Secrets of the correct preparation of soft squid. What to cook from squid meat? What to do if the re-boiling was missed

Squids (lat. Teuthida) - a detachment of ten-armed cephalopods. Usually they measure 0.25-0.5 m, but the giant squid of the genus Architeuthis can reach 16.5 meters (including tentacles) and are the largest invertebrates.

Squids live in almost all climatic zones, including the Arctic, but are most often found in temperate and subtropical waters.

Squids living in the northern seas are small in size compared to their southern relatives and are mostly colorless. Squids have five pairs of tentacles. The fourth pair has lengthened in the process of evolution.

The location of the suckers on the tentacles varies. The respiratory organs of squids are crested gills. The sense organs are two statocysts, eyes and papillae.

Squids have a streamlined torpedo-shaped body, which allows them to move forward with a high speed "tail", the main method of movement is jet. A cartilaginous “arrow” runs along the body of the squid, supporting the body. It is called the gladius and is a vestige of the inner shell.

The color of squids is diverse, in most species the color changes under the influence of electrical discharges.

All squids are predators, they have suction cups on their tentacles to catch prey and save them from enemies. Most squids have three hearts, each of which is connected to one of the three pairs of main tentacles. Due to this, the ability to regenerate prevails in squids.

Many species of squid are edible, they are used in cooking and are the object of fishing. The carcass of the squid and tentacles are eaten. The skin is cleansed. The main methods of cooking squid: boiling, canning, frying, stewing, drying. They are used in salads along with other seafood and as an independent snack.

Squid meat is very nutritious and healthy. Many different dishes are prepared from it, but most often salads. So that squid meat does not turn out to be “rubber”, it must be boiled correctly.

Useful properties of squid

Squid meat has a delicate taste, it contains a lot of protein and polyunsaturated fats valuable for the body. Squid meat contains B vitamins, it contains a lot of potassium, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the heart.

In addition, these inhabitants of the seas are rich in phosphorus, iodine and iron, so their meat is recommended to be included in the menu for all adherents of a healthy lifestyle and rational nutrition.

Squid meat contains taurine, which is involved in the processes of fat metabolism, helps to reduce cholesterol in human blood, and regulates blood pressure. Vitamin E, as well as selenium, protect the body from aging, help older people maintain a good memory longer.

The price of squid is cheaper than many other seafood, which makes them affordable for almost everyone.

How to choose fresh squid?

Squid meat is usually sold in the form of frozen carcasses. Sometimes with tentacles. Like any frozen product, squid meat should not be thawed during storage and then cooled again.

Improper storage spoils its taste, it has a bitter aftertaste and an unpleasant smell of old fish. During cooking, such a product spreads under the hands and foams during cooking.

The squid carcass should be dense. The color of its upper skin is pinkish brown or grayish purple. Squid meat inside is white.

Important! When choosing squid in a store, it is better not to take peeled carcasses. At first glance, it seems that peeled ones are more convenient, you don’t need to peel off the skin from them, you can cook faster.

But the squid skin is the most important sign by which you can determine its freshness! If the skin is yellow or white-gray, if it is noticeable that the meat is not white inside, but has some shade - such a squid is most likely not fresh.

How to clean squid?

You can clean the squid very quickly if you pour the carcasses with boiling water or dip them (literally for a second) in boiling water.

Almost the entire film covering the carcass is immediately rolled up, and the remnants are removed by hand under a stream of cold water. You also need to remove the chitinous plates inside and peel the wings.

How to cook squid?

Squid fillet is thawed in air or in cold water with a little salt, after which the skin is removed from the fillet. So that during frying or cooking, the fillet of a large squid does not shrink and does not become hard, it is beaten off on both sides.

How long to cook squid?

The main thing to remember is to cook squid meat for no more than 2 minutes!

If you keep on fire longer, then it becomes "rubber". Squid meat is considered ready after its carcass turns completely white in boiling water.

