How long should you cook squid so that its meat has a tender consistency and does not become tough? The main thing is not to keep this product in boiling water for too long, otherwise the squid meat will become like rubber. Today we will present to your attention detailed instructions for cooking this product and share tips on cooking in a double boiler and multicooker.
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Total votes: 2663
14.05.2020
- Yes 92%, 2455 votes
2455 votes 92%2455 votes - 92% of all votes
- No 8%, 208 votes
208 votes 8%
208 votes - 8% of all votes
Total votes: 2663
14.05.2020
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Preparing the carcass for cooking
Seafood is purchased as a whole carcass or only its tentacles. The body is the most delicious part of any mollusk. A frozen carcass must be defrosted before cooking. It is advisable to do this in cool water.
When the body is completely thawed, you need to remove absolutely all the insides. Grab the squid by its tentacles with one hand, and with the other hand, firmly grab its eyes and head, pulling it properly. In this simple way you will be able to quickly get rid of the insides. Next, you will need to remove the mouth of the mollusk. After the manipulations, pour boiling water over the squid’s body.
St. Petersburg chef Anton Grebenshchekov points out: “It is important to do this so that the skin comes off as quickly as possible. If you just start doing this with a knife without adding hot water, it can take several hours to clean.”
Next, the product is carefully cut, and the plates and remaining innards are removed from its interior.
Cleaning the skin from squid is always a troublesome task; ideally, purchase peeled squid in the supermarket. It is best to do this exclusively in those stores that you completely trust.
Cooking fresh carcasses
There are a huge number of delicious, unusual salads based on delicate seafood. Read how to cook squid so that it is soft and not rubbery.
In 2 servings of boiled carcasses - 489 Kcal.
Protein – 42 g, fat – 20 g, carbohydrates – 25 g
Prep time – 5 minutes, cooking time – 5 minutes.
What products will you need:
- Squid – 500 grams;
- Water – 250 ml;
- Salt - to taste.
Sequencing
- Pour hot water at approximately 70 degrees into a bowl.
- Place the cooked carcasses into a bowl.
- Promptly transfer them into cold water, get rid of the seafood skins directly in the bowl.
- Due to the sharp temperature change, the upper layers of the squid will heat up very quickly, unlike the inner ones, and the skin will come off easily.
- Pour boiling water over the carcasses twice, they will be ready.
Literally a few steps need to be done and you can enjoy boiled squid according to the classic recipe.
Salad with squid - the most delicious and simple recipe for a classic salad with squid
All dishes that are considered culinary classics are prepared quickly, simply and are incredibly tasty. It’s not for nothing that everyone gives preference to classic salad recipes, and they are rightfully loved and have held their leading positions for many years.
Based on a simple dish, housewives have the opportunity to experiment and add a variety of ingredients to it, according to their taste. Let's prepare a delicious squid salad according to the classic recipe.
Ingredients:
- peeled and boiled squid – 300 grams;
- hard-boiled eggs - 3 pieces;
- red onion - 1 onion;
- mayonnaise – 2-3 tbsp. spoons;
- salt and ground pepper - to taste.
How to make a classic squid salad
We clean the squid carcasses from the film and entrails, and then boil them. This is easy to do using the methods described in this article.
Do not forget that improper and long heat treatment (cook for no more than 2 minutes) can make tender meat tough and not tasty. Be careful not to overcook the shellfish. Cook for no more than 2 minutes.
Properly cooked carcasses should be tender and soft. Cut the boiled squid into thin strips and place in a bowl.
Cut the red onion into half rings, place in a bowl and pour boiling water over it. Leave the onion in the water for 5-10 minutes, during which time the excess bitterness will go away.
Cool the boiled eggs, peel them, cut them in half and cut into small thin slices. And then add the sliced eggs to the bowl with the squid. Adding eggs to the salad will make the finished dish more tender and tasty.
