Help Me Cook My Squid, Please!

Cafe Society
1

Okay, here’s the deal:

I’ve got a pound of squid in my freezer that I need to use. They are already cleaned (so I just have the mantles/body sacs and tentacle meat), and they are baby squid (so that the mantles are 3-4 inches long and about 3/4 of an inch wide, sort of like condoms for your fingers).

I am wanting to fill them with something and deep-fry them.

A typical pound of this usually has between 12 and 15 mantles, as well as the accompanying tentacles. Each mantle will probably hold about a tablespoon or two of filling.

I mainly have two areas of concern: the filling, and the coating. The dipping sauce (which is where I want the spicy component) is not so important, but I welcome suggestions.

Here’s my as-yet untested filling concept:

The tentacle meat
Water Chestnuts
Scallions
Mushrooms
Garlic
Ginger
Fish Sauce
Toasted Sesame Oil
Cornstarch (to bind it into a paste, if necessary)

No clue on amounts.

I plan to mince all of this very finely, and pipe it into the mantles, skewer them shut with toothpicks, coat them somehow, and deep-fry them.

As to the coating, my original idea was to just dredge them in cornstarch, but I don’t think this will be enough. Cornstarch and egg white might be better, but I’d also consider battering them (like tempura or onion rings) and deep-frying them that way.

So, before I thaw these babies out and commit myself, I thought I’d ask suggestions.

I want the coating to be crunchy and substantial, because squid can be rubbery if cooked too long (and I figure by the time the filling is cooked, the mantles will be overly done a bit); so I want the coating to sort of mask that. I’m shooting for crunchy/chewy on the exterior and creamy/crispy (water chestnuts) on the interior.

However, because they are baby squid, the rubberiness is going to be minimized, anyway. They’re actually fairly tender because they’re so thin and small.

(Suddenly, that sounds pervy…like a post about the Olsen Twins :D)

[sub]::Everybody Bleach Brain Here::[/sub]

The spicy component (as noted) is to be saved for the dipping sauce, so that it can be added to taste.

I realize that I might need an acidic/sour component to this, so I have lemon and lime juice (to go citrusy if called for) in the fridge, as well as rice and black vinegars.

I have access to lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves, but neither of those are really palatable unless shredded VERY finely, so I thought I’d go lemon/lime juice if I wanted those flavors…unless sour without citrus is called for, hence the vinegars.

I also have various soy sauces for the salty component (although I prefer fish sauce with seafood), as well as oyster sauce (which, I’ll admit, I haven’t used in a while and don’t really remember what it tastes like).

The mushrooms I have are dried shiitakes, dried black tree ear mushrooms, and fresh white supermarket mushrooms. The dried ones would get hydrated in hot chicken stock and then minced along with the rest of the filling.

I also thought I might need more meat, and have considered getting a small quantity of shrimp to add in, but I figure if I have enough of everything else, that shouldn’t be necessary.

So, whaddaya think? Give me ideas, additions, subtractions, etc. If we had a puking smiley, you could even add an “Ewww…squid!” post or two. I’ll let you know how it turns out. There’s no hurry, here, btw: they’re still safely frozen…but they’re starting to call to me.

2

Use the squid as bait to catch some actual food. :smiley:

3

Just for that, you get to eat some.

4

Gee, sounds pretty yummy to me! I agree with you, the coating needs to have some substance to it.

I used to stuff squid and bake it. I think the key to the squid=rubbery problem is that it needs to be cooked for a brief time (say, 5-6 minutes) or a long time, like 20. Rubbery seems to occur in the 10-12 minute range. YMMV, I am not a chef, etc., etc.

Let us know how it turns out!

5

Dijon Warwick, your idea sounds pretty great! I’d definitely avoid over-filling the squid tubes - like you said, lots of filling will mean a longer cooking time, and possible rubberiness. So maybe just a smidge of the filling inside, enough for the flavour and texture to come through. Although my favourite thing about deep frying squid is actually the crispy curled-up tentacles, which will be sadly absent in your plan.

Yum!

