Is there anything better than Calamari? I’ll wait. Learn how to make this incredibly delicious dish that can be either an appetizer or an entrée!
Calamari is made from squid and it’s served all over the coastline of Italy. Each region has a special way of preparing their batter, but one thing they can all agree on is that it’s best when fried!
Ingredients (for a party of 2-4):
2 lbs of cleaned or uncleaned squid
1/2 lb of flour
1 tsp of black pepper
1 tbsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of salt
4 eggs
4 cups of vegetable oil (approximately)
12 ounces of your beer of choice (I recommend Corona or Moretti)
If you have uncleaned squid, check out this video below for squid cleaning!
If you have cleaned squid, wash and cut your squid into rings. You can do this by taking the head of the squid and slicing long ways. The legs will most likely not need to get cut, but if they’re particularly large you can cut them in half.
Once your squid is cleaned and cut, take a paper towel and dry thoroughly. Set aside with paper towel so that it can dry.
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. If you have a Kitchen Aid mixer, you can add them to that bowl. Crack your eggs and add to the mixture and begin to whisk thoroughly.
After a few minutes, if the mixture is too moist (with a water-like texture) add more flour. If it’s too thick (meaning it’s very difficult to mix) add more beer. When adding these ingredients, make sure to add very small amounts at a time.
The mixture should stick to your finger, that’s when it’s done. It’s consistency should be sticky and more dense, but not too watery.
Now it’s time to mix in your squid! Cover the squid evenly in the mixture. Next, cover with plastic wrap and make small holes in the top (3-4 holes) so that the mixture doesn’t condensate and become wet.
Let the mixture sit for 3 hours in the refrigerator.
After the 3 hour, remove from the fridge. Grab a medium sized pot, and fill halfway with vegetable oil. Turn your stove heat on high and let the oil heat before adding the squid. The oil should be around 375 degrees if you have a kitchen thermometer!
Once it’s ready, add the squid by hand slowly—don’t dump the whole thing in the oil!
Cook in the oil until the squid is golden, approximately 5 minutes. This depends on the temperature of your oil.
I recommend that when you remove the squid from the oil that you use a strainer to grab them. Place the squid on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Salt the calamari to taste once it’s out of the pot.
Serve with lemon and/or marinara sauce for dipping (or just plain because, it’s delicious!)
Let me know how your calamari tastes in the comments!