Drain the water from the onion, squeeze out the excess liquid and add the onion to the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.
Add mayonnaise to the products, salt and pepper to taste. Then mix everything carefully.
Classic squid salad is ready.
Let's put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes for better impregnation with mayonnaise. Then we transfer the food into a beautiful dish, garnish with herbs and serve.
Despite the simplicity of preparation and the minimal set of ingredients, we ended up with a very tasty seafood dish.
How to cook unpeeled
To save time, the easiest way is to buy peeled products at the supermarket. However, not all housewives choose this option, explaining it as follows. When talking about how to cook seafood, many popular chefs often draw attention to the fact that it is the film that covers the squid that contains many useful microelements. It is best to add unpeeled squid to boiling water. Then it won't turn out tough. After the seafood is cooked, you can simply remove the skin under running water. It is important to remember to pull out the chord. Read below to see how cooking takes place.
2 servings of boiled carcasses - 350 Kcal.
Protein – 36 g, fat – 17 g, carbohydrates – 20 g
Prep time – 5 minutes, cooking time – 5 minutes.
What ingredients will you need:
- Squid – 350 grams;
- Water – 250 ml;
- Salt - to taste.
Cooking process
- First of all, cooking seafood at home involves cutting off the tentacles of unpeeled seafood, removing all the entrails and the head.
- Pull out the insides that remain, the chitinous plates. Similar to peeling potatoes, remove the skin from seafood. This must be done especially carefully. The shellfish will turn out tender and tasty only after the products are completely cleaned.
- Next you need to do similar actions with their insides.
- Throw the raw carcasses into slightly salted, already boiling water. Cover the pan with a lid. Wait until the water boils. Watch the water boil. Drain the water and shake the squid a little.
That's the whole cooking process. It doesn't take more than 5 minutes. Such squids are a delicious dish, an excellent delicacy, the main thing is to understand all the intricacies of preparing the dish.
How to choose squid in the store? ⇑
Before you start preparing this seafood delicacy, you should choose the best squid from those presented in the store. How to do this?
Frozen squid is sold in three types - carcasses, rings, fillets. Squids are sold unpeeled or peeled. It is preferable to choose the first ones, because cleaned squid are often treated with chemicals to make them marketable. Unpeeled squids are frozen fresh, but processed, peeled squids could have been stored for some time before freezing. In this article we will also look at how to properly clean squid.
Remember: Unpeeled squid usually tastes better than peeled squid. If you decide to purchase peeled squid, then be sure to choose a trusted manufacturer when purchasing (so that the taste and benefits are not in doubt).
Squid carcasses should be easily separated from each other. Be sure to pay attention to the meat under the skin; it should be creamy, not white. The latter were probably treated with a chemical composition.
There should be no damage to the squid carcass; it should have a dense consistency and elasticity.
It is preferable to choose small squids - they have a more pronounced taste.
You can also often find squid rings on sale, which are made from waste from large species of shellfish that have tougher meat. This product undergoes repeated processing, so it is better to purchase whole shellfish carcasses and cut them yourself.
In a steamer
If you have a steamer at home, then boiling squid can become a housewife’s favorite pastime. Five simple steps will allow you to prepare your favorite seafood in just a few minutes and add it to a hot dish or salad.
2 servings of squid cooked in a double boiler - 408 kcal.
Protein – 40 g, fat – 21 g, carbohydrates – 22 g
Prep time – 5 minutes, cooking time – 9 minutes.
What ingredients will you need:
- Squid – 450 grams;
- Water – 250 ml;
- Salt - to taste.
Sequencing:
- Pour boiling water over the seafood if you bought skin-on squid. Get rid of the film and rinse the shellfish thoroughly.
- Place all the carcasses at once on the top tray of the steamer.
- Fill the bottom tray with water.
- Turn on the steamer for 8 minutes. Don't be afraid of these times. It is necessary solely to ensure that the water is properly heated first. Otherwise, the shellfish may turn out tough.
