How to quickly boil squid. How much and how to cook squid in water, own juice and steam? Step-by-step instructions on how to cook soft and tender squid for stuffing

Hello dear readers! Many housewives use squid as the main ingredient in dietary dishes. And this is no accident, because squid meat not only has a low calorie content, but is also able to make up for the deficiency of nutrients that our body needs so much during a diet. However, many of us are disappointed in the taste of this product, having prepared it once. The taste of squid meat is significantly worsened by improper heat treatment. Therefore, today I want to tell you about how to properly cook squid.

The right choice of product

Before you start cooking a mollusk, you should choose the right one. Otherwise, the taste of the dish will be spoiled initially. And in some cases, a poor-quality product can harm your health. To prevent this from happening, you need to remember a step-by-step list of just 3 tips on how to choose fresh frozen squid meat. It's not difficult at all, is it?

Mostly in stores, customers are offered frozen squid meat. The first step is to pay attention to whether snow is present on the mollusk. If the snow still covers some part of the meat, this product should be discarded. This recommendation is due to the fact that snow indicates a re-freezing of meat, which means that such a product is no longer suitable for food!
Next, we need to look at the color of the shellfish skin. It should be pinkish-brown or grey-purple. Such shades indicate the freshness of the product. The meat inside must be white! When I choose squid, I never take shellfish, because without the presence of the skin it is almost impossible to determine the quality of the product. Poor-quality seafood can be distinguished by a yellowish or light gray skin, as well as meat that is not white.
The last step in choosing a quality product is to evaluate its aroma. If the carcass has a sharp unpleasant odor, it is better to refuse to buy it.

How to clean?

Seafood must be cleaned before cooking. It is very easy to do this. We will need a deep plate and pre-thawed squid meat. Cleaning a mollusk consists in removing its skin and internal plates. To remove the skin, just pry it with your fingernail, after which it can be easily removed. Don't believe? Try it yourself and see for yourself! If any parts of the skin remain, the squid must be scalded with boiling water, and then the curled film should be removed.

To remove the plates, it is necessary to turn the carcass inside out, the hard parts that appear on the surface must be removed with your fingers. They easily leave the mollusk.

After the mollusk has been cleaned, it should be washed under running water, and then you can start boiling it.

In this five-minute video you can find recommendations for cleaning squid:

Cooking peeled squid carcasses

Frozen carcasses cannot be cooked, as they do not acquire a bitter, unpleasant taste. Therefore, before cooking, the meat should be completely thawed by transferring it to the refrigerator.

There are 3 recipes for cooking carcasses:

The first recipe is to add bay leaf, the taste and aroma of which will instantly absorb the meat. So, 1 liter of water is poured into the pan, to which a couple of bay leaves, a small amount of salt and a few peas of allspice are added. Everything is brought to a boil. The squid carcass is immersed in boiling water, the pan is closed with a lid. After 2.5 minutes, the seafood should be removed from the water. Do not cook this product for more than 3 minutes, as during this time the mollusk will become rubbery.
2 liters of salted water are brought to a boil, then 1 kilogram of seafood is put there. After the liquid boils, the clam should be cooked for another 30 seconds. Then the fire is turned off, and the carcasses remain in hot water for another 5 minutes.
So that the squids are not hard and also have a pleasant spicy aftertaste, spices should be used. For cooking shellfish, I advise you to choose spices suitable for cooking seafood. Water with spices dissolved in it is set on an active fire. After it boils, shellfish are placed in the liquid for 1-2 minutes. Carcasses are immediately pulled out and cooled.

Cooking unpeeled squid

Sometimes you want to save time and not clean the clam in advance, right? In these situations, unpeeled carcasses can be boiled.

To cook an unpeeled clam, you must:

Defrost the product first.
Throw the carcass into boiling salted water for 30 minutes. Are you worried that seafood will become rubbery during this time? Not worth it. Squid protein acquires a "rubber" character after 10 minutes of cooking, and after 25 minutes it becomes soft again. Therefore, if you suddenly overexposed squid carcasses, so that they are soft, they should be kept in boiling water for some more time.