The second important point is to cook in small portions, take one or two squid carcasses at a time, put them in boiling water, take them out, then the next portion.

When cooking squid, you can use different spices: black and white pepper, cloves, dill (fresh and dried), basil, parsley. The determining factor is the taste and for which dish the squid is cooked.

Method 1. Boil water with salt and spices in a saucepan over high heat. Throw 1-2 squid carcasses into strongly boiling water and hold for two minutes no more. During this time, water usually has time to resume boiling. Pull out the carcasses with a slotted spoon.

Method 2. Pour one and a half to two liters of water into the pan, add salt and spices. Put thawed and prepared 1-2 squid carcasses into boiling water. Cover the saucepan with a lid and remove from heat. In 10 minutes the meat will be ready. The water will cool down gradually and the squid will not be hard. The method is convenient for a small amount of meat.

Method 3. When there is a lot of squid meat, then this method is quite good. Pour enough water into the pan so that the meat fits all, add salt and spices. Lower the prepared squids into boiling water over high heat. Wait until the water boils again, cover the pan with a lid and remove from heat. After 5 minutes the meat will be ready and the water can be drained.

If, nevertheless, a nuisance happened and the squids were digested, then not everything is hopeless. There is one trick to making them soft again: for this you need to cook them for a long time, about an hour (no less than half an hour). True, after such boiling of meat we will become much smaller and it will lose its nutritional value.

What to cook from squid meat?

Most often, salads are prepared from their squid meat, although you can use it as an independent dish, lightly sprinkled with lemon juice. Stuffed squid carcasses can be cooked with any filling, in addition, you can cook everything that can be made from ordinary meat: meatballs, fillings for pies, etc.

Squid salad is not cooked in a large bowl in large quantities. This is a nutritious product, its taste is specific, so the main ingredient in such a salad is squid.

There should be a lot of it, everything else - much less. No need to strive to increase the amount of salad at the expense of rice, cucumbers, vegetables or other products.

Recipes with squid

Calamari stewed with onions

squid fillet - 800 g
vegetable oil - 4 tbsp. spoons
onions - 3-4 heads
salt and black pepper to taste.

Defrost squid fillet if it is frozen. Cut the meat, beat off if necessary and cook. Chop into small pieces and fry in vegetable oil for 5-6 minutes.

Chop the onion, fry it in vegetable oil until light golden brown. Then mix the onion and squid meat, add a little water and simmer until tender.

Calamari stewed with rice

fresh or frozen squid 500 g
or dried - 150 g
rice - 1 cup
bulbs - 2
butter - 3 tbsp. spoons
flour - 1.5 tbsp. spoons
milk - 0.5 cup
salt and ground pepper to taste.

To cook Squid stew with rice you need:

Peel the squid, gut and rinse well under running water. Then boil the rice until it is about half done. Fry the chopped meat and mix with crumbly rice. Finely chop the onion, brown it in a pan with vegetable oil.

Then mix the fried onion with rice and squid, add milk and season with salt and butter. Close the lid, put in the oven and simmer the squid over low heat until tender.

Stuffed calamari

squid - 5-6 carcasses
rice - 1 cup
carrots - 1-2
onion - 1 pc.
vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l.
salt, bay leaf - to taste
peppercorns - to taste, garlic - to taste,

To cook Stuffed Calamari you need:

Rinse rice, cook until tender. Finely chop the carrots and onions, saute for 5 minutes in oil, add rice and simmer for another 5 minutes. Clean the squids and boil them whole with spices. Fill them with minced meat, put under oppression and cool. Cut into slices before serving. Arrange on a dish, pour vegetable oil mixed with crushed garlic.

Ragout of squid

squid - 700g
potatoes - 6 pcs.
vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
onion - 2 pcs.
carrots - 2 zucchini - 300-400g
parsley (root) - 1 pc.
sour cream sauce - 2.5 cup
garlic - 2-3 cloves
black pepper - to taste
bay leaf - to taste
salt
dill and parsley - to taste.

