleaning the carcass from the pinkish-gray film. It is convenient to use a sharp knife with a thin blade for cleaning. Prying the skin in the place of the cut left from the head, you should pull it towards the tail. Usually the thin film is peeled off without much difficulty. In the event that the seafood has thawed completely, it becomes more difficult to cope with cleaning. Then you need to choose a knife with a rounded tip and scrape off the skin with it, being careful not to damage the carcass. The peeled squid pulp has an even white color.
After thorough processing, the carcass should be carefully rinsed under running cold water. If the water temperature is high, it can significantly degrade the taste of the product, making it less juicy.
Cooking time
How to cook squid correctly? This question is often asked by housewives who do not very often prepare seafood dishes. There are some tips on this, but most importantly, you need to know exactly how much to cook the squid in time. The consistency of the finished product and the preservation of nutrients and beneficial properties depend on this. Boiling seafood should take no more than three minutes. Otherwise, the pulp will become tough and hardly edible.
Brewing process
So, how to properly boil squid? Let's tell you now. The prepared carcasses should be immersed in boiling water, pre-salted and flavored with bay leaves and a few peas of black pepper. In order not to be mistaken with the cooking time, you can use the following move. After dipping the squid in boiling water, wait for the water to boil again and start counting to ten. After finishing the countdown, you need to immediately remove the clams with a slotted spoon and allow them to cool. The deep white color of the flesh will be a sign of the readiness of the product.
If the cooking time is sustained, then the meat will turn out to be unusually tender and juicy. Do not cook a lot of squid at once. This significantly lowers the temperature of the water, and the reboiling process takes much longer. It is better to boil semi-finished products in small portions, putting two or three pieces in a saucepan.
What to do if re-boiling was skipped?
If suddenly the main rule of preparation is violated, then you should not fall into despair - the situation can still be saved. Having overdue the moment of the end of cooking, you do not need to remove the product from the pan, let it continue to cook further. For full readiness, it will take at least half an hour. Squid meat will again become juicy and tasty, but the volume of the finished product will significantly decrease. Unfortunately, there will also be less nutrients in it.
Cooking in the marinade
Not everyone knows about the features of how to cook squid for salad. To properly prepare a semi-finished product, it should be boiled in a marinade. To do this, dissolve two tablespoons of table salt and three tablespoons of granulated sugar in cold water. When boiling, pour in two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and add a few black peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves. Thanks to the prepared mixture, squid pulp acquires extraordinary juiciness and piquant taste. Seafood cooked in brine can also be used as an independent dish.
Now, knowing in detail how to cook squid correctly, you can cook on their basis a considerable number of various salads and snacks. It is in cold dishes that the taste of seafood is revealed especially brightly and subtly. Below is a description of a simple salad recipe that can be prepared not only for a family dinner, but also for a festive table.
Delicious dish in the end
For two servings of the dish, you need to take one hundred grams of boiled squid pulp and cut it thinly across the fibers into strips. Peel two boiled eggs and cut into small cubes. Also chop the boiled potatoes, fresh cucumber and green onions. Tear a few green lettuce leaves into small pieces with your hands. Mix all products and add canned or frozen green peas to them. It is recommended to season the salad with mayonnaise or low-fat sour cream. For taste, you can add a little black pepper and salt. Put the prepared mixture in a salad bowl and garnish with finely chopped dill.
There are several facts about the popularity of squid: these mollusks are found in almost all seas, they are tasty, affordable and extremely healthy. However, with such advantages, only the most experienced and courageous housewives decide to cook dishes with squid. The reason is that squid meat consists of complete protein, which quickly curls up and hardens during heat treatment. One has only to overexpose the shellfish on the fire, as the tender and juicy meat turns into a rubbery tasteless lump. How to cook squid for a salad or other dish, preserving their benefits and taste, we suggest finding out in our review.
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What to look for when buying
Squid is one of the safest seafood around. However, most of us live far from the seas and oceans, so they buy food in stores. This is where the danger lies: not all manufacturers and sellers are conscientious about selling products. As a result, instead of healthy and tasty squid, customers often bring home a block of ice or spoiled carcasses.
Today, there are several types of squid on the shelves of shops and markets:
- fresh frozen whole carcasses;
- fresh chilled;
- frozen peeled fillets;
- frozen rings.