After boiling, the film should be removed and the product can be consumed.

Cooking squid rings

Basically, squid rings are purchased by housewives for salad. It's very convenient, isn't it? After all, such rings are already peeled and chopped. It remains only to quickly boil them, and the main ingredient for the salad is ready!

So, how many minutes, and how should you cook clam rings?

Salted water is put on fire.
After the liquid boils, frozen squid rings are lowered into it.
The pan is immediately removed from the heat, closed with a lid, and the rings languish inside for another 10 minutes.
After this time, the seafood is leaned back in a colander and dried.

Food is food, but many of us think. After all, it happens that too tasty dishes are obtained, it is very difficult to stop on time.)) I recommend reading about it!

What to do if the rings are digested?

To fix this, you need to put the clams back to boil. Moreover, the pan must be set on a slow fire so that the liquid in it barely boils. After boiling water, it is necessary to send rubber pieces into it. They need to cook for 30 minutes. It is during this time that the coagulated protein becomes soft, and the seafood returns to its pleasant delicate texture. However, I want to warn you that after such cooking, squids will lose 60% of their volume ... but the dish will be saved!

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Reduce portions by a third - that's what will help to build! Short and to the point :)

Put supplements or stop? When this question arises, it is definitely time to stop eating. This body gives you a signal about imminent saturation, otherwise you would have no doubt.

Delicious and healthy seafood, rich in valuable proteins and important trace elements, was served at grandiose feasts in ancient Greece. Then the "winged fish" was considered an amazing delicacy, and it remains the same today. Squid have high nutritional value and low calorie content, so carcasses and tentacles are often used as an ingredient in salads, pasta, risotto, stews, ravioli and other goodies. But also often a dietary mollusk serves as the basis for another culinary delight: squids are stuffed, baked in vegetables and herbs, grilled or deep-fried, and even marinated “for a snack”. This amazing seafood is full of amazing qualities and has only one drawback: in the process of bringing the squid to readiness, it is easy to overcook in boiling water or steam, which makes it tough and tasteless. At the risk of refuting advice on long-term digestion of shellfish from old cookbooks, we will still tell you:

how long to cook the peeled squid so that it is soft and tender;
how to choose a quality product before buying;
how to process unpeeled seafood;
how to cook frozen squid for salad so that they do not lose their delicate natural taste;

Read tips, tricks, secrets and step-by-step recipes in today's article!

How to choose the right squid carcasses to cook, fry or bake

The first thing to think about before cooking squid is the choice of a quality product. Since fresh clams are sold exclusively in specialized seafood stores or in departments of large urban supermarkets, you often have to be content with frozen ones. Both of them are great for preparing delicious dishes, if properly selected. How to choose the right squid carcasses to cook, fry or bake, we will tell you in more detail!

Rules for choosing squid for cooking at home

Unpeeled squid can be gray, pinkish, lilac, spotted or speckled. But, nevertheless, the taste of the product does not depend on the color of the upper skin;
From fresh seafood, it is better to choose small specimens with a natural smell and whole skins. Cloudy eyes or a sharp stench are a sign of staleness;
Before buying a fresh squid, you should lightly touch it with your fingers. If the skin is sticky, the product has overdue its expiration date;
Frozen squid fillet should be white or slightly greyish. The yellow color of the mollusk indicates poor quality, long storage or violation of freezing conditions;
When choosing frozen squid carcasses for boiling, frying or baking, see if they were stored correctly. If the parts of the mollusk (tentacles, carcasses, rings) stuck together, the product was most likely thawed, which is a gross violation of temperature conditions. It is better to buy separately frozen fillet, not covered with a thick layer of “glaze”.