To cook squid stew you need:

Peel the squids, rinse, cut into squares and boil, and then lightly fry. Peel potatoes, cut into cubes and fry. Separately, fry the carrots, onions and parsley cut into cubes or slices. Put prepared vegetables in a thick-walled dish, pour sour cream sauce with the addition of 1 tbsp. spoons of tomato paste, simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Fry diced zucchini and add to vegetables together with prepared squid. Salt, add spices and simmer together for another 15-20 minutes. 5 minutes before readiness, add minced garlic with salt or finely chopped garlic.

Serving to the table, sprinkle the stew with finely chopped dill and parsley.

Azu from squid

squid (fillet) - 500g
cucumbers (salted) - 2 pcs.
onions - 2-3 pcs.
tomato paste - 1 tbsp
wheat flour - 1 tbsp.
, butter - 80g
parsley (chopped greens) - 2 tbsp.
bay leaf - 1 pc.
allspice (peas) - 3-4 pcs.
salt - to taste.

To cook Aza from squid, you need:

Cut the onion into strips and sauté into pieces of butter. Add the tomato paste diluted with a little water and sauté for another 5 minutes. Remove skin and seeds from cucumbers, cut into slices and soak in 1/2 cup water. Cut the squid fillet into strips, salt, bread in flour and fry in the remaining oil until golden brown.

Combine the prepared ingredients of the dish, add bay leaf, pepper and simmer for 7-10 minutes. Serve azu with mashed potatoes, sprinkled with herbs.

Fried stuffed squid

tomato (large, ripe, chopped) - 2 pcs.
Frize salad (coarsely chopped) - 5 pcs.
capers - 2 tsp
olive oil - 2.5 tbsp.
lime juice and zest - 1 pc.
salt, black pepper - to taste
squid (cut into 8 parts) - 220g.

To cook Fried Stuffed Calamari you need:

Preheat grill to medium heat. In a medium bowl, mix tomatoes, frisee lettuce and capers. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, lime juice and zest, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture of tomatoes and capers with the prepared mass.

Stuff with 1 tablespoon of each squid mixture. Drizzle remaining olive oil over each squid. Grill the squid for 5 to 7 minutes, turning frequently. Allow the squid to cool slightly and serve.

Calamari in batter

squid
flour - 1 cup
water or beer - 1 glass
egg (protein) - 2 pcs.
vegetable oil - 1/2 tbsp.
salt - to taste
oil (for deep frying).

To cook Squid in batter, you need:

Rinse the squid carcasses, remove the hard chitinous plate, you can remove the thin skin. Bring the water to a boil, salt, dip the squids in boiling water and cook for no longer than 3 minutes. Drain the water, cool the squids and cut into rings 3-5 mm thick.

Beat egg whites until stiff foam. Mix flour with water or beer, add butter and salt. Combine the mixture with whipped egg whites. Dip the squids in the prepared batter and deep-fry from 2 sides until golden brown. Ready-made fried squids in batter can be dried from excess fat on a paper towel.

Funchoza with squid and white wine

funchose - 100g
squid - 400g
carrots - 1 pc.
Bulgarian pepper - 1 pc.
garlic (large) - 1 clove
olive oil - 50 ml
salt - to taste
red pepper (hot) - to taste
black pepper - to taste
dry white wine - 50 ml

To cook Funchoza with squid, you need:

Clean the squids, dry them on a paper towel, cut into strips. Cut carrots and sweet pepper into strips.

Prepare funchose according to package instructions. In hot oil, fry coarsely chopped garlic until golden brown, then discard.

Put the carrots in the pan, sauté until half cooked. Add bell pepper, mix, sauté for a couple of minutes and pour dry white wine into the pan, add fire and, stirring quickly, boil the wine.

Reduce the fire a little again, put the squid in the pan, mix and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add funchose to squid, mix. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the stove and let it brew for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot.