- All that remains is to take out the carcasses and enjoy the tender squid meat, which according to this recipe will definitely not turn out bitter.
Fried squid with onions or in marinade - a very tasty recipe
Today I will share with you how to fry squid in a frying pan, very tasty and simple. Seafood prepared in this way will please even those who were previously indifferent to it.
In this recipe I will show you a special version of cutting squid meat. Just one little cutting secret, and when fried, instead of thin strips, you will get voluminous pieces reminiscent of fir cones.
The finished dish on the table looks very beautiful and impressive! And fried squid according to this recipe turns out incredibly tasty!
Let's move from words to action and start cooking.
Ingredients:
- frozen squid – 600 grams;
- onion – 1 onion;
- wheat flour – 80 grams;
- lemon juice 1 tbsp. spoon;
- salt and ground pepper - to taste.
How to cook fried squid with onions in a frying pan
Let's defrost the squid. We do this gradually, at room temperature.
Now you need to remove the thin skin that covers the shellfish. To do this, we will resort to a simple method that has been tested over the years - scalding with boiling water.
Place the defrosted squids in a suitable container and pour boiling water over them. Before your eyes, the carcasses will immediately turn white, and the skin covering them will partially come off on its own and can be easily cleaned by hand.
Drain the boiling water and fill the clams with cold water. We wipe them with our hands under running water and remove the remaining films. We clean films both outside and inside the carcass.
Now that the films have been removed, we remove the insides. To do this, we will cut the carcass and remove everything that is inside.
We do not miss the chitinous rod. This is a thing that resembles a transparent plastic stick in appearance; it stretches from the bottom to the top of the carcass. The rod is pulled out quite simply, you just need to lightly pull the edge. We take it out carefully and slowly, so as not to break it or pull it out in pieces.
After processing, rinse the squid carcasses well with cold water.
Cut the prepared and washed carcass in half into two pieces. Each piece of squid meat has two sides: one is soft and tender, and the other is tougher and denser.
On this soft side we will make cross, but not very deep cuts with a knife. First we make cuts in one direction, then in the other direction.
We will get a kind of mesh pattern. You need to cut with a sharp knife, slowly and slowly, so as not to cut through a slice of meat.
The piece prepared in this way is cut into slices of arbitrary size. When fried, these slices will curl into tubes, and the pattern will become clearly visible.
Place the chopped meat on a plate. Sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
Peel the onions and cut them into half rings. You can use more or less onions. It's a matter of taste.
If you don't like onions, you don't have to add them. Place chopped parsley in the dish when frying. It will also be very tasty.
Sift the flour into a separate bowl. Dredge the squid pieces in flour, which have already been salted, peppered and sprinkled with lemon juice.
Place the prepared shellfish meat and chopped onion into the frying pan. We start frying everything. You need to fry in a well-heated frying pan with a thick bottom.
Advice to the hostess! Squids can be cooked by pre-marinating them. In this case, onions and flour will not be needed.
In a slow cooker
2 servings of squid cooked in a double boiler - 510 kcal.
Protein – 43 g, fat – 23 g, carbohydrates – 29 g
Prep time – 5 minutes, cooking time – 6 minutes.
What ingredients will you need for the dish:
- Squid – 0.5 kg;
- Water – 1 l;
- Spices, salt - to taste.
Recipe
- If you bought frozen squid in a supermarket, then first of all you will need to defrost it. After this, pour boiling water over all the carcasses. This is done in order to get rid of the film-like shellfish skin as quickly and accurately as possible. Get rid of the backbone and carcass.
- Pour the prepared water into the multicooker. Water is taken at the rate of two glasses for three small carcasses.
- Add spices to taste and salt to the water.
- When answering the question of what water to cook frozen squid in, it is worth emphasizing that as soon as the water boils, you need to throw in the seafood carcasses and cook for literally 2 minutes. In order not to track time, you can focus on color. As soon as the boiled squids begin to turn white, cook for literally another 10 seconds and remove them. In addition to this method, there are many others, but this is the easiest way to prepare them in a slow cooker.
