Squids are useful and delicious seafood, with which you can diversify the daily family diet. Some housewives do not like to cook these clams, thinking that they are difficult to clean. It's a delusion. Squids are easy to clean if you know the little secrets of their processing.
If you bought a fresh whole squid, put it in a bowl and determine where the head is. It has tentacles on it. Holding the body of the squid with one hand, pull the head towards you with the other. It will separate along with the insides. Turn the head with the tentacles towards you, find and remove the beak. Then remove the eyes. To do this, cut the tentacles into two halves or simply squeeze the eyes out. Clean the carcass from the films. At fresh squid it comes off easily in one go. Remove the hard chitinous plate that is inside the body. Rinse the cleaned carcass well cold water. More often you have to butcher frozen squid. So that their cleaning does not take much time, choose the right product in the store. Carcasses of frozen mollusks should be easily separated from each other. If they stick together, then the squid has already been defrosted. When cutting, they will spread, and after cooking - bitter. The size and color of the squid depends on its habitat and age. The body of an unpeeled mollusk is covered with a film on the outside and inside. It can have colors ranging from pink to burgundy and purple. Under the film is white meat. After re-freezing, the meat turns gray and loses its taste qualities. Small squids are easier to clean than large ones, and after cooking they are softer. Often, already gutted frozen carcasses are sold in stores. This makes them easier to clean. Remove the cartilage from the butchered squid. Then remove the film from the carcass. If this is not done, during heat treatment they will become tough, and the carcass itself will shrink. There are several ways to clean the film. Without defrosting the squids, put them in a bowl, scald with boiling water, and then immediately transfer to a bowl with ice. The skin will come off like a stocking. You can not put the squid in ice, but simply pour boiling water over them and immediately drain the water. The film rolls up instantly and peels off easily. To remove the skin from a thawed carcass, put it in a pot of boiling salted water and cook for 2 minutes. The film partially remains in the water, and the remaining film is easily removed by washing the carcass in cold water. After that, the squid is ready to eat. Its meat is soft and tender.Peeled squids can be baked, boiled, fried, marinated, dried, smoked, minced. Do not deny yourself and your loved ones the pleasure of enjoying delicious dishes from this valuable seafood.
I learned a long time ago how to quickly and without hassle to clean a squid from a film. And since then I have been using this "life hack" all the time. You can see for yourself how easily and almost instantly the maroon-blue-violet gnarled mutant freak turns into a beautiful piece of pearl white tender meat sea dweller. Actually, here are these simple ways.
How to quickly and easily clean squid before cooking
Ideally, if the squid that got into your kitchen did not know all the “joys” of freezing, especially repeated. But, unfortunately, most of our compatriots cannot count on buying the freshest seafood, which until recently was carelessly floundering in the sea-ocean. Therefore, we will “work” with both frozen and chilled inhabitants of the deep sea.
So, given: squid carcass. Task: quickly and easily rid it of the insides and films. We are going to achieve the result in several ways.
We clean the squid from the insides
Immediately I want to please the culinary specialists who were lucky enough to "snatch" the carcass of a fresh mollusk with a head and tentacles. The taste of the dish will be simply delicious, tender and rich. But the process of cutting seafood is a little more laborious. Only the “mantle” with “wings” and tentacles are eaten. The latter will need to be carefully separated from the “torso” and from the head (just before the eyes). Heads go to waste, don't forget.
At this stage, the differences in the cutting of fresh and fresh-frozen (which is usually "complete" only with a "mantle" with "wings") squid disappear. And the removal of the insides occurs in a similar way.
If the product is frozen, then it must be thawed. Then put your hand inside the "mantle" and feel for the insides, as well as the hard chord of the clam. For convenience, you can turn the carcass inside out. Grab them with your hand and pull them towards you. Take out the "contents" of the squid, and with a sense of accomplishment, you can proceed to remove the films.
The fastest way to peel frozen squid from the film
Freshly frozen carcasses can be quickly removed from the films without even defrosting them. Just pour boiling water over them. Or put it in a pot of boiling water and take it out. From a sharp change in temperature, the skin will shrink and turn into tatters, which can be easily and simply removed when washing the mollusk. At this stage, some housewives consider the duty to clean the squid from the film fulfilled. And with a clear conscience and a good mood, they begin to remove the entrails and prepare gastronomic masterpieces. However, most often the results of culinary creativity leave much to be desired. Seafood shrinks, loses its shape, and looks suspiciously like the soles of old rubber boots. After all, in addition to the color film, there is also a transparent one. It must be removed both from the outside and from the inside. It is removed quite easily, you just need to pry it off and carefully, millimeter by millimeter, remove it like a stocking. And now that's all for sure. You can cook delicious and nutritious meals.