The benefits of squid meat for a modern person living in our country far from the sea are obvious. Meat contains many vitamins and fats that cannot be obtained from other products. If you know how to cook so that they are soft, then you can more often introduce these ingredients into your daily and holiday menu.

Is it possible to cook unpeeled squid

Answering the most popular question of the owners about how to cook unpeeled frozen squids, you must immediately say “no way”. First of all, the carcass must be cleaned, and then boiled. To clean a frozen squid, pour boiling water over it: the skin will quickly shrink and remain under water, just rinse it off. After boiling water, the meat is already half ready, therefore, it is important not to overcook it during further heat treatment.

Cooking squid for salads

Many housewives, after dousing the carcass with boiling water for cleaning, simply leave the meat in the water for another five minutes. Further, the product can not be cooked, it is already ready for processing into a salad. But now it will be necessary to additionally remove the skin, sprinkle the prepared meat with lemon juice. For those who do not like such a minimal processing of seafood, there are two ways to cook squid for salad so that they are soft.

Method number 1

You will need to take a liter of water, add salt and peppercorns to taste, bay leaf. Now lower the carcasses into boiling water and just wait until the water boils again. Then take the meat out immediately.

Method number 2

You can also cook the carcass alternately. This means the meat is dipped into boiling water. Then the hostess needs to count to ten and remove the carcass. Do the same with each product. The advantage of this cooking method is that you can control the cooking process in real time. If the carcass is large or small, then the hostess will be able to reduce the counting time, focusing on a specific situation.

Method number 3

To cook a kilogram of squid, you will need to boil two liters of water. Salt the water well and put the squid carcass. Remove the pan from the heat after half a minute. But leave the squid in the water with the lid closed for another 5-10 minutes.

Method number 4

For this cooking method, you will need a slotted spoon, it will help control the entire process. Salt is added to the water, spices to your taste. Wait until the water boils. Then, using a slotted spoon, lower the squid into the water for five minutes, and take it out after five seconds. When the water boils again, lower the same squid again and quickly get it out. Also do about five times. In such a product you can cook.

Important! In the process, how to cook frozen squid to be soft, not so important spices that are added to the water. But additional spices will give the meat a special flavor. The most commonly used peppercorns, cloves or dried dill, parsley, bay leaf.

How to steam squid

We have already found out how delicate and useful the described product is. But, with proper cooking in water, the meat still loses some of its nutritional properties and fats. To save them to the maximum, you can use the steaming method.

For this method of cooking squid, you need to have either a special steamer or a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Meat in this way is cooked longer than in boiling water: about 10 minutes. But there are a number of advantages to steam cooking. First of all, it is the juiciness and tenderness of squid. Carcasses do not decrease in size as much as when boiling meat in boiling water.

Many housewives advise when cooking squid for salad, immediately cut the carcasses across the fibers into rings or strips. But, it should be borne in mind that then the cooking time in boiling water should be reduced to a minimum: one minute. The smaller the pieces of the product, the faster they cook.

If you have squids with heads and tentacles, then first you need to get rid of all inedible parts.

ToshiyukiIMAI/Flickr.com

Take the squid carcass in one hand, grab the head near the eyes with the other. Gently pull - along with the head and tentacles, you will remove part of the insides. The rest can be removed when you remove the skin.

The tentacles are usually thrown away with the head, but they can be used. To do this, cut them off near the eyes. Be sure to remove the squid mouth at the same time - it is hard, hiding among the tentacles.

But usually you don't have to deal with it all. In stores, as a rule, they sell frozen squid in a semi-cut form: without heads and tentacles.

Carcasses (biologists would say - a mantle) are covered with a red-white film, which is troublesome and long to clean with a knife.

To quickly clean the squids, they need to be doused with boiling water, held in hot water for about a minute and rinsed under running water. Some housewives treat carcasses like pasta: pour boiling water in a colander and immediately turn on cold water.