How to prepare fresh unpeeled squid to cook properly

Having bought even selected squids, you can spoil them in a matter of minutes by improper pre-treatment. They cut it off, torn it off in the wrong place, threw away the wrong parts - and that’s it: the seafood lost all its valuable properties and turned into solid minced fish. It's time to learn how to prepare fresh unpeeled squid in order to cook properly.

Step by step preparation of fresh unpeeled squid before cooking

Rinse fresh squids thoroughly in cold running water.
With one hand, grasp the head of the mollusk between the eyes, with the other, grasp the carcass. Carefully remove the head with tentacles and entrails from the "mantle".
Cut off the tentacle part just below the squid's eye level. Take out the silver bag with black ink, it can be useful for coloring dough, rice and other dishes. Drain the ink into a small glass container.
Find a hard beak at the place where the tentacles are attached and gently push it out. Throw away this unnecessary part.
Get to the fins. The "wings" of the squid can be carefully trimmed with a sharp knife or simply pulled off with your hands.
From the inside of the carcass, take out a long transparent ridge - a chord. Feel the fillet so that there are no hard parts left.
Run the blunt side of the knife from the tail to the wide end to squeeze out any remaining innards.
Pour boiling water over the fins and carcass, then lower it into cold water. After that, it will be easier to remove the dark skin from all parts.
Now you can rinse fresh, prepared and properly cleaned squid meat, cut and boil.

How long to cook squids after boiling water so that they are not hard

Squid is pure protein! Like other protein foods, shellfish meat quickly becomes dry and tough during heat treatment. Long cooking can turn the most tender fillet into a rubber sole. But not everything is so clear. According to the assurances of experienced chefs, after 4 minutes of boiling, the squid hardens noticeably and decreases in size, but after 25 minutes it softens and increases again. Owners of a large limit of free time can check the fact for accuracy. Others are advised not to go to extremes. How long to cook squids after boiling water, so that they are not hard, read in the basic recipe.

Necessary ingredients for classic squid cooking

drinking water - 1 l
salt - 1 tsp

Step-by-step instructions on how to cook squid so that they are not tough

In a deep saucepan, collect 1 liter of clean drinking water, add table salt. Set the pot on the fire and bring the water to a boil.
Place pre-cleaned and fully prepared squid carcasses in boiling water for 1.5 - 2.5 minutes.
After the allotted time, carefully catch the seafood with a slotted spoon or discard it in a colander.

How long to cook squid fillet until steamed

Necessary ingredients for steaming squid

squid carcasses, peeled - 500 g
black peppercorns - 3 pcs.
Lavrushka leaf - 1 pc.

Step by step cooking steamed squid

Fold the cleaned and well-washed squid carcasses into a double boiler container.
In clean water, add a leaf of lavrushka and a few peas of pepper.
Install the bowls in the device and set the timer for 10 minutes.
If there is no kitchen assistant, use a pressure cooker or the usual combination of a pan and a metal sieve. In this time, the squid fillet will need to be cooked for 7-10 minutes until fully cooked.

How to cook peeled squid for salad so that they are not tasteless

The most common problem associated with improper cooking of seafood is the complete loss of flavor and aroma. Choosing squids as one of the main ingredients of the salad, we count on their delicate taste and delicate texture, and as a result we get rubber rings that have nothing to do with the delicacy. Such incidents can be avoided by learning in advance how to cook peeled squid for salad so that they are not tasteless.

Necessary ingredients for cooking delicious squid in a salad

peeled squid carcasses - 500 g
drinking water - 1.3 l
juice of half a lemon
table salt - 1 tsp
dried thyme - 0.5 tsp

Step-by-step instructions on how to cook delicious squid for salad

In 1-1.5 liters of clean drinking water, add the juice of half a lemon, fine salt and your favorite spices (thyme, coriander, bay leaf, allspice).
Place a saucepan of liquid on the stove and bring the marinade to a boil.
Dip the cleaned and washed squid carcasses in boiling water and boil for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. During this period, the seafood for the salad will boil, will be more or less dense, but not tasteless.
After 4 minutes, remove the clam fillets to a plate and cool completely before slicing into a dish. Such peeled and well-cooked squids will never be tasteless in a salad.

