Tips for Making the Best Calamari at Home

“Calamari” is a popular appetizer and an Italian word for squid. Although it is on many restaurant menus, the following tips for making the best calamari at home can help you make it a family favorite. Specifics on cooking your chosen fried calamari recipe follow. City Fish Market is an excellent place to buy fresh squid, and the website offers many proven seafood recipes, including Thai-style Squid Salad.

Is Squid Healthy to Eat?

Like other seafood, squid has qualities that make it a healthy choice for your dining table. Moderation is important when enjoying calamari, however, if it is of the fried variety. Restaurants sometimes refer to baked squid as calamari.

Similar to octopuses, squid are sea mollusks with eight arms and two elongated tentacles. Squid, like oysters and clams, is a mollusk, though without the hard shell. Experts at Smithsonian Ocean say there are approximately 500 kinds of squid. They come in various sizes, but culinary experts say that those used for calamari are the most tender and tasty.

Squid is high in protein and a rich source of minerals and B vitamins. Serve salads, vegetables, and whole-grain pastas to help keep your calamari serving size small—being that it is a fried delicacy.

Chefs’ Insights on Making the Best Calamari at Home

Calamari, as a classic appetizer, is composed of lightly battered and quickly fried rings of squid. Serve calamari with warm marinara sauce for the most pleasing results and enthusiastic compliments. Squid is firm and chewy with a slightly sweet taste, though it can turn out rubbery. The trick with squid is to cook dishes either like calamari at a high temperature or slowly at low temperatures, such as in a soup. More tips for making the best calamari at home follow:

• Soak the squid in salted milk for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Cook calamari in hot oil until golden brown, which takes only 2 to 3 minutes.
• Lemon aioli is a good alternative to marinara dipping sauce.
• Chefs recommend buying fresh squid from a seafood market.
• Squid can be purchased whole or cleaned out and broken down.
• Cleaning squid yourself is a less expensive option and an easy process.
• To make gluten free calamari, simply use gluten free all-purpose flour.
• During the soaking process, work with batches that you can dredge and fry so that the pieces don’t stick together. This helps calamari dry evenly for best results.
• Keep in mind that squid freezes well for up to two months.

Visit City Fish Market Today for Fresh Squid

City Fish Market has been a dependable source of fresh seafood for a few years shy of a century! Their reputation for expertise in the handling of all varieties of seafood stands the test of time. If one of your goals is making the best calamari at home, remember that freshness is how great seafood dishes always get their start! Visit City Fish Market today at 884 Silas Deane Hwy, Wethersfield, CT. You can also contact us by filling out our online form or calling 860-522-3129.