Another way to remove the film from freshly frozen squid
The second option for cleaning squid from the film is also based on the principle of temperature difference. The only difference is that it is suitable for already defrosted carcasses. To implement the idea of quickly getting rid of the nasty hard skin, which will definitely spoil the taste and aesthetic qualities of the product during cooking, you will need boiling water and ice water. What should be done? Defrost the carcass. Dip the defrosted squid in boiling water and immediately transfer to ice. Or pour ice water from the tap. The color film will behave in the same way as in the first case. That is, it will almost disappear by itself. You only need to remove its remnants. Don't forget about transparent film. Pry it up and pull it off in one motion. Or multiple approaches.
By cleaning the clams in this way, you can bake delicious stuffed squid in the oven.
How to clean fresh squid from films
Of course, you can take the path of least resistance and clean the fresh clam according to the above scheme. But if you want to end up with a brighter and richer taste, then it is better to remove the films mechanically. That is, no boiling water and ice is needed. And it will take patience, patience and more patience. Well, and, of course, sleight of hand. Just pry off the colored skin along with the transparent one and pull it off the carcass. It will be just wonderful if you can do it in one fell swoop. In principle, this is not so difficult to do. If you have ever filmed a liver, then you will understand what I am talking about. As for the tentacles, it is still better to pour boiling water over them - it will be much easier and faster.
Oh, and don't forget to dry the squid thoroughly with a paper towel before cooking.
Brief video instruction
This is how easy and fast you can clean the squid from films and entrails. Absolutely nothing complicated or supernatural. Therefore, feel free to purchase these delicious seafood, and forward - to conquer the culinary peaks!
Squid is a fairly popular seafood from which you can cook a lot. delicious meals, but in order for it to turn out juicy, tasty and soft, it must be subjected to proper heat treatment, so consider how to properly clean the squid from the film, as well as how and how much time they need to be cooked until fully cooked, but at the same time so that they remain soft and not digested.
How to easily and quickly clean squid at home
Often on sale you can find fresh frozen squid, from which many are cooked. popular dishes at home (eg. sea salad with squid). In order for the cooked squid meat to be soft and tender, it is better to remove the film from it, which, if you do not know certain tricks, is not so easy to separate from the carcass. Consider how you can clean frozen squid carcasses from the film, giving them heat treatment and without it, as well as how to properly clean a whole squid, but before that, how many minutes to defrost squid.
How long to defrost squid?
For many products, including squid, gradual defrosting is desirable, so if you intend to cook a squid dish, it is better to defrost the squid carcasses in advance by moving them from freezer into the normal food compartment of the refrigerator or by leaving it in a bowl of cold water at room temperature.
You can defrost squid more fast way by placing them in the microwave on defrost, but if you don't have microwave oven, then defrosting squid must be taken care of in advance, using the advice presented above.
Important: you can not defrost squids by pouring them hot water or boiling water, so as not to spoil their useful and taste qualities.
Whole Squid Cleaning Sequence
True connoisseurs of seafood will not hesitate to say that it is better to buy whole squid, rather than ready-made butchered carcasses, since in factories, during the cleaning process, whole squid is subjected to mechanical and thermal processing, which loses some of its useful properties, and processed meat will not work cook very tender and delicious. In many supermarkets, you can not always find whole squids, but if you can find them, then turn your attention to them, and not frozen and cleaned clams.
Cleaning a whole squid can be divided into several stages, so consider them in more detail:
- A whole squid carcass is taken (if it was frozen, it must be thawed in advance).
- With one hand we take the squid carcass (the part without eyes and tentacles), and with the other by the squid head behind the eyes and smoothly separate the head from the main carcass.
- We clean (squeeze out) the insides from the carcass, and also take out the chitin plate.
- We cut off the tentacles from the head (it is important not to cut off the small squid beak along with them, which is quite sharp), which can also be used to prepare delicious dishes.
- Under running water, gently prying with nails or a knife, remove the skin (film) from the carcass.
- We wash the cleaned squid fillet well inside and out.
If you bought frozen squid carcasses already peeled from tentacles and heads, then they will still need to be cleaned at home from the skin and film, as well as from possible remnants of the insides. There are several ways to clean squid from the film: by treating them with boiling water and without heat treatment.
How to clean squid from a film without heat treatment
According to many squid lovers, this method is the best, because during cleaning the squid undergoes less heat treatment (in contrast to the method when boiling water is poured over it for easier cleaning) and its meat remains more tender and soft after cooking.