- For cooking, you can add pepper to the water in addition to spices, if you like it. It’s also not uncommon for chefs to buy frozen squid at the store for cooking, then add lemon juice, cloves or marjoram to the water. That's the whole recipe. Using it, you can enjoy the aromatic taste of shellfish just 10 minutes after the start of cooking.
How long to cook squid until done
Having purchased fresh, uneviscerated, unpeeled squid carcasses, the first thing you need to know is how to properly clean them:
- Separate the head from the body.
- Remove the entrails.
- Cut off the tentacles.
- Remove cartilage from carcass.
- Skin inside and out.
- The tentacles require cleaning.
- Rinse all parts in running cold water.
- The head, cartilage, and internal organs are not suitable for food.
Important!
If you skip the skinning step, then after heat treatment it will harden, have a bitter taste and will be difficult to chew.
If the squids are peeled, they only need to be washed with water.
Frozen semi-finished products are sold in the form of fillets (cleaned body), tentacles or already cut into rings.
In a slow cooker
The multicooker is set to the “Cooking” mode. Water with selected spices and salt is poured into its container.
The following seasonings are suitable for squid:
- ground nutmeg;
- white pepper, black peas or chopped;
- Bay leaf;
- dry chopped garlic;
- ginger powder;
- sweet, ground dried pepper;
- lemon juice;
- For greens, give preference to dill, parsley, and basil.
Place any parts into boiling water: rings, carcasses, tentacles or all together. Close the multicooker with a lid and cook for 2 minutes; when the time is up, keep it covered for another 3 minutes.
In the microwave
To prepare this dish, it does not matter whether the parts are used fresh or frozen (the only difference is that the frozen ones will have to be thawed first so that they can be cleaned if necessary).
Rinse the carcass under running water and cut into thin rings. Season the slices with salt and pepper to taste, then lightly dredge in flour. Place them in the microwave, add a piece of butter (about 50 grams) and heat to maximum power. Squids cook very quickly, so it is recommended not to keep them longer than 2 minutes.
In a steamer
Steaming is considered the healthiest way to preserve the nutrients of the product. The disadvantage is that it takes a lot of time. This is done as follows:
- The steamer reservoir is filled with water and spices.
- Place squids in a tray in 1 row.
- Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Frozen
Unpeeled frozen parts are cooked for 7 minutes or only 1 minute, but after turning off the heat, keep covered for another 10 minutes.
To prepare, pour 1 liter of water into a saucepan with spices and salt to taste. Place over high heat, and after boiling, drop parts of the squid into the container. Whole carcasses, rings, tentacles, fillets are suitable. The finished product is placed in cold water - this will help to easily peel the meat from the shell.
The exact cooking time for peeled, frozen shellfish is 3 minutes.
Thawed
To properly defrost food, leave it in the refrigerator overnight and then drain the melt water.
The second defrosting method is 5 minutes in the microwave. Cleaned, thawed squids are boiled in boiled water for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on size.
Peeled
How long to cook squid depending on the part chosen:
- The whole carcass is cooked for 1–2 minutes;
- cook the ring for 1 to 1.5 minutes;
- mini squid – 1 min.;
- tentacles –1 min.;
Unrefined
If the carcasses are fresh, start cleaning: remove the entrails, remove the head and cartilaginous plates. Leave only the tentacles and body. The peel can be removed immediately or after cooking, but this must be done.
Recipe step by step:
- boil water in a saucepan;
- add salt, spices, a few drops of lemon juice;
- add squid;
- cook for 2 minutes;
- cool under running cold water.
Squid rings
Thawed rings should be cooked for no more than 1.5 minutes. To do this, you need to place the semi-finished product in boiling water with a bay leaf, 3 black peppercorns and add the required amount of salt. Make sure the water starts to boil again and set the time for 1.5 minutes until done. Remove the cooked ingredients from the container.