How to cook frozen squid for salad without defrosting

Even a strictly limited time for preparing lunch or dinner is not a reason to refuse frozen seafood. We know how to cook frozen squid for salad without first defrosting. And we are happy to share the secret with you.

Necessary ingredients for cooking frozen squid in a salad without defrosting

frozen squid - 700 g
water - 2.5 l
salt - 2 tsp
vinegar - 2 tbsp.
spices to taste

Step-by-step instructions for cooking frozen squid on a salad without first defrosting

Remove the squid carcasses from the freezer and arrange in a single layer in the sink.
Boil 2.5 liters of water with salt, vinegar and spices.
Pour some of the boiling water over the frozen carcasses. Then flip the squid to the other side and pour again so that half of the "marinade" remains in the pan.
Place the bowl back on the burner, and in the meantime peel the seafood from the skin and thin ridge.
Put the finished fillet in a saucepan with spicy water and boil for 2-3 minutes.
Take out the finished product with a slotted spoon. In this universal way, you can quickly cook any amount of frozen squid for salad without first defrosting.

How to cook frozen squid so that they are soft after cooking

Squid is a versatile ingredient for a variety of dishes. Separate parts of seafood (fillet rings, fins or tentacles) are boiled for salad, fried as a side dish with vegetables or rice, baked in spices with a delicious filling, or cooked in breading in boiling oil. Since the soft, refined mollusk has a huge amount of nutrients, it is better to defrost frozen squids in a natural way before cooking. So the pulp will retain vitamins and minerals, and the structure will remain intact.

Necessary ingredients for cooking soft squid after a long freeze

frozen squid rings - 700 g
water - 2 l
salt - 1.5 tsp
lemon juice - 2 tablespoons
dill greens - 3-4 sprigs

Step-by-step instructions on how to cook frozen squid so that they are soft

Transfer the frozen squid rings from the freezer compartment to the refrigerator. Leave for a few hours to thaw.
Boil 2-2.5 liters of water with salt and lemon juice in a wide saucepan.
Send dill sprigs to boiling liquid for 10-15 seconds. Then scoop them out with a slotted spoon and discard.
Drain the liquid from the seafood and place the rings in boiling water. Keep the pot on the heat for another 45-60 seconds and discard the contents in a colander.
Now you know how to cook frozen squids so that they are soft after cooking. Rings need 1 m of cooking, small pieces - 30 s, carcasses - 2-3 m.

How to cook squid tentacles with vegetables and spices

Regardless of the composition of the dish, during its preparation, squids are placed in the pan last. Prolonged processing harms both the taste, the structure of the fibers, and the useful composition of the product. But unlike carcasses or fins, squid tentacles are denser, so you can cook them with vegetables and spices for longer than 3-5 minutes. Take our following video recipe as an example: watch how to cook squid tentacles with vegetables and spices in your home kitchen.

How to boil squid rings in milk: a step by step recipe

It turns out that squid rings can be boiled not only in water or broth, but also in milk, as in our next step-by-step recipe. This makes seafood even more tender and delicate, with a delicate aroma of spices and a slight aftertaste of vegetables.

Necessary ingredients for boiled squid in milk with vegetables

fresh squid - 300 g
milk - 1 tbsp.
bulb bulb - 1 pc.
carrot - 1 pc.
honey - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
ground and allspice

Step by step preparation of squid rings boiled in milk with vegetables and spices

Soak fresh squid rings in boiling water for 1 minute.
Boil grated carrots and diced onions in a saucepan with milk.
Put the squid rings into the vegetable base, add honey, salt and a mixture of peppers.
Simmer everything together under the lid for 4-5 minutes.
In this simple way, you can quickly boil squid rings in milk (a step-by-step recipe is suitable for any part of the mollusk).