Under the influence of high temperature, the skin will easily and quickly come off the carcass. You will only have to remove its residues when washing. Further, the squid can be cut lengthwise to remove the chitinous plate and entrails.

But you can not break the cylindrical shape of the mantle: the insides and the chitinous plate are easily removed with your fingers. Whole squid can be stuffed or cut into rings.

Method 1. "Cold start"

Place the cleaned squids in a pot of cold water. Put the dishes on the stove and turn on medium heat. When the water warms up, salt a little, and when it boils, immediately turn it off and catch the carcasses.

Like many other seafood, squid do not tolerate heat treatment well. If the clam is cooked for a long time, the meat will be tough, like a rubber sole.

The main secret of cooking squid is not to overcook.

It is important not to miss the moment of boiling. You literally have to stay away from the pan.

Method 2. Boiling in hot water

Bring lightly salted water to a boil. When the first bubbles appear, start the squid. Boiling will stop for a while, and as soon as it resumes, you must immediately turn it off.

Here, too, it is very important not to overexpose the meat in boiling water.

Method 3. Filling with boiling water

Many consider this method to be the most correct and argue that squids prepared in this way are the most tender and delicious.

You need to pour three times. The first time is considered when you pour boiling water over the squid to get rid of the skin.

The second time you need to leave the peeled clams in boiling water for one minute. After that, rinse the carcasses with water and boil the kettle again. After the third filling (holding time is also 60 seconds) and washing, the squids are ready for use. Salt can be added to the bowl with each pour.

Some housewives immediately cut or stuff them. Others remove the still transparent film from the carcasses.

Method 4. Combined

The highlight of this method is that squids are cooked immediately. The skinning step is combined with the boiling process.

Salt the boiling water: about 1 tablespoon per 3 liters of water. Put defrosted squid in it. You will see how the mantles of the mollusks become voluminous and a red-white film comes off them.

Wait until the interrupted boiling resumes, and note 1.5–2.5 minutes. Boil squids at a vigorous boil, without covering with a lid. After the specified time, the pan must be removed from the heat and covered with a lid.

Let the squids cool for 10-15 minutes. After that, rinse them under running water, remove the remnants of the skin, the insides and the chord plate.

Alternatively, you can immediately put the carcasses in a bowl of cold water, thereby stopping the heat treatment.

Boiled squid can be used in salads, fried in batter rings, stuffed with various fillings.

Kevin/Flickr.com

The described methods of cooking squid are very simple and take a minimum of time. Try all four to understand which squid is the most tender for your taste.

Do you know other secrets of cooking squid? Share in the comments.

Salad with squid is a great dish in every sense. Hearty, light, tasty. There is only one problem with it, and it reminds of itself as soon as it comes time to cook squid for salad. There is an opinion in the culinary environment that it is so difficult to cook squid that no novice housewife can cope with this task. Like, only experienced chefs know how long to cook squid for salad or other dishes. They acquired this knowledge from their own experience, and until then no one succeeds in cooking squid correctly: either you overcook it, or you don’t cook it ...

Delicious cooking squid, especially frozen, is really not easy. But it's not so difficult that we can't teach you how to cook squid for salad. By and large, the difficulty lies only in the need to strictly monitor the cooking time, not for a minute deviating from the rules and not relying on your own intuition and / or eye. So, all you need to know to get started is how much to cook squid in one case or another (fresh, frozen, carcasses or rings).

Squid in cooking: composition, benefits and cooking features
Squids are among the most popular seafood. And no wonder: these edible molluscs live in almost all seas and oceans, are mined in large quantities and are suitable for various culinary processing methods. Not to mention the fact that properly cooked squids are extremely tasty, and almost always very healthy. All the difficulties of cooking squid fade against the background of their chemical composition:

18% complete protein with a complex amino acid composition and only 3% fat - the dietary qualities of squid meat are undeniable.
Several B vitamins, vitamins PP and E, as well as omega polyunsaturated fatty acids necessary for their absorption.
Iodine, selenium, iron, phosphorus, calcium, zinc, magnesium and other micro and macro elements for the smooth functioning of the human body.