For the salad
How to cook frozen squid for salad:
- Pre-defrost and clean if necessary.
- Immerse the prepared clams in boiling salted water.
- No need to add spices.
- Cook for 2 minutes.
- Remove from water and cut according to recipe.
"Cold start"
This method of cooking squid is becoming more and more popular every year. What is the sequence of actions if it is chosen?
- Clean the shellfish.
- Pour cold water into a saucepan and place the clams in it.
- Turn on medium heat and place the dishes on the stove. As soon as you notice that the water has already warmed up enough, add a little salt to it.
- Turn off the heat as soon as the water starts to boil.
- Take out the boiled carcasses.
It is important to understand that the question of how to defrost squid always raises many questions due to the fact that they are seafood and for this reason they do not tolerate any thermal treatment quite well. If you cook the product for too long, the meat will simply taste like a rubber sole. The main secret of preparing the dish is to never overcook the shellfish. Therefore, carefully monitor the cooking process, have time to notice the moment of boiling. Housewives, having decided to cook seafood fillet, usually literally do not leave the stove.
The benefits of squid for the body
Squid is considered a dietary food; it contains a lot of protein and little fat. White shellfish meat is suitable for baby food and especially for pregnant women. Experienced gynecologists advise eating 300 g of squid per week instead of fish, explaining this fact by the fact that fish can accumulate a toxic metal - mercury, and squid is deprived of this ability. As a result, clean meat is very beneficial for the development of the fetus and the body of the expectant mother.
Squid also has significant benefits for children’s bodies. Potassium and calcium, which are contained in large quantities, help the growth of bone and muscle mass. For people who suffer from cardiovascular diseases, squids serve as a kind of adsorbents that prevent the accumulation of excess fluid and toxins. In addition, squids are ideal for the liver; they do not contain cholesterol or fat that is harmful to the body.
In hot water
When answering the question of how to properly cook squid, you should know that the first thing you need to do is pour cold water into a bowl and lower the clam into it. Next, turn on medium heat on the stove and place a pan of water to heat. As soon as the water warms up at least a little, it’s time to cook the squid. First, add a little salt to the water and wait until it starts to boil. Cooking carcasses is not difficult, but it is important to do it carefully, without losing sight of anything. As soon as the process of boiling water begins, there is no need to look at the seafood for a long time. Immediately turn off the stove and catch the carcasses. Boiled seafood should not turn out bitter. Proper defrosting ensures that the meat tastes tender. Seafood cooks quickly due to the fact that all of them practically do not tolerate heat treatment at all. If you miss the moment and don’t turn off the stove in a timely manner, none of your guests will like the meat.
Pouring boiling water
Many housewives are confident that this is the correct way to cook and boil seafood. They think that if you boil a shellfish in boiling water, it will taste more tender than the most expensive seafood in a restaurant with several Michelin stars. They are cooked this way very simply.
The only difference from the usual methods is that you need to pour boiling water three times. In this case, it is necessary to clean the squids after pouring boiling water over them for the first time. You can get rid of the skin fairly quickly. The second time, the shellfish fillet should be left in boiling water for about 60 seconds in a cleaned form. There is no need to salt the water at this stage. After this, the raw carcasses are washed thoroughly with water again.
After the third pouring of boiling water, you just need to put them on a plate and serve. Ideally, salting a dish should be done after it has been fully cooked. Some cooks immediately stuff or cut the squid afterwards. And some argue that it is also necessary to clean seafood from transparent film, since without it the meat will taste much better and be softer. As you can see, preparing the dish using this method is quick and easy.
How to clean squid? ⇑
Before you clean the squid, you will need to defrost it. You can leave the squid to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or defrost it at room temperature. There are two ways to clean squid - cold and hot. We will look at both and you will choose the one that seems more convenient to you.
