The Calamari Code

Jimmy Carl Black · 05-29-2006, 07:47 PM

OK,

some talk in the past about edibility of Humboldt Squid: I just had a conversation about this with a chef friend over some ale and it appears that the problem with this is the cooking method (no need to pound it to death). The rule, according to my source, is that calamari is etither cooked one minute or one hour with NO in between. This might explain some of the previous discussion claiming these steaks to be tuff as nails and no good to eat.

Try braising the steaks: quickly sear the outsides in a medium-high heat with oil before transferring to a baking pan with whatever braising liquid you might wish (lemon, wine, various veggies,etc) cover and 275 F for an hour or so. This should make the steaks tender and yummy from what I am being told.

Cheers

LQQKASTAR · 05-29-2006, 08:03 PM

TRY IT MIKEY!, YOU'LL LIKE IT.
Naw, just teasing...dont try it. all kidding aside. that sounds like a good rule of thumb. kinda like overduing tuna...I :said kinda :grin:
good luck hope it works out.
or you could end up with alot of squid.... hey i know this dude that will eat it.

peace

Threemuch · 05-29-2006, 09:00 PM

1 minute, 1 hour, won't do much for the taste. I think with those humboldt squid you have a pretty bitter flavor even if they are cooked properly. Maybe marinate them for a couple days first to get the nasty taste out.

8knots · 05-30-2006, 08:02 AM

I'm curious because I love to eat calamari and I am wondering what restaurants use to get the larger portions from, like the calamari steaks? If they are from the Humboldt squid they don't taste bitter at all. Is there another large squid they get the large pieces from? I am going to a squid eating country the end of June where they eat it all the time and grill it a lot. I plan on finding some new ways to cook it there. I had it recently at an Italian restaurant, baked in spicy tomato sauce. It was was perfect, slightly firm and very tasty.

Chrome Bumper · 05-30-2006, 08:06 AM

Humbolts taste bad

Threemuch · 05-30-2006, 08:17 AM

8K,
I have wondered the same thing. Mcmenamens CPR used to have a marinated calimari that was awesome, and way too thick to be anything smaller than a humboldt.

I thought I tried everything to make that stuff edible, but it just plain wasn't. Good crab bait though.

I ahave one friend who swears that if you skin the meat, not just remove the membrane, but use a knife to remove the inside and outside 1/8" from the meat, it is good.

A. Seems unlikely.
B. That seems like it would be pert near impossible.
3. Even if you were good at it, it is an awful lot of work.

Here is a thread on a squid fishing list about this exact topic.
How to make humboldt squid edible?

bajadan2000 · 05-30-2006, 08:52 AM

Never had any calamari that tasted bitter, I would call the taste mild to bland.

Baja calamari are a riot to catch. Love to go out on a clear night with a full moon.

Here is what I use.

The squid will hit anything, however, the cedar plug is just for size comparision. If you want squid in the boat, best to use a squid jig. The bigger the better.

BajaDan

8knots · 05-30-2006, 09:03 AM

Good link. Man, they seem like a hassle to clean, but if you can do tuna I guess you can learn to do squid. Now, if if we could just get the taste to be like some I have had in restaurants. I used to eat some in Laguna Beach that was done abalone style and it was amazingly good. When I have more time I'll do some more searching. Seems a shame just to use them for crab bait, although I am up for that too.

Jimmy Carl Black · 05-30-2006, 09:27 PM

Kurt,

I knew this would get your attention. It seems like from that thread you linked us to that it's just a bit laborious to prepare. I have never had calamari steaks but if you could make the Humboldts taste good it seems worth it for the meat return you can get out of a single trip. Worth one last try anyway next time you hook one.

SilverFly · 05-30-2006, 11:04 PM

I dunno, the best calamari steak I ever had was on the pier in Monterey. Since the restaurant claimed it was locally caught, I can only presume it was from a Humboldt. The steak was lightly breaded in Panko and seared a golden brown. The crust cut easily to reveal moist, tender, white meat inside. It was almost like eating a 1" thick razor clam (my mouth is watering just thinking about it).

If you guy's say the Humboldt's caught up here are crab bait, I'll take your word for it. Who know's, maybe they "go bad" or get sick this far north

. Wasn't it last year we had the big squid die-off

?

Threemuch · 05-31-2006, 08:04 AM

I think alot of those squid "steaks" are made from ground and pressed small squid. The local caught squid in Monterey, at least the big fishery there is for the 4-7" squid. Unless it is recent, I don't think there is a big commercial humboldt fishery in Monterey. I think most of the commercial fishing for the humboldt squid is done in Mexico.

I love those Monterey squid, as bait or on the plate!

bajadan2000 · 05-31-2006, 01:05 PM

Quote:

OK,

275 F for an hour or so. This should make the steaks tender and yummy from what I am being told.

Cheers

I would like to try this the next time I am in Baja with fresh giant squid to eat. Problem I have is hitting 275 F with my camping stove, also, I have never cooked with a timer. Best I will be able to do is the hard rock technique. Place a rock in with the squid, when the rock is tender, the squid should be ready.

Seriously, I will try the slow cook method next time. Thanks for the tip.

skein · 05-31-2006, 04:26 PM

Dan, take a Dutch oven and a bag of charcoal. It's pretty easy to regulate the temp by adding or removing briquets. And not just for calamari. They are incredibly versatile for cooking any number of dishes.

If you have an aluminum one you won't even have to worry about it rusting on the beach. :grin:

Skein

Bstnwaler · 05-31-2006, 04:55 PM

Just a word from down South..last year we got a few and yes they were bitter..but this year we trimmed 1/8 inch or so on each side (after the membrane was removed) and there was no bitter taste at all..but porblem was there was really no taste,not bad breaded with seasoned bread crumbs but you only got the breadcrumb taste..down here though it makes great crab bait...our second choice next to tuna....just my .02 worth

bajadan2000 · 05-31-2006, 06:28 PM

Jim, not to hijack the thread, but an aluminum dutch oven sounds like a great idea for baja.
Used to make a mean peach cobler in one many moons ago. Not sure why I quit using a dutch oven. Every thing comes out great.