100 grams of squid meat contains only 75 kcal, and brings more benefits than many other products. But, ironically, it is the easily digestible lean protein that makes it difficult to cook squid easily: during heat treatment, the protein fibers fold and harden. Instead of nutritious white meat, you get a “rubber” lump of compressed muscle.
How to cook squid for salad?
The only way to avoid hardening of boiled squid is to stop cooking before the protein has curdled. To do this, you need to know exactly how long to cook squid and take into account the recipe for the dish in which you will use them. If we are talking about a salad with squid, then you need to cook fresh carcasses in this way:
rules for boiling squid

Conventionally, for 1 kg of fresh squid, you need 2 liters of water and 2 tablespoons of salt.
To improve the taste, add to the water, in addition to salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of vinegar (apple or table), a couple of bay leaves and a little peppercorns.
Dissolve salt and other spices in water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low level and lower the squids into the pan for 1-1.5 minutes.
Remove the squid from boiling water no later than 1.5 minutes (just removing the pan from the heat is not enough).
Put the squid in a colander and cool to room temperature. After that, they can be cut into cubes, strips or rings, depending on the salad recipe.

As you can see, the procedure for cooking squid is not complicated, but if you gape and do not get them out of the pan in time, the fillet will turn into a tough muscle mass, almost unsuitable for chewing.
How to cook frozen squid for salad
Fresh or slightly chilled squid carcasses are an ideal raw material for salads, appetizers and other dishes. Unfortunately, they are not often found in stores - the probability of buying frozen squid is much higher. Deep freezing does not spoil the taste and properties of seafood, but with such squids you will have to tinker longer. Let's start with the fact that the carcasses need to be properly thawed, and then cleaned and prepared for cooking:
boiling frozen squid

A few hours before the planned cooking, place the frozen squid on the shelf of the refrigerator farthest from the freezer. Don't try to speed up the defrosting process by submerging the squid in room temperature water or using the microwave setting.
It is advisable to defrost squid carcasses not completely, in order to facilitate cleaning from films and skin. If you bought peeled carcasses, defrost them completely.
To clean the squid, a sharp knife is enough to pick up the pinkish-gray skin from the side of the tentacles (or where they were) and remove it entirely towards the head of the squid. Then it is necessary to remove white films, chitinous plates and entrails.
During cleaning, squids should be completely defrosted. Carcasses can be cut into rings or strips and boiled according to the technology described above.
During the cooking process, dense hard lumps can form on the surface of the carcass - this happens if some of the films remain on it. Clean them as thoroughly as possible.

Boiled squid can be immediately put into a salad, or you can postpone cooking. Then leave them in the pot of water they were boiled in at room temperature.
How to cook squid rings for salad?
Squid rings, as well as any industrially processed and cut parts, are worse for salad than whole carcasses. But if you only have squid rings, and even frozen ones, you will have to make do with them:

Boil salted water or broth with spices to taste in a saucepan.
Dip the frozen squid rings into the boiling liquid (you do not need to defrost them first).
Immediately remove the pan from the heat, cover with a lid and leave at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Remove the rings with a slotted spoon, dry in a colander or with a towel and send to the salad according to the recipe.

How long to cook squid for salad?
how long to cook squid Boiling squid has become such a common parable in culinary circles that no hostess will treat this process casually. But even an old woman has a problem - suppose that you digested squids and did not remove them from boiling water for two minutes. What to do? It turns out there is a way:

After 2-3 minutes of boiling, squids become tough - you can find comparisons with rubber, soles and other unappetizing metaphors.
In addition to the structure and taste, the volume of the product is also violated: a properly cooked squid almost does not lose volume compared to fresh, while overcooked squid shrinks. After 5 minutes of cooking, the squids are reduced by a third, after 10 minutes - by half.
But after 30 minutes of cooking with a slight boil, the reverse biochemical process occurs, and the squid meat becomes soft again. True, the volume of fibers is not restored.
Accordingly, if you miss the moment, and the squid shrink in boiling water, leave them to cook for up to 30 minutes. So you, at least, save the dish from unchewable meat.
But be prepared for the fact that squids cooked for half an hour will lose almost 2/3 of their size.