2.1. How to clean squid using a hot method?
To clean squid using the hot method, place the thawed squid in a deep bowl. Separately, bring the water to a boil and pour it over the squid. Leave them in boiling water for just a minute. The squid will not cook in that amount of time, but the skin will curl up and be much easier to remove. The skin will come off as soon as you run your finger over it. Separate the remaining film with a knife, do not forget about the insides and chord.
If you are going to use seafood, for example, for a salad, you can remove the chord and entrails just at the moment when you cut the squid. And when you need to leave the squids whole, then carefully turn them inside out and remove the insides, chord, and hard parts.
2.2. How to clean squid using a cold method?
Grilled squid with ginger powder and garlic syrup There is another way to clean squid, it does not require boiling water. However, it is considered more difficult.
Using a sharp knife or fingernail, pry the skin from the side of the circular hole. Press the carcass firmly against the cutting board and remove the skin towards the fins. Repeat until all the skin is removed.
Note to the housewife: If you are going to clean the squid using this method, do not defrost it completely. Cold squid will be easier to work with.
Rinse the squid under water and remove the entrails, chord and hard parts. We have already described how to do this in the hot method of cleaning squid, the algorithm is no different.
Combined cooking method
The main feature of this method is that you can boil the squid immediately. There is no need to clean them separately due to the fact that the process is combined with boiling.
The sequence of actions is simple. Boil water in a saucepan. For 1.5 liters of water, take 1⁄2 tbsp. l. and add salt. Frozen squid cannot be placed in the pan, so take care of this in advance. You will immediately notice how the mantles of the product gradually become voluminous and the white-red film comes off from them. Wait until the water boils again, time 90-150 seconds.
You need to boil the squid during a vigorous boil. If you notice that your squid dish often tastes bitter, then pay attention to the fact that you should never cover the pan during cooking. After a minute and a half, carefully remove the dish from the stove and close it with a lid. The squids should cool for about 10 minutes. Why this is important is unanimously noted by most chefs: only after you have washed the shellfish under running water, got rid of the entrails, skin and chord plate, can you serve them to the table.
Useful tips
When planning to cook squid, check out a few tips that may be useful to housewives:
- Pay attention to the appearance of the carcass when purchasing - it should be pinkish-brown or pinkish-purple, dense and clean. The flesh inside should remain white.
- When buying unpeeled squid, you have the opportunity to determine the freshness of the carcass by the condition of the film.
- Carcasses that have been frozen once should not be frozen again. If the carcasses are frozen together, do not take such products, because their storage conditions have been violated.
- If the recipe involves cooking squid with other products, it should be added to the salad last.
- If the squids become rubbery during cooking, do not throw them away, but boil for another 30-40 minutes. As a result, they will decrease in size, but will become soft enough to be used in a salad.
- In order for the dish to contain the taste of squid and exude a pleasant aroma, the amount of this product must prevail over other components of the salad.
Processing the carcass after cooking
If you want to prepare the dish quickly, you can even peel frozen shellfish, dip them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, and then immediately transfer them to a plate of cold water. This way you can quickly stop the thermal treatment process.
No additional processing of the carcass after it is cooked is required. Before serving the dish, you can further decorate it, or change it a little by stuffing it with some filling. If you notice that the squid is a little bitter, try pouring lemon juice on it. This will allow you to slightly adjust the taste of the dish.
This tasty inhabitant of sea waters is characterized by tender meat and low calorie content. If you decide to buy frozen squid in the supermarket, you can cook it at home in just five minutes. The product is rightfully one of the representatives of dietary products. Today, there are fewer and fewer people who do not want to buy shellfish because of the difficulties of preparing it.
Knowing the nuances of how to properly defrost seafood, bring it quickly to a state of readiness and serve it to the table for your cozy evenings at home, you can be sure that the evening will not be ruined due to the culinary characteristics of boiled squid.