Like other seafood, squid is a fast perishable product. Manufacturers use a proven and reliable way to preserve freshness - freezing. Of course, there is a difference between the quality of fresh chilled product and frozen one, but insignificant. Modern freezing technologies use ice glaze. A special shock freeze while still on board helps to fully preserve the benefits of the product and its freshness, without using excess moisture. But non-compliance with storage conditions can spoil its quality.
When buying frozen squid, pay attention to the presence of snow, individual pieces of ice or frost in the package. Their presence indicates a violation of storage technology. Whole carcasses or rings must not stick together into a shapeless mass, each part must fit freely in the package. According to Russian standards, the weight of an ice coat should not exceed 10%, but foreign frozen seafood is not regulated by standards, so 20% or more of ice is found in them.
When choosing fresh chilled squid, look at the color of the meat: it should be white and uniform, as in the photo. Yellowness indicates a violation of the expiration date, but pink or other spots under the skin indicate the use of chemical additives.
Left - unpeeled carcass, right - peeled
When buying peeled squid, you need to know the specifics of production. Two types of cleaning are used, which consist in the method of separating the shells of the shellfish:
- Heat - squid carcasses are doused with hot water at a temperature of 70 degrees, after which cleaning is carried out manually or using drums. This is a safe method, but some of the weight and nutrients are lost during heat treatment.
- Chemical - a quick and cheap method that uses special chemical solutions. Squid carcasses are immersed in a solution and then sent to skin cleaning. Such solutions can be toxic to humans.
How to prepare squid before cooking?
There is an important rule in using squid: you need to cook them on the day of purchase. This rule applies to both fresh and frozen carcasses. The fact is that good refrigerating chambers are required to maintain the full quality of seafood. At home, not everyone has such refrigerators. And while we deliver the product from the store or market home, it is partially defrosted. Freezing it again in your home freezer will ruin quality.
In addition, there are some defrosting rules. To maximize the benefits of seafood, defrost it slowly, for example, on a refrigerator shelf. But throwing frozen squids into boiling water is undesirable: there is a high risk of getting tough and tasteless meat. It is also not recommended to place the product in water to speed up defrosting: the firmness and elasticity of the fibers are lost.
Fresh and frozen unpeeled squid must be cleaned of entrails (if any), chitinous plates and outer film before cooking. If the film is difficult to remove, pour boiling water over the carcasses and immediately place in cold water.
Chef Ilya Lazerson will tell and show you step by step how to clean and cook deliciously squid.
Maximum cooking time for squid
There are two principles that govern the correct preparation of squid. To keep them soft, they need to be cooked either very quickly or slowly and for a long time. The famous chef Ilya Lazerson uses two terms: "quick heat" and "long heat". For the preparation of salads, "quick heat" is used, in this case the maximum contact time with hot water is no more than three minutes. In order not to miscalculate, it is better to pour boiling water over the squid in two stages: pour, hold for 1 minute, drain. Place in cold water, then again pour over with boiling water and cool in cold water.
Squids are boiled for about 2-3 minutes. But the exact time, how much to keep in water, depends on the size and type of the mollusk. Throw them into boiling water and immediately after cooking immerse them in cold water to slow down the protein folding process.
Fresh squid
Fresh squids are a guarantee of a pleasant taste and richness of the dish with useful substances and minerals. If you are lucky enough to purchase whole fresh carcasses, you need to be able to cook them correctly.
Training
Before cooking squid for salad, rinse whole carcasses thoroughly in cold water. Cut the fillet with a sharp knife from top to bottom, remove the entrails and chitinous ridge. If the skin is difficult to remove - pour boiling water over. If easy, clean immediately.
Preparation
- Prepare a convenient saucepan and pour enough water so that when boiling the squid, it only slightly covers the carcasses.
- Bring water to a boil, season with salt. If you want to preserve the natural taste of fresh seafood, avoid using spices. To give the squid a richer flavor, add spices to the boiling water: pepper, thyme, lemon peels, and even a white wine cork.
- Dip the squid carcasses into the prepared boiling broth, mark for 2.5 minutes and immediately after the expiration, take out the finished meat. Remember that hot meat will continue to cook under its own heat, so they must be immediately placed under cold water.
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How much to steam
A more reliable and, as experts say, humane way of cooking squid is to steam it. An electric double boiler or a colander (sieve) over boiling water is suitable for this. However, remember that steam is much more insidious than boiling water, so you can get rubbery meat this way. Observe the cooking times strictly.