How to cook squid for stuffing so that they are tender

Stuffed squid is one of the most popular options for preparing this shellfish. Therefore, we recommend that you learn how to cook squid for stuffing so that they are tender - and feel free to experiment with fillings and sauces.

Necessary ingredients for cooking squid for stuffing

squid carcasses - 6 pcs.
drinking water - 2 liters.
salt - 0.5 tsp
vinegar - 3 tbsp.

Step-by-step instructions on how to cook soft and tender squid for stuffing

Boil water with salt in a wide saucepan.
Add 3 tbsp to boiling water. table vinegar.
Dip the cleaned and washed squid carcasses into the boiling solution and turn off the burner. Soak the fillet in the liquid for 3-5 minutes and drain in a colander.
Such squids for further stuffing will be quite boiled, tasty and tender in structure.

Each national cuisine knows its secrets of cooking fresh and frozen squid (rings, fins, tentacles and whole carcasses). But there are fundamental rules that are the same for everyone: unpeeled seafood must be cleaned, shellfish cannot be digested - they will become tough, do not forget about spices - squid will be tasteless. In our article today, you read how much time and how to cook squid correctly so that they are soft and tender. It remains to translate the acquired knowledge into salads and other delicious recipes.

All seafood is healthy, especially if cooked properly. And this is their deceit - half a step to the side, and the dish will come out completely inedible. For example, not every housewife knows how to cook squids so that they are soft, which is why these inhabitants of the deep sea do not appear too often in the daily menu. And in vain! Knowing the secrets of the heat treatment of these seafood will help you prepare incredibly tasty and healthy dishes.

Before you cook squids, you need to buy them and defrost them properly. In the store you can find already peeled, light carcasses and unpeeled ones, which are almost half the price.

Since there is no great difficulty in cleaning, it is more profitable to buy unpeeled squid.

Proper defrosting affects the taste of cooked seafood. As for squids, it is better to defrost them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. If this is done at room temperature, the carcasses may become weathered and lose their appearance.

Before cooking, squids are cleaned. So that the meat does not lose its beneficial properties, the carcass film is cleaned in cold water. You can do this even faster by simply pouring boiling water over the defrosted carcasses. Then the top film will fall off by itself.

Cleaned squid carcasses are freed from the remnants of the viscera and the chitinous chord. And then, dry it with a paper towel.

What spices to add

During the cooking of seafood, spices are added to the water, as in chicken broth.

The most suitable spices for squid:

Bay leaf;
peppercorns;
onion head;
salt.

This is the simplest set of seasonings that can be found in the bins of every housewife. You can also add carrots and parsley root to them.

Cooking methods

During cooking, the most important thing is to preserve its nutritional value and make it easily digestible for the body. When choosing a method of cooking squid, you need to consider that their meat is very healthy, and long-term cooking destroys most of the valuable substances. But sometimes it is still recommended due to the peculiarities of the recipe.

The squid has only 2% fat, there are no carbohydrates at all, but there is a lot of healthy protein that is easily absorbed by the human body.

Learning how to cook this delicacy correctly is a useful skill that definitely will not be superfluous. Especially good squid for men. Their meat tones, promotes rejuvenation and increases the potency of the stronger sex.

Whole carcasses

A whole carcass of squid can be cooked in three ways:

pouring boiling water several times, but without putting it on fire;
holding for 40 minutes in boiling water;
dipped for 1 - 2 minutes in boiling water.

All these methods promise in the end soft squid meat that melts in your mouth. How much to cook squid depends on the recipe for which they are needed.

squid rings

Squid rings are boiled for 1 minute in boiling water or simply poured with boiling water and covered with a lid, left for 10 minutes.

Most often, squid rings are cut from whole carcasses that have already been cooked in the right way.

Frozen squid

You can try to cook frozen squid without first defrosting. To do this, boil a pot of water, add a pinch of salt, bay leaf and peppercorns to it. When it boils, they throw carcasses without defrosting before that.

