How do you cook calamari / squid and avoid making it tough?
I am having a hard time with this seemly simple 'snack'.
The calamari and squid is usually given to me by my neighbor who is a seafood monger. It's frozen and a mix of baby octopus and squid rings, no label.
I've tried both boiling and frying them. I've also tried boiling followed by frying. The taste is always good, but the texture is not tender and kind of gummy.
It is possible that this type of squid is tougher (e.g. Moroccan octopus is more tender than Thai), and a reason why neighbor says: "arr, I can't cook these right... here... you try".
Is there a trick to getting them spot on?
Best Answer
Calamari or squid is of course famous for being difficult to cook, because it gets tough or rubbery.
As Harold McGee explains in On Food and Cooking, octopus and squid meat are very rich in collagen:
They are chewy when lightly cooked, tough when cooked to the denaturing temperatures of their collagen, around 120 - 130 F / 50 - 55 C, and become tender with long, slow cooking.
The trick then is to either:
Cook them minimally, so they do not begin to toughen. This Serious Eats recipe for fried calamari recommends no more than one minute.
My own interpretation of this is that it will keep the temperature of the squid below the 120 F threshold, at the risk of being below the pathogen kill point, so it should be done only with squid from a trustworthy purveyor.
Cook them for a long time, slowly, as in a braise, so they move through the tough phase to tender again. This Food Network recipe for stuffed squid by Ann Burrell is an example. The total squid cooking time is 20 to 25 minutes.
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Quick Answer about "How do you cook calamari / squid and avoid making it tough?"
Although its rubbery reputation is not entirely undeserved, calamari turns tough only when overcooked. The trick to coaxing it to a soft, supple texture is to cook it quickly over high heat or slowly over low, whether sauteing, roasting, stir-frying, grilling, or even deep-frying.How do you make calamari soft and tender?
To tenderise the meat and remove some of the chewiness, soak the squid in either lemon juice or kiwi fruit juice for half an hour before cooking. The acidity helps to break down the texture. Alternatively, tenderise by soaking the squid in milk overnight, covered and refrigerated.How do you cook squid so it is tender?
The general rule of squid cookery: Cook it briefly over high heat to keep it tender. Use a wok or saut\xe9 pan for a quick stir-fry, or batter the squid for deep or shallow frying. Or try squid grilled over hot coals.How do you cook squid without making it rubbery?
Cooking Tips Squid must be cooked for either a very short time or a very long time. Anything in between turns it very rubbery. Two minutes over high heat is plenty. Beyond that will require at least 30 minutes to an hour to re-tenderize it.How do you soften squid for calamari?
To tenderize your calamari, simply stir about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt in \xbd cup of milk. Add your squid rings to the salted milk solution and refrigerate for 30 minutes. There are other alternatives for tenderizing squid such as soaking it in buttermilk or lemon juice.Tips To Avoid Rubbery Squid | Yummy PH
More answers regarding how do you cook calamari / squid and avoid making it tough?
Answer 2
Fried calamari gets tough when even slightly overcooked. The trick is to thaw and bring to room temperature before frying.
Answer 3
Soak them in water and baking soda for an hour. Clean them in cold water then dry them. If you don't have baking soda then soak them for 4 hours in milk.
Answer 4
Fry for 40 seconds, then if it's not enough for you fry them again. Better to fried it too little than too much.
Answer 5
take frozen squid tube, put in just enough water to cover.On low heat bring to .boil and simmer for 10 to 14 mins. Dry squid and cut near through at 45 degs on one side, turn over and repeat ,Crush garlic in to pan with oil, salt and pepper squid and fry in hot oil for 1 to 1.5 mins. Yum.. very tender
Answer 6
Soak them in water and baking powder for about an hour before you fry them, they turn just sooooooooo tender.
Answer 7
Cut some paw paw up and cook it along with the squid for 1 hour.
This will make them tender when cooking.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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