In addition to this species, Commander squid is also commercially available. On average, its body length is 10 cm longer than that of the Pacific. It contains less protein, but more water. Thanks to this, its meat is more tender after heat treatment.
Southern types of squid are larger, and many of their meat has a specific taste. They are sold less often than Pacific and Commander squid.
In the retail chain you can find very light squid fillets. If there is no information on the packaging that the fillet was cooked at sea, you should not buy such a product. As a rule, caught squid is frozen and sent for processing to China. There the shellfish is thawed, filleted, bleached and re-frozen.
For use in home cooking, it is preferable to cut and clean the squid yourself.
How to clean squid quickly
If the squid is purchased as a whole carcass with head and tentacles, then it is first cut. To do this, cut off the head, grope and remove the hard “beak” from it. The head and tentacles themselves are not thrown away; it can be used in salads, soups and main courses. The entrails are carefully removed from the squid's body. After this, it remains to clean the carcasses from the colored skin. This can be done according to the diagram below.
It is more profitable to buy cut up, frozen, but not peeled squid carcasses.
They need to be defrosted at room temperature before cooking. After that:
1. Remove a transparent cartilaginous frog from the carcasses. This is a rudiment of an internal shell.
2. If there are remains of internal organs, they also need to be removed. After this, place the carcasses in a suitable pan and pour boiling water over them.
3. The top skin will curl, all that remains is to rinse the shellfish and use it in various dishes.
How to fry squid in two minutes
You can cook fried squid very quickly. For one serving of fried squid you need:
- two peeled squid mantles;
- 3-4 g salt;
- 2 g black pepper, ground;
- 30 ml oil.
1. Cut the clam mantle on one side and lay it out on the table. Make shallow cuts with a mesh. Drizzle with oil, salt and pepper.
2. After a quarter of an hour, heat the frying pan without oil. It is convenient to use either a grill pan or non-stick cookware.
3. Place the squid on a hot frying pan.First put it on the side where the cuts are, and after 40 - 50 seconds turn it over to the other side.
After another minute, the fried squid is ready. Shape them into a tube and serve with any sauce.
How to quickly prepare a simple squid salad
For two servings of squid salad you need;
- 300 g peeled squid;
- 70 g mayonnaise;
- pepper to taste.
1. Place the cleaned squid in a saucepan. Fill with cold water. Heat to a boil. Cook for 1-2 minutes and immediately remove the pan from the heat and immediately remove the boiled clam from the hot water.
2. Cut the cooled squid into rings.
3. Add pepper and mayonnaise. Stir and serve.
It should be added that many seafood are quite expensive. Squids are the most budget-friendly of them, they are available to most consumers. The taste of these shellfish, when properly cooked, is excellent and dishes made from them should be on the family menu.