It remains to remember: you need to cook squid either for a couple of minutes, or for a long time. All intermediate options make squids, carcasses or rings, "rubber".
How delicious to cook squid for salad?
squid cut for salad Cooking in boiling water on the stove is the most affordable and common way to cook squid and other seafood. But modern kitchens are equipped with other technological capabilities. Therefore, you can certainly cook squid for salad in any of these ways:

Cook squid in the microwave in water. Fill a microwave-safe dish with hot water or broth. Bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Put thawed squids in boiling water and turn on the oven at maximum power for 1.5 minutes. Remove the pan and remove the squid.
Cook squids in the microwave in their own juice. Put the defrosted squid carcasses in a suitable container, pour over 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice and drizzle with vegetable oil. Stir and microwave for 1 minute on full power. Leave for another 5 minutes inside the microwave.
Cook squid in a slow cooker. Put the thawed carcasses in the bowl of the appliance and fill with water. You can add salt, bay leaf and other spices of your choice. Close the multicooker lid and set the timer to 3 minutes. Turn on the appliance in the "cooking" or "steaming" mode. After the end of cooking, do not open the lid for another 5 minutes.
Boil squid in a double boiler. Put the carcasses in any compartment of the steamer, close the lid and turn on the device for 10 minutes. For most models, this time is enough, but for weak units, you can increase the cooking time to 12 minutes. In a double boiler, boiled squids retain their size and are tender.

The only drawback of steamed squid is the lack of broth. But it is not needed for a salad, so this method of cooking squid in a salad can be considered optimal for everyone who has an electric double boiler. Or for those who are not too lazy to steam squids in the old-fashioned way, on the stove.

But do not forget that even properly cooked squid for salad should be used as soon as possible. The maximum shelf life of boiled squid in the refrigerator is two days. After that, even successfully cooked and soft squids will become tough and tasteless. But compliance with all the rules guarantees the taste and benefits of squid in a salad. Bon appetit!

Properly cooked clams should be white with a light pink color, have tender and juicy soft meat, and excite the appetite with a subtle and clean seafood aroma.

In this case, the benefits of this seafood will be maximum, and there are a lot of them - vitamins, a unique protein, a minimum of calories with a high nutritional value.

How to choose and prepare squids?

The best product is freshly caught. But for those who are very far from the ocean, it is almost impossible to find this delicacy of the first freshness.

In stores and supermarkets, it is offered frozen, which is also ideal for making salads.

The main thing is to know how to choose a quality product. There are certain rules:

you need to buy shellfish only in large supermarkets. Buying them in dubious stores is undesirable. Such outlets, as a rule, do not comply with the norms for the storage of a frozen product;
high quality seafood white color of meat, sometimes pink or slightly with a purple tint. The yellowness of the carcass speaks of its depravity and poor quality;
a good frozen clam cannot be one ice pile, carcasses should be easy to separate from one another. Otherwise, this indicates that the squids were thawed and re-frozen several times, which in the future will have a very bad effect on the taste of the product;
on shellfish there should not be a thick ice coating (icing), if any, this indicates the dishonesty of the seller. By purchasing this product and defrosting it, you will end up with much less weight than stated on the package. A person simply overpays for ordinary water;
high quality seafood rather elastic carcass and easily restore their original shape when they are compressed. If the clam is soft or jelly-like, it will not be possible to prepare a delicious salad from such a delicacy.

Frozen carcasses are thawed immediately before cooking.

It is best to let the squid thaw on its own.

To do this, it is pulled out of the freezer and placed on the shelf of the refrigerator.

You can speed up the defrosting process by leaving the seafood to thaw at room temperature.