Preparation
- Pour water into the container of a double boiler, add bay leaf and allspice.
- Place the peeled and thawed squid carcasses or rings in a container, add a little salt. Set the cooking mode to 10 minutes. Cool immediately after cooking.
- To boil the squid over boiling water, reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes. This will keep them soft and juicy.
Frozen squid
Frozen squid should be thawed slowly before cooking. If the carcasses are not peeled, they can be defrosted partially to make it easier to remove the film. Thaw the peeled meat until completely soft. You can cook squids either whole or by cutting them into rings. The second option is more acceptable.
Preparation
- Cut the peeled squid into rings, add salt.
- Prepare boiling water. Place the meat in a deep bowl, pour boiling water over and keep stirring for one minute. Drain and chill the squid in cold water.
- Bring the water to a boil again and re-pour the boiling water over the meat for one minute. Repeat the Charcot shower procedure. Squids for the salad are ready!
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How to properly clean shellfish carcasses, look at the video from the Cruton channel - loaf.
How to cook rings?
Today, stores offer already peeled calamari in the form of rings. This simplifies the cooking process and is especially convenient if the dish needs to be prepared quickly. However, it is important to remember that rings need to be cooked much less time than whole fillets.
Preparation
- Defrost food in the refrigerator or at room temperature if you need to cook quickly.
- Boil water, add salt and spices to taste.
- Dip the squid rings in the boiling broth and cook, stirring occasionally, for no more than 1.5 minutes.
- Remove them with a slotted spoon or drain the water through a sieve. Dry and let stand at room temperature to cool. Boiled rings are used in a salad or as a side dish for any dish.
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How to boil squid for salad in a saucepan
It is believed that when cooking in a large amount of water, squids lose many useful elements. This is logical, because moisture from the meat goes into the water. Seafood lovers often boil the clams in a saucepan, which allows less water to be used. In this case, water is used at the rate of 0.5 liters per 1 kg of squid meat.
Preparation
- Thawed, peeled squid should be cut into rings or convenient salad chunks.
- We take a stewpan, put the shellfish meat on the bottom. Add salt and spices as desired. Lemon wedges can be added for flavor.
- Boil water in a teapot and pour squid with it. The water should only slightly coat the meat on top. Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer over low heat for 3 minutes.
- We drain the liquid and cool the squid.
How and how much is cooked in the microwave
The microwave oven is an irreplaceable assistant in the kitchen of many housewives. Dishes are prepared quickly and easily. To boil squid in the microwave, you need a special dish with thick walls and a lid.
Preparation
- Preparing squid for cooking.
- Place the fillets on the bottom of the dish.
- We take 2-3 tablespoons of water, squeeze the lemon juice into it and pour the squid meat with the mixture, mix thoroughly.
- Cover the dishes with a lid and put them in a microwave oven with a power of 700 watts for 2.5 minutes. With higher power, we reduce the time to 1.5-2 minutes.
How to cook squid without first defrosting
It so happens that the squid needs to be cooked very quickly, and the carcasses are still frozen. It doesn't matter, there is a way of cooking. We recommend using it only in case of emergency. Rapid defrosting will degrade the quality of the protein fibers. Hence, there is an unpleasant hardness or even worse - the fillet can lose elasticity.
Preparation
- In this way, peeled squids are prepared from the skin and entrails.
- Boil water in a small saucepan, add salt and spices. Boil the kettle with water separately.
- Pour the frozen carcasses with boiling water from a kettle, then throw into boiling water. Cook for no more than two minutes in the usual way.
- For cooking whole squid carcasses, water is used at the rate of 2 liters per 1 kg of fillet. This amount will need 2 tablespoons of salt.
- After cooking, in order to instantly stop the protein folding process, the squid meat must be immediately immersed in cold water. You need to remove seafood from the stove or remove with a slotted spoon about 20 seconds before the end of the cooking time.
- If you did not manage to remove the squid from the heat in time or have overcooked for more than 2-3 minutes, the meat has become tough, do not rush to throw the product away. Leave it to simmer for another 30 minutes. After this time, the reverse process begins in the protein and the fibers soften. However, the meat will no longer return to its former volume. After 10 minutes of cooking, it is lost twice.