The process of cleaning squid takes place in the following sequence:
- The first step is to remove the skin from the carcass by prying it with a fingernail or knife, while it is easier to peel off if the squid was not completely defrosted.
- Next, it is important to carefully remove the film from the squid fillet, which is also hooked and torn off in parts from the carcass.
- In conclusion, the squid meat is washed well under running cold water (outside and inside), carefully examining each carcass so that there are no small film residues on it. If there are any, it is better to remove them.
As you can see, it is not difficult to clean a squid carcass and it will take only a few minutes in time. To clearly see how squids are cleaned, you can watch the video below:
How to clean a squid from a film by scalding it with boiling water
The fastest and in a simple way cleaning squid carcasses from the skin and film is their scalding with boiling water, after which the film is much easier to remove:
- We prepare in advance cold water and boiling water.
- We take out the chitinous plate inside from the squid.
- In a separate container (deep plate or saucepan), pour boiling water over the squid carcasses, after which we immediately transfer them to a container with cold water. From the rapid temperature difference, the skin will peel off and be removed much easier.
- The film is removed from the squid by hand, after which the cleaned fillet is washed under cold running water.
A more illustrative example of a quick cleaning of squid using its heat treatment will be the video below:
How long does it take to cook squids so that they are soft and tasty?
How and how much squids will be cooked depends on their softness. If the squid fillet is overcooked, it will turn out to be very tough and unpleasant to eat, so let's look at some of the most popular ways to cook squid, in which it turns out soft and juicy.
How to cook frozen squid?
You can cook squid without defrosting (the main thing is that they have already been cleaned before). The sequence of cooking frozen squid carcasses is as follows:
- Pour water into a saucepan so that all the squids fit in it and bring to a boil.
- Salt to taste, and if desired, add spices and Bay leaf.
- We put squid carcasses in boiling water and detect for 1-1.5 minutes, after which we set the pan off the heat and cover with a lid. In this state, leave the squid to languish for 10 minutes.
Standard cooking squid (carcass, squid rings) for salad and other dishes
Is taken large saucepan so that all the squids that we will cook can fit in it, water is poured and brought to a boil. The thawed and peeled squids are placed in boiling water for 1-2 minutes (the water is first salted and spices are added to taste), after which the pan is removed from the heat, and the squids are left inside in boiling water so that they cool down with water gradually. We are waiting for the complete cooling of the squid in the water.
How to quickly boil squid?
For use in many recipes, you can use the express cooking of squids, in which they practically do not decrease in size and remain soft and juicy:
- Boil water in a saucepan and add salt and spices (bay leaf, black pepper, parsley, dill, etc.) to it.
- After the water boils, add the peeled squids for 30-40 seconds, after which we immediately take them out of the boiling water.
We also watch a video on how to quickly and easily boil squid:
How to cook squid in a slow cooker?
- Pour water into the multicooker.
- We set the "Cooking" mode.
- Add spices and salt to your taste.
- After boiling water, place rings or whole squid carcasses inside.
- We cook them for 1.5-2 minutes, after which we turn off the slow cooker, but we don’t get the squids for 3-5 minutes so that they “reach”.
How to cook squid in a double boiler?
- Pour water into a special section of the steamer.
- We lay out the squids in a single layer on a special grill in it.
- We leave the squids to cook for 6-8 minutes under steam.
The golden rule for how long to cook squid
Squid should never be boiled for more than two minutes, ideally a squid boil time of one and a half minutes (in the range of 1-2 minutes). If the squid is cooked more than this time, then it will be tough, and the carcass itself will decrease in size.
If you still accidentally digested squid, then we read below what to do in this case.
What to do if the squids are overcooked and become tough?
Oddly enough, overcooked squids, so that they are not tough, must be additionally boiled well. We put them in boiling water and cook on low heat for 30-60 minutes. After such additional cooking, the squid will become soft, but at the same time it will greatly boil down (reduce in size) and lose the main beneficial features.
In conclusion to the article, it can be noted that tips on how to properly cook squid so that they are soft, as well as how to quickly clean squid from the film before and after cooking, will definitely come in handy in every home, because many delicious dishes can be prepared from this seafood, while it cooks and cooks very quickly. Leave your advice and feedback, how long (minutes) to cook squid so that they are cooked and soft, leave in the comments to the article and share it in in social networks if it was helpful to you.
Cleaning squid seems to many an unusually difficult task, and as a result this tasty and useful product not often included in the diet. But from squid you can cook a lot of both everyday and festive dishes! You just need to learn how to clean them properly.