6

If the squid is of the right quality, then just make some sushi rice and go hog wild :smiley:

7

Ditto the above comments on rubberiness; squid needs rapid cooking. I would suggest pre-cooking any raw ingredients of the filling, then you will be able to fill them quite generously and deep fry just for a minute or two.

Not sure about mincing the filling so finely though - that might just turn out nasty (and provide a candidate experience for this thread. How about shredding the filling?

Also, you could get a very, very sharp knife and (at the end of cooking) slice the cooked squid into bite-sized pieces -if you use a really sharp knife, you shouldn’t lose the filling or the batter that way - then arrange them tastefully on the plate and dress them lightly with the dipping sauce.

8

There’s a very fine line between heavenly squid and inedible squid. If you need to overcook the squid to get the filling cooked, that’s a sign that you’re doing something wrong with the filling. Either partially pre-cook the filling, or use something else that doesn’t need to be cooked as much at all. But for Kraken’s sake, man, don’t overcook that calamari!

9

I had a thai coconut curry once that had squid stuffed with a spicy meat mixture–sort of like you’d put in gyoza dumplings, but with fish sauce and cilantro and probably some of the other ingredients you have listed. It was a standard green curry with basil and also had peppers and eggplant. It was really good. No recipe, unfortunately, since it was in a restaurant.

10

Sadly, that is the best offer I’ve had today. Fried squid. :frowning:

Still, I’d prolly be willing to taste it. Us confirmed bachelor types are not so picky about stuff that might qualify as food…

11

You’re thinking that squid would be in the vicinity of “sort of edible, maybe with enough alcohol”, or something of the sort. It’s not. Depending on how it’s done, squid is either absolutely ambrosial, or it’s Tire Rubber Tempura. There is no middle ground. The first time I ever tried it, it was terrible, but fortunately, I let myself be talked into trying it again at a different place.

If you get some of the bad stuff, you probably won’t be able to use it as bait, because nothing else would eat it, either. If you get some of the good stuff, I doubt there’s anything else you could catch that would be better.

12

Nothing to add except that after watching Alton Brown’s squid show, I know to turn the tubes inside-out before you stuff them so that they curl inward and keep the filling in.

13

I lied. Here’s a recipe that might work for your ingredients. I’ve noticed that a lot of the recipes suggest steaming the squid before frying it.

14

Chronos is absolutely right: squid is frustratingly tempermental–either delicate and delicious or only fit for pencil erasers. I’ve had both (once, in a restaurant, it was so tough I couldn’t even chew through it). But when it’s good…oh, yeah. A minute of overcooking can make all the difference.

Precooking the filling sounds like a good idea. I’m not sure how well shredding it will work, since the squid are mostly too small to get a spoon inside. I’m planning on cutting a small corner from a ziploc and piping it in (a la pastry bag), so the pieces can’t be too big.

Haven’t heard of turning them inside out, but I’ll give it a try. psychobunny’s recipe sounds very promising. Haven’t tried steaming before frying yet, but some recipes that I’ve got suggest giving it about 90 seconds in boiling salted water before stirfrying. That’s worked out okay so far. Steaming’s worth a shot, though.

Now I’m getting hungry. Tentacles must ensue.

15

On the stuffing, I had a squid dish served stuffed with a forcemeat sort of paste once - the dish was served cold which was odd, but it was really very tasty. The slight not, well, rubberiness, but resistance to the tooth of the squid combined with the smooth paste worked very well. It wasn’t fried, so I have no particular life lessons on the cooking paste, just a thumbs up for squid stuffed with a pipeable mixture.

16

Has anyone ever tried cooking a giant squid?

I dare you to deep fry one of those babies!

17

“Cook my squid,” eh? Is that what you kids are calling it today?

18

Cook your squid? No! You should love it and cherish it and let it ahear to your face.What kind of monster are you??

19

Aw, man! I came in here expressly to make this exact post! Stealer!

20

From what I’ve heard, they have too much ammonia in their flesh to be edible.

But that would sure make those “Be careful when deepfrying a turkey” people sound like total wusses.