After 1 minute, the fire under the pan with squid is turned off, covered with a lid and left for 10 minutes.

Squid can be boiled peeled and not peeled. Once in boiling water, the skin of the mollusk curls up in flakes and disappears by itself, it does not even need to be peeled off.

Therefore, there is not much difference in how to cook squid - peeled or in the skin - there is no.

But, for example, for a Korean-style squid recipe, it is better to buy unpeeled carcasses.

Korean-style marinated squid - a spicy appetizer

Products:

squid - 10 pcs.;
apple cider vinegar - 80 ml;
vegetable oil - 80 ml;
chili pepper - 1 pc.;
ground coriander - 10 g;
garlic - 2 cloves;
sugar - 2 tsp;
ground black pepper - 12 g;
salt - 2 tsp;
sesame - 10 g;
soy sauce - 80 ml.

Cooking

It is necessary to heat 1 liter of water to a boil.
Clean the thawed squid carcasses from the film, remove the chitinous plate and the remains of the entrails. It is convenient to clean the film from squid with a paper towel.
Put the prepared carcasses in boiling water and cook for no more than 2 minutes after boiling over medium heat.
In a saucepan, heat 4 tbsp. l. vegetable oil.
Peel the chili peppers, cut into small cubes, add to the saucepan along with soy sauce and apple cider vinegar.
Peel the garlic cloves, squeeze through a press and also send to the saucepan. Put in the same 2 tsp. coriander, black ground pepper, sugar and salt.
Throw the boiled squids on a sieve, rinse in cold water and cut the carcasses into 0.5 cm rings.
Pour squid with cooked spicy marinade, sprinkle with 2 tsp. sesame seeds and arrange in 2 jars with a volume of 300 ml. Close with lids.
Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Squids are soft, pleasant to the taste. This is the perfect appetizer for spicy food lovers.

To cook thawed and peeled squids in the microwave, you need to put them in a microwave container, sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and season with spices. Set the microwave to 1000W and cook for 3 minutes. But after such processing, squid meat will not be perfectly soft.

In a slow cooker, you can cook soft squid in two ways: cook in boiling water for 1 minute or 40 minutes.

For cooking you need:

Pour water into the multicooker, turn on the “Cooking” mode.
When the water boils, put the squid carcasses.
Set the specified time, add spices, salt and cook until tender.

For squids in a creamy sauce, carcasses are cooked in a special way, so a slow cooker is even more suitable for this purpose than a saucepan. The cooking time for squid in the recipe is 40 minutes, after which they will become soft, but will significantly decrease in size.

Usually squid meat is boiled for no more than 2 minutes, but if they were forgotten and left on the stove a little longer, the cooking process can be continued, increasing the time to 40 - 50 minutes.

Only after this time, the shellfish meat will become soft again. And besides meat, you will get a fragrant broth.

Sauteed Calamari with Cream Sauce

Products:

squid - 5 pcs.;
onion - 1 pc.;
butter - 50 g;
flour - 50 g;
milk - 100 ml;
Dutch cheese - 100 g;
water - 500 ml;
bay leaf - 4 pcs.;
black peppercorns - 7 pcs.;
salt - 5 g.

Cooking:

Thawed squid, peeled from the film and the remains of the entrails, must be cut into strips of 0.5 cm.
Peel and cut into half rings a medium onion.
Put the onion and squid in a saucepan, pour 2 cups of hot water. Put black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves and add 0.5 tsp. salt.
Bring squid to a boil and reduce heat. Boil 40 minutes.
Throw the seafood on a sieve, pour the broth into a saucepan.
To prepare bechamel sauce, put butter in a saucepan, add flour to it and fry in a saucepan for 2 or 3 minutes, so that the specific floury smell goes away.
Pour 100 ml of the broth in which the squids were boiled into the flour with butter, add 100 ml of milk and mix with a whisk. The sauce should be viscous, without lumps.
Add the sauce to the boiled squid and mix.
Fill four small baking dishes with squid in fragrant filling. Sprinkle them with grated hard cheese on top so that after baking you get a golden crust.
Turn on the oven at 200 degrees and bake seafood for 5 minutes.

