Best Crispy Fried Calamari Recipes

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CRISPY FRIED CALAMARI & AïOLI



Crispy fried calamari & aïoli image

Transport yourself to a seaside taverna with Mediterranean-inspired deep-fried squid rings and garlicky aïoli. Cooking this is easier than you think

Provided by Esther Clark

Categories     Starter

Time 20m

Number Of Ingredients 10

500g squid, tubes and tentacles, cleaned
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
50g plain flour
50g cornflour
¼ tsp baking powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
150g mayonnaise
1 large garlic clove, finely grated
pinch of saffron
½ lemon, juiced

Steps:

  • Cut the tentacles off the squid and put in a bowl. Slice the squid tubes into roughly 1cm thick rings and add to the bowl. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan over a low heat, ensuring it is no more than two-thirds full.
  • For the aïoli, mix the mayonnaise, garlic, saffron and lemon juice in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Toss the squid with the flour, cornflour, baking powder, cayenne and ½ tsp salt. When the oil has reached 170C on a thermometer, or when a cube of bread is dropped in and turns golden brown in 30 seconds, deep-fry the squid in batches for 2 mins, or until lightly golden and crisp. Set aside on a tray lined with kitchen paper. Serve the fried squid with the aïoli on the side for dipping.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 388 calories, Fat 30 grams fat, SaturatedFat 3 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 15 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 1 grams sugar, Fiber 0.4 grams fiber, Protein 14 grams protein, Sodium 0.7 milligram of sodium

CRISPY FRIED CALAMARI



Crispy Fried Calamari image

Bye-bye, rubbery calamari! Frozen calamari rings are first soaked in milk to tenderize them, then coated with a mixture of corn flour and gluten-free all-purpose flour before deep frying. Simple, easy, and tasty! Good served with cocktail sauce, garlic mayonnaise, or other dipping sauces and lemon wedges. Regular all-purpose flour may be substituted if you don't need to make these gluten free.

Provided by Marcia

Categories     Appetizers and Snacks     Seafood

Time 1h30m

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 5

1 pound frozen calamari rings
2 cups 2% milk, or as needed
½ cup corn flour
½ cup gluten-free all purpose baking flour
oil for frying

Steps:

  • Separate calamari rings and place them in a lidded plastic container with enough milk to cover them. Seal the container and allow to soak at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
  • Heat the oil in a deep fryer.
  • Combine corn flour and gluten-free all-purpose flour in a shallow pan. Transfer about 6 calamari rings from the milk directly into the flour mixture to coat. Place coated calamari into the hot oil without crowding, and cook until just starting to brown, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining calamari.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 475.6 calories, Carbohydrate 34.7 g, Cholesterol 274.2 mg, Fat 26.8 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 24.3 g, SaturatedFat 4.8 g, Sodium 100.1 mg, Sugar 6.4 g

LIGHT AND CRISPY CALAMARI WITH FRIED LEMONS



Light and Crispy Calamari with Fried Lemons image

Calamari is one of our favorite seafood dishes. They are crispy light bites of ocean candy and teach the essential technique of a quick dredge and deep-fry. It's very similar to fried chicken with a soak in dairy, which does a few important things. It sweetens the taste of fresh seafood by sucking out the strong ocean flavors that some don't like. It also creates the base of the crunchy batter by clinging to the cornmeal to make a phenomenal crust. And also like fried chicken, you can double dredge by running the crust through the cream, flour and cornmeal a second time. This technique also works with fish sticks, clams, oysters and cuttlefish. It's basically great for small bits of meat or seafood that need a crispy crust. Pair this with tomato sauce or some tartar sauce for a great starter or snack.

Provided by Jet Tila

Categories     appetizer

Time 1h30m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

1 (1 1/2 pound [680 g]) whole squid or 1 (12-ounce [340 g]) package cleaned squid
2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream
2 eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 onion, thinly sliced on a mandoline
1/2 lemon, very thinly sliced
2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (90 g) cornstarch
1/2 cup (75 g) cornmeal
1 teaspoon mild paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 quarts (1.8 L) oil, for frying
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
1 tablespoon (6 g) grated lemon zest
Marinara, warmed, for dipping

Steps:

  • To make the calamari, clean the squid. To clean a whole squid, separate the head and tentacles from the body. With a paring knife, cut between the eyes and the tentacles, discarding the eye portion. In the center of the tentacles, push out a little round bead with the hard beak and discard it; reserve the tentacles. For the body section, peel off the flaps and the dark-colored membrane. Remove the quill, the plastic-like bone. Squeeze out the innards like squeezing out toothpaste. Rinse the tentacles and body sections and dry well. Cut the body sections into nice rings. Leave the legs intact.
  • Whisk the heavy cream and eggs together in a medium-size bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the squid, onion and lemon and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  • To make the dredge mix, combine the flour, cornstarch, cornmeal, paprika, salt and pepper in a separate bowl.
  • Pour the oil into a heavy 5-quart (4.5 L) Dutch oven or any heavy-bottomed pot at least twice as deep as the oil and heat to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C) on a frying thermometer. Keep the lid nearby in case of emergency.
  • Drain the squid, onion and lemon, leaving some cream stuck to them, then immediately place in the bowl of flour. Roll everything around so the flour mix sticks to the cream like a heavy dredge. Knock off any excess. Fry in small batches until crispy and golden brown, about 1 minutes. Drain well on paper towels or a rack and season again with a little salt and pepper.
  • Garnish with the chopped parsley and lemon zest, and serve with the marinara.

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