What kind of cleaning do squids need
The structure of the mollusk
squids are cephalopods. Usually they are from 0.25 to 0.5 m long. They live in the northern seas and in subtropical waters. Squids have 5 pairs of tentacles and a torpedo-shaped body. Supporting cartilage runs along the body. The tentacles have suction cups. Squids are an object of fishing and are widely used in cooking.
The difference between cleaning fresh and frozen food
Edible squid body and tentacles. The entrails, head, jaws are thrown out. The tentacles are cut off at eye level and, if they are to be used, are cleaned of suckers.
As a rule, you can buy unfrozen squid where they are caught. Most often, frozen squids are found in stores, but freezing allows you to save useful properties and taste. From fresh, unfrozen squids, the skin is easily removed, and with frozen ones, you will have to work a little longer.
It is best to defrost squids in the refrigerator, putting them there from the freezer overnight.
A few words about buying frozen squid. Squid meat, defrosted more than once, has bad taste and smell, therefore, first of all, it is necessary to evaluate them in appearance. The skin of the carcass should be brownish or have a pinkish-purple tint, but the meat is only white. If it turned yellow or turned purple, then this is a sign that it has been defrosted.
How to cut a whole carcass
To clean a squid, you need to take it with one hand by the head, and with the other - by the body. Tentacles extend from the head of the mollusk. If you pull on the head, it quickly separates along with the insides.
The jaws are hidden between the tentacles. They must be removed.
There is a transparent plate in the body of the squid, which must be removed. Then you should carefully remove all films, including thin, transparent ones that cover the body of the squid inside and out.
This will require two containers. In one of them you need to pour cold water, you can even add ice. In the second - put the squids, pour boiling water over them and quickly transfer them to cold water. Films from temperature differences are easily removed.
You can also put squids in a container, pour hot water over it and keep it there for no more than two minutes, otherwise they will be “rubber” and tasteless. The skin of the squid is rolled up and then easily peeled off under running water.
Home cleaning options on video
How to clean a whole squid (not frozen)
How to quickly clean squid
How to cook squid easily
How to remove transparent film from squid
Adding peeled squid to dishes
After removing the films, squids should be washed well and dried a little. Now you can
Squid is a very valuable and tasty seafood. It will perfectly diversify the usual diet of your family. Many housewives do not want cook squid, assuming that clean the squid very hard. But we will prove to you that this is not so. And when you do the cleaning, you can decide what to cook for you. Calamari can be boiled and cooked various salads, all kinds of snacks. Also, squids are fried, stewed, marinated, stuffed, dried, smoked and minced meat is prepared from them.
But how to properly clean squid?
1 Let's take as a basis the most difficult situation - you bought a whole squid. You can easily determine where the carcass has a head - it has tentacles. Grab the head with your hand and, holding the body of the squid, pull it towards you. So you can easily remove the insides. You also need to remove the chitinous plate, which is something like a hard plastic spaghetti, but flat. It is easily groped inside the carcass and no less easily removed. At the head, cut off the tentacles near the eyes. Carcasses are often sold with heads already removed. In this case, just remove all the insides. If you come across gutted carcasses, then the work will be half as much.
2 Now let's move on to removing the films. Remove both color film and transparencies, both inside and out. It is transparent films that become very rigid during heat treatment, and the whole squid carcass shrinks, which is undesirable when preparing stuffed squids. If the squid is fresh, then the film comes off by itself in one go. But if the squids were bought frozen, then everything is not so simple. We will tell you how to quickly and easily clean squid. First way(if the squids are already thawed). Take 2 containers. Fill one with ice water (use ice). And put the squid in the other. Scald the carcasses with boiling water and quickly transfer them to ice water. Now it's easy to remove the films. Do not overcook the squid in boiling water so that they simply do not cook. Dry the carcasses well before cooking. Second way. Scald frozen squids with boiling water and immediately drain the water. The peel instantly curls up and you can easily remove it.
How to cook squid
Squid meat, completely cleaned of all films, is quite tender and soft. Cooking squid maybe two different ways. You can cook over high heat for 1.5-3 minutes (as soon as the squid meat turns white, immediately pull it out). Or cook on low heat for 40 minutes. You can fry squid rings on very high heat for 5-7 minutes with additives (fried vegetables, for example) and up to 3 minutes without additives, or simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. If you want to cook stuffed squid, then fill the carcasses, or with the already prepared filling and just fry on both sides until cooked. Or fill the stuffed carcasses with liquid and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Sometimes squids are baked in the oven. The main thing is not to overexpose the squids on fire, otherwise their meat will become "rubber" and tasteless, although this situation can be corrected by putting out the squids longer. If you have cleaned the calamari as above, the cooking time may be shortened due to scalding.