Sauteed squid under a crispy cheese crust is ready! This wonderful, tender dish can be eaten hot or cold and tastes great.

How to cook squid depends on the requirements of the recipe. Half-baked seafood, which is simply poured with boiling water for 10 minutes, retains more useful substances. But if you cook squids for more than half an hour, they will also turn out soft and tasty.

Squid meat is a very tasty and nutritious product widely used in cooking. Appetizing salads, snacks are prepared from it, it is stewed with vegetables and herbs, squid carcasses are stuffed with various fillings.

Squid meat is dietary and easily digestible, despite the high content of fats, carbohydrates and proteins in it. It is rich in fatty acids, vitamins, iodine, copper and iron and potassium, which are so necessary for our body.

Of particular popularity and an honorable place on the festive table are appetizing, healthy, in combination with a wide variety of products. To prepare a tasty and satisfying squid meat dish with a delicate, juicy and pleasant taste, it is important to know how to cook squid for salad. Indeed, if cooked incorrectly, a delicate product can become hard and “rubber” in taste and spoil the impression of the dish. How to cook squid correctly?

How to choose squid

As a rule, squids are sold frozen, since in our region it is not possible to purchase fresh, freshly caught clams. Therefore, when choosing squid carcasses for cooking in the frozen food department of a supermarket, you should first of all pay attention to their color. If frozen squids are sold already peeled, they should be white. The yellowness of the carcass indicates that the mollusk has been thawed and frozen repeatedly, it is better to refuse to buy such a product. Such squid meat will be tasteless and bitter.

Unpeeled carcasses have a pinkish-purple or burgundy skin tone, depending on the habitat and age of the marine inhabitant. The next thing to look for is the layer of ice that covers the product. It should be the minimum amount, if the squid carcasses are held by a dense block of ice, it means that the seafood has been subjected to numerous defrosting, and when thawing, you will also receive a bonus - a large amount of melt water, which you had to pay for.

Ideally, the amount of ice should be 8% of the total mass of the squid, the carcasses should be easily separated, also pay attention to the integrity of the skin - there should be no tears on it. It is worth noting that the smaller the squid carcass, the softer and more tender the taste of its meat.

How to prepare squid for cooking

Before cooking, thaw seafood at room temperature. If there is very little time, you can fill them with cold water, so they will defrost faster. If you pour hot water over the clam, the meat will be very tough and tasteless. After thawing the carcass, it must be cleaned of film and cartilage. First, the insides of the squid are taken out, then the cartilage is removed to facilitate the cleaning process, you can turn the carcass inside out.

Next, you need to carefully remove the film, trying not to damage it, it is necessary to pull it off the carcass like a stocking. Sometimes, the film is hard to remove, it tears, it has to be removed in parts. The skin is best removed under running cold water. Carcasses cleaned from the insides and skin are ready for cooking.

How to cook squid

About how long it is necessary to boil squid meat is a controversial issue, the opinions of culinary specialists about which are radically opposite. Some recommend subjecting the mollusk to heat treatment for no more than one minute, others argue that the product needs at least 10 or even 30 minutes to cook. But, they all agree that the overcooked squid is unfit for consumption, it becomes tough and tasteless, resembling "rubber".

How to cook squid correctly so that the meat turns out juicy, tender and tastes good?

The secret of the juiciness of squid meat is in its short-term cooking, it is placed only in a boiling liquid, like all seafood.
The volume of water used for boiling squid should be such that it only slightly covers the shellfish carcasses.
Squid meat is cooked for no more than 2 minutes, the cooked meat will turn white and will not decrease in volume.
Cook squid carcasses in small portions, putting 1-2 pieces in boiling water. Then take them out with a slotted spoon and lower the next batch into the water.
A wide variety of spices are suitable for cooking clams, choose any to your liking. White, black pepper, fresh or dry dill, bay leaf, parsley, cloves, coriander or basil wonderfully set off the taste of seafood.

Ways to cook squid for salad

There are several ways how cook squid for salad so that the meat turns out to be the most tender and unusually juicy.

First way

The ideal process for preparing clam meat for salad looks like this:

Pour water (about 1 liter) into a saucepan, salt, add spices to taste (peppercorns, bay leaves or others) and let them boil for about 5 minutes.
We lower the cleaned squid carcass with a slotted spoon into boiling water, count to 10 and take out the slotted spoon. Repeat this step for the rest of the carcasses. As a result, the clam meat will be fragrant, tender, very juicy and soft - ideal for making squid salad.

Second way

In boiling, salted and seasoned with spices water, lay the squid carcasses and cook them for no more than 2 minutes. The readiness of meat can be determined by the characteristic white color of boiled meat. With this method of cooking, the main task is not to overexpose the finished meat in boiling water, so do not keep the carcasses in boiling water, but immediately take it out.

If, nevertheless, the squid fillet is digested and has acquired a characteristic “rubber” effect, do not be upset, the softness and tenderness of the meat can be returned!

It is enough to continue cooking it for another half hour. During this time, the carcasses will significantly lose in volume, but will become soft, while retaining all the nutrients and vitamins.

How to cook frozen squid without defrosting

Calamari can be boiled, without first defrosting them, in this way you can cook frozen squid meat rings or carcasses that you purchased at the supermarket, already peeled and frozen. Such cooking will save a lot of time, since all the carcasses from which you will cook dishes are laid in the pan, there is no need to stand at the stove and boil the squids individually in boiling water. How much to cook peeled frozen squids? Everything is very simple.

Pour water into the pan, preferably with a margin so that all the carcasses fit in it. Add spices and salt for taste and aroma and bring the water to a boil. We spread the frozen squids in boiling water, note the time for exactly one minute, turn off the stove and leave the squids to infuse in hot water for 10 minutes. Then we take out the carcasses and prepare delicious dishes from them.

We cook squids in a double boiler, slow cooker and microwave

Another way to boil delicious, juicy squid meat for salad is to use kitchen helpers.

In a double boiler, you can perfectly cook the most tender meat without water, steamed. To do this, put the cleaned, thawed carcasses in the bowl of the double boiler and steam them for about 10-12 minutes.

The only disadvantage of this method is that after cooking you will not have the broth that remains after cooking in a saucepan, because it can be used to cook fish soups, sauces.

The same method of steaming squid can be used with a slow cooker if the model of the kitchen assistant has the "Steam cooking" function.

In addition, squid can be cooked in the microwave. Prepare a fireproof dish with a lid, put the squid carcasses in it. Be sure to sprinkle them with fresh lemon juice, close the lid tightly, and leave in the microwave for 2 minutes (with a household appliance power of 700-800 watts), so you cook the squid in your own juice. If desired, you can pour a little water with spices and salt into the container. The microwave timer will notify you when the meat is ready.

How long does boiled squid meat keep?

Of course, boiled squid meat is best used immediately for salads or other dishes. In case something interfered with your plan, then you can safely, without harming your health, keep it in the refrigerator for no more than a day. In case of urgent need, boiled carcasses can be frozen in the freezer, where they are stored for about a month, but the quality of the meat, its juiciness noticeably deteriorates.

Interesting Squid Facts:

squids are the oldest marine cephalopods, widely distributed in the oceans.
the size of a marine inhabitant can reach from 18 to 20 cm
squids move in the water with the help of tentacles, escaping from large marine life, they are able to develop tremendous speed.
an additional means of protection against attack is an ink bag, which contains ink liquid. When attacked, in case of danger, he releases it, creating an inky protective veil around him.