Calamari Cooking Tips

[Guest]

I had some calamari at a restaraunt for the first time a couple weeks ago, and plan to make it for my individual project in my Foods class. I went to the store today and found out that they sell 2 1/2 pound packages of squid with what looks to be about 1/3 of it being tentacles. And only $7.99 for the whole thing (does this cheap price mean it's not calamari, because he said it was)



Anyway, he said it was all cleaned, so here's a question. When a recipe calls for say 2 1/2 pounds of squid, do the tentacles count or do they mean just tube meat? I assume you can use tentacle meat, and if so, do you have to pull the meat out of the tentacle? I'm thinking you don't want to eat the outside part of it, right? The tentacles looked black in the package, so I'm guessing I'll have to pull the meat out and discard the outside part, right?

[Guest]

Hey Chris!



The tentacles are some of the best eating, on a squid. You CANNOT REMOVE THE MEAT FROM INSIDE THE TENTACLES! The reason they appear dark, is because the skin is still on. It is very hard to remove from the tentacles, and not worth doing, as the arms are edible with it on.



Use the tentacles as you would the mantle: breaded and fried; sauted in butter, olive oil, onion and garlic; in sauces, etc. . .



If the dark color of the tentacles really bothers you, try rubbing non iodized salt all over them. The abrasivenes of the salt helps in removing the skin.



Otherwise, just cook the tentacles with the rest of the squid!



Enjoy!

Fried Walleye <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':th' />

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[Guest]

Thanks. I suppose this will be better for me because no one in my class will want to eat black squid meat, so I can have it all to myself. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':ink' />

[Guest]

Chris,



Just make sure that the squid meat is fresh, or fresh frozen. Ideally, if the squid is fresh, or hasn't been frozen long, the color will be limited to the skin, with the meat underneath still being white.



If it is no longer fresh, and / or has been frozen for a long time, the discoloration can extend into the meat. Along with the discoloration, there will also be a loss of freshness, resulting in a less than desirable squid meat.



I just recommend that you look around for the best quality squid that you can find. I've never had to buy any, so all I can recommend is looking at a seafood market, or an Asian market.



Good luck!



Fried Walleye <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':th' />

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