It happens that the time for preparing a salad is short, and the frozen product needs to be used as soon as possible.

What to do in this situation? The main rule is not to lower frozen carcasses or rings into boiling water, otherwise there is a high risk of getting tough and tasteless meat. For quick defrosting, it will be correct to put the frozen carcasses of the mollusk in a container of water at room temperature. So they will thaw much faster.

The product is thawed, which means you can start cleaning it. Squid must be placed in a saucepan, pour boiling water for a few seconds. After boiling water, drain, rinse the carcasses under running cold water and remove the film from them with your hands. Be sure to check the clam inside for the presence of spinal plates. These innards look like transparent strips of plastic, they need to be pulled out.

How to cook squid for salad?

Inexperienced housewives, not knowing exactly how much to cook squid for salad in time, try to keep the delicacy in the pan longer. It is a mistake to think that shellfish meat will be better boiled, tender and soft in taste. This is a special product, not meat or vegetables, prolonged cooking, stewing, frying only worsen its taste, making it hard.

fresh squid

After cleaning, fresh carcasses must be thoroughly rinsed again under cold water, and then put in boiling water for 2 minutes.

This time is enough for the clam meat to cook, but remain tender and juicy.

After the boiled squids have cooled, they can be cut for salad.

Important! Water for cooking a delicacy is taken exactly in such an amount that it only covers the carcasses a little, it is undesirable to fill the pan with water to the top!

By the way, the question of in what water to cook squid for salad is also important. True gourmets believe that water should be only slightly salted, without spices and additives. And even more so without lemon juice, sauces. So the mollusk will give the maximum of its natural pure taste.

But many people want to improve the taste of the product; during the cooking process, various spices are added to the pan: allspice or black peas, dried or fresh herbs. The spicy taste of seafood can be obtained by throwing squid, orange or lemon zest into the water in which squids are boiled.

Frozen squid

If frozen carcasses have already been purchased cleaned, their color is white.

Before cooking, the fillet is defrosted, washed under running water and placed in a pot of boiling water.

Cooked just like fresh no more than 2 minutes.

Unpeeled frozen squid have a pink or purple skin tone.

Before boiling such carcasses, they should be thawed using the above methods, cleaned and dipped in boiling water for a couple of minutes.

You can cook squid in another way. To do this, boil water in a saucepan, put defrosted or freshly peeled mollusk carcasses in another container and pour boiling water over them. Then the squid container is covered with a lid for several minutes, the finished delicacy is taken out and cooled for further processing.

How to cook squid rings for salad

Often in stores you can buy semi-finished products in the form of rings - these are just perfect to cook.

For a salad, it is better to take whole carcasses, but rings can also be properly prepared and boiled.

Frozen rings must be thawed in the same way as whole squids, that is, left to thaw at room temperature or dipped in warm water.

How much do you need to cook squid for salad and why?

The main rule and the only answer to the question about the duration of cooking is that you need to cook the clams for no more than 2 minutes, then its meat will be soft and juicy, and the salad will turn out to be unusually tasty. If the seafood is overexposed in boiling water, the meat will become dark, hard, rubbery and unpleasant in taste.

If this trouble occurs, the situation can be saved by leaving the squid to cook for another 30 minutes. However, this method of cooking has some disadvantages:

clam meat will become softer, but will significantly lose its original volume;
the beneficial substances contained in the mollusk will simply boil out;
The squid will not taste as tender and juicy as if it had been cooked the right way.

Rules for storing boiled squid

Boiled mollusk carcasses are stored in a plastic container with a lid for no more than 2 days.

After this period of time, they can deteriorate and if eaten, serious poisoning is possible.

Boiled carcasses can be stored in the freezer, but when they are subsequently used in salads, the mollusk will not be so tender and tasty.

Squid must be boiled immediately before eating, only then you can fully enjoy its great taste and tenderness in the cooked dish.

Useful video

Briefly about cooking squid for salad in this video: