What's the easiest way to clean squid? Instructions for cleaning squid from film. How to cook squid and how much to cook

Squid is a fairly popular seafood product, from which you can prepare many delicious dishes, but in order for it to turn out juicy, tasty and soft, it must be subjected to proper heat treatment, so let’s look at how to properly clean squid from the film, as well as how and for how long they need to be cooked until fully cooked, but at the same time so that they remain soft and not overcooked.

How to quickly and easily clean squid at home

You can often find fresh frozen squid on sale, from which many popular dishes are prepared at home (for example, sea salad with squid). In order for the cooked squid meat to be soft and tender, it is better to remove the film from it, which, if you do not know certain tricks, is not so easy to separate from the carcass. Let's consider how you can clean frozen squid carcasses from film, giving them heat treatment and without it, as well as how to properly clean a whole squid, but before that, how many minutes to defrost the squid.

How long does it take to defrost squid?


For many products, including squid, gradual defrosting is desirable, so if you intend to prepare a squid dish, it is better to defrost the squid carcasses in advance by moving them from the freezer to the regular food compartment of the refrigerator or leaving them in a plate with cold water at room temperature.

You can defrost squids in a faster way by placing them in the microwave in defrosting mode, but if you don’t have microwave oven, then you need to take care of defrosting the squid in advance, using the advice presented above.

Important: you cannot defrost squids by pouring hot water or boiling water over them, so as not to spoil their beneficial and tasteful qualities.

Sequence of cleaning a whole squid

True connoisseurs of seafood will say without hesitation that it is better to buy whole squid, rather than ready-cut carcasses, since in factories, during the cleaning process, whole squid is subjected to mechanical and thermal processing, due to which some of its beneficial properties are lost, and also processed meat will not work cook very tender and tasty. In many supermarkets you cannot always find whole squid, but if you can find them, then pay attention to them, and not to frozen and cleaned shellfish.

Cleaning a whole squid can be divided into several stages, so let’s look at them in more detail:

  1. Take a whole squid carcass (if it was frozen, you need to defrost it in advance).
  2. With one hand we take the squid carcass (the part without eyes and tentacles), and with the other we take the squid’s head behind the eyes and smoothly separate the head from the main carcass.
  3. We clean (squeeze out) the insides from the carcass, and also take out the chitin plate.
  4. We cut off the tentacles from the head (it is important not to cut off the small beak of the squid, which is quite sharp), which can also be used to prepare delicious dishes.
  5. Under running water, gently prying it with your nails or a knife, remove the skin (film) from the carcass.
  6. We thoroughly wash the cleaned squid fillet inside and out.

If you bought frozen squid carcasses that have already been cleaned of tentacles and heads, you will still need to clean them at home from skin and film, as well as from possible remains of entrails. There are several ways to clean squid from the film: by treating them with boiling water and without heat treatment.

How to clean squid from film without heat treatment


According to many squid lovers, this method is the best, because during cleaning the squid is less subjected to heat treatment (unlike the method when it is doused with boiling water for easier cleaning) and its meat remains more tender and soft after cooking.

The process of cleaning squid takes place in the following sequence:

  1. The first step is to remove the skin from the carcass by prying it with a fingernail or a knife; it is easier to peel off if the squid has not been completely thawed.
  2. Next, it is important to carefully remove the film from the squid fillet, which is also lifted and pulled off in parts from the carcass.
  3. Finally, the squid meat is washed well under running cold water (outside and inside), carefully inspecting each carcass so that there are no small film residues left on it. If there are any, it is better to remove them.

As you can see, cleaning a squid carcass is not difficult and it will only take a few minutes. To clearly see how squid are cleaned, you can watch the video below:

How to remove film from squid by scalding it with boiling water

The fastest and easiest way to clean squid carcasses from skin and film is to scald them with boiling water, after which it is much easier to remove the film:

  1. Prepare cold water and boiling water in advance.
  2. We take out the chitinous plate inside from the squid.
  3. In a separate container (deep plate or pan), pour boiling water over the squid carcasses, then immediately transfer them to a container with cold water. Due to rapid temperature changes, the skin will peel off and be removed much easier.
  4. Remove the film from the squid by hand, after which we wash the cleaned fillet under cold running water.

A more visual example of quickly cleaning squid using heat treatment is the video below:

How long should I cook squid so that it is soft and tasty?


Their softness depends on how and how long the squid is cooked. If squid fillet is overcooked, it will turn out very tough and unpleasant to eat, so let’s look at some of the most popular methods of cooking squid, in which it turns out soft and juicy.

How to cook frozen squid?

  • Ingredients: frozen squid – 2 pcs, water – 1 l, salt – 0.5 tsp, bay leaf – 1 pc, spices – optional.
  • Total cooking time: 11 minutes, cooking time: 1-1.5 minutes.
  • Calorie content: 122 calories (per 100 grams of product).
  • Cuisine: European. Type of dish: seafood. Number of servings: 2.

You can cook squid without defrosting (the main thing is that they have already been cleaned before doing this). The sequence of cooking frozen squid carcasses is as follows:

  1. Pour water into a saucepan so that all the squids fit in it and bring to a boil.
  2. Salt to taste, and if desired, add spices and bay leaf.
  3. Place the squid carcasses in boiling water and cook for 1-1.5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and cover with a lid. In this state, leave the squid to simmer for 10 minutes.

Standard cooking of squid (carcass, squid rings) for salad and other dishes

Take a large saucepan so that it can accommodate all the squid that we will cook, add water and bring to a boil. Thawed and peeled squids are placed in boiling water for 1-2 minutes (the water is first salted and spices are added to taste), after which the pan is removed from the heat, and the squids are left inside in boiling water so that they cool gradually along with the water. We wait for the squid to cool completely in the water.

How to quickly boil squid?

For use in many recipes, you can use express cooking of squid, during which they practically do not decrease in size and remain soft and juicy:

  1. Boil water in a saucepan and add salt and spices (bay leaf, black pepper, parsley, dill, etc.) to it.
  2. After the water boils, add the cleaned squid for 30-40 seconds, after which we immediately remove them from the boiling water.

We also watch a video on how to boil squid easily and quickly:

How to cook squid in a slow cooker?

  1. Pour water into the multicooker.
  2. Set the “Cooking” mode.
  3. Add spices and salt to your taste.
  4. After the water boils, place rings or whole squid carcasses inside.
  5. We cook them for 1.5-2 minutes, after which we turn off the multicooker, but we do not take out the squids for 3-5 minutes so that they “arrive”.

How to cook squid in a double boiler?

  1. Pour water into the special section of the steamer.
  2. We lay out the squid in one layer on a special grid in it.
  3. Leave the squid to cook for 6-8 minutes under steam.

The golden rule for how long to cook squid

Squid should never be cooked for more than two minutes; the ideal cooking time for squid is one and a half minutes (range 1-2 minutes). If you cook the squid for more than this time, it will be tough, and the carcass itself will decrease in size.

If you accidentally overcooked squid, then read below what to do in this case.

What to do if the squid is overcooked and becomes tough?

Oddly enough, overcooked squids need to be thoroughly boiled additionally so that they are not tough. Place them in boiling water and cook over low heat for 30-60 minutes. After such additional cooking, the squid will become soft, but at the same time it will boil down greatly (reduce in size) and lose the main ingredients. beneficial features.

In conclusion to the article, it can be noted that tips on how to properly cook squid so that they are soft, as well as how to quickly peel squid from the film before and after cooking, will definitely come in handy in every home, because many delicious dishes can be prepared from this seafood, At the same time, it cooks and cooks very quickly. Leave your advice and feedback on how long (minutes) to cook the squid so that it is cooked and soft, in the comments to the article and share it on social networks if it was useful to you.

Squid is a healthy and tasty seafood that can be used to diversify the daily family diet. Some housewives do not like to cook these shellfish, thinking that they are difficult to clean. It's a delusion. Squids are easy to clean if you know the little secrets of their processing.

If you bought fresh whole squid, place it in a bowl and identify where the head is. There are tentacles on it. Holding the squid's body with one hand, pull the head toward you with the other. It will separate along with the insides. Turn the head with the tentacles towards you, find and remove the beak. Then remove the eyes. To do this, cut the tentacles into two halves or simply squeeze the eyes out. Clean the carcass from films. With fresh squid it comes off easily in one go. Remove the tough chitinous plate that is located inside the body. Rinse the cleaned carcass well with cold water. More often you have to cut frozen squid. To prevent cleaning them from taking a lot of time, choose the right product in the store. Carcasses of frozen shellfish should be easily separated from each other. If they stick together, it means the squid has already been defrosted. When cut, they will spread, and after cooking, they will taste bitter. The size and color of a squid depends on its habitat and age. The body of an unpeeled mollusk is covered with a film on the outside and inside. It can have colors from pink to burgundy and purple. Under the film there is white meat. After re-freezing, the meat becomes gray and loses its taste. Small squids are easier to clean than large ones, and after cooking they are softer. Stores often sell already gutted frozen carcasses. This makes them easier to clean. Remove the cartilage from the cut squid. Then remove the film from the carcass. If this is not done, during heat treatment they will become tough, and the carcass itself will shrink. There are several ways to clean the film. Without defrosting the squid, place them in a bowl, scald them with boiling water, and then immediately transfer them to a bowl with ice. The skin will come off like a stocking. You don’t have to put the squids in ice, but simply pour boiling water over them and immediately drain the water. The film rolls up instantly and is easily separated. To remove the skin from a thawed carcass, place it in a pan of boiling salted water and cook for 2 minutes. The film partially remains in the water, and the remaining film can be easily removed by washing the carcass in cold water. After this, the squid is ready to eat. Its meat is soft and tender.

Cleaned squid can be baked, boiled, fried, marinated, dried, smoked, or made into minced meat. Do not deny yourself and your loved ones the pleasure of enjoying delicious dishes made from this valuable seafood.

How to clean squid? This is far from an idle question for housewives who are planning to pamper their family for the first time with this tasty and very healthy product. Nutritionists advise including the meat of this mollusk in your weekly diet.

Fortunately, it harmonizes perfectly with side dishes of cereals and vegetables; you can prepare many hot dishes and cold appetizers from it. But before you cook these shellfish, you need to learn how to clean them correctly and quickly. This will be discussed in our article.

Choose the right squid

How to buy quality squid?

To buy good quality shellfish, you should pay attention to two points.

  1. Shellfish carcasses should not be stuck together or frozen to each other. If they cannot be separated, you have a product that has undergone re-freezing.
  2. Quality squid meat should be exclusively white in color. The presence of bluish or pinkish tints eloquently indicates that the color of the skin was absorbed into it during the process of thawing the product.

If you find such a product on the counter, never buy it: you will be tormented with cleaning, the taste will disappoint, and it may even be unsafe for your health.

How to choose squid - tips and video review:

Some housewives try to choose squids with larger and brightly colored carcasses. This is a fairly common mistake, since these mollusks are old.

The meat of small and lightly colored sea creatures is more tender and tasty.

How to quickly and correctly clean squid from film? Multiple cleaning methods

How to quickly remove film from squid? There are several simple and extremely effective methods, having mastered which, the housewife will spend less and less time on this procedure each time.

Why is it necessary to free shellfish from colored and transparent films? So that the carcasses do not decrease in volume and the meat does not become tough, since all these metamorphoses often occur due to the fault of the transparent film, which acquires special rigidity during the heat treatment of the product.

Cold cleaning

Using this technique, you can clean either freshly caught or properly frozen squid. There is no need to apply any thermal effects here.

  1. Taking the headless carcass, carefully separate the thin film and begin to gradually pull it off. Ultimately, it will be removed completely, leaving a semblance of a “stocking” in the hand.
  2. After clearing the shellfish of its skin, its innards and chitinous plate (notochord) are removed.

Hot method

How to properly clean frozen squid? It is better to clean shellfish that have been repeatedly frozen using short-term heat exposure.

How to clean squid - video:

Let's take a step-by-step look at the process of cleaning not headless carcasses, but whole squid (with head and tentacles).

  1. Shellfish should be defrosted naturally, left at room temperature for a couple of hours.
  2. By carefully pulling the head, the insides are removed.
  3. The tentacles are cut off almost at eye level.
  4. The squid's hard beak, hidden among the tentacles, is unsuitable for food. It is carefully removed and immediately ensured that there are no debris.
  5. The flexible spine, which resembles a narrow strip of transparent plastic, must also be removed. It is not difficult to find it: it can be easily felt inside the carcass.
  6. After all these manipulations, the carcasses can be considered prepared for film removal.
  7. After washing the squid carcasses in a large amount of running water, they are dried with napkins.
  8. After pouring boiling water into a deep container, place one of the prepared carcasses into it for a couple of minutes. During this time, the skin will separate from the pulp, but the meat itself will not have time to cook.
  9. Subjected to thermal effects in boiling water, a thin film will inevitably curl up. Having taken the mollusk out of boiling water, cool it slightly, after which the layers of the burst film are removed under a stream of cold running water. As a rule, peeling of skins treated with hot water occurs without problems.

Contrast shower method

You can quickly clean frozen squid carcasses using this simple method.


Cleaning boiled shellfish

Inexperienced housewives often have a question: when to clean squid - before or after cooking? It is quite acceptable to boil unpeeled shellfish carcasses whole, without preliminary cleaning.

  • After boiling, they are slightly cooled, and then the film lining them is removed with a continuous stocking.
  • Sometimes the skin on shellfish bursts and curls under the influence of hot water, forming something like small balls. In such situations, a soft kitchen brush can help out. It is enough to rub the surface of the boiled shellfish with it, and not a trace will remain of the film residue.
  • Most often, shellfish intended for salad are pre-boiled.

How to cook squid correctly?

Having learned how to clean squid, they move on to their culinary processing. The easiest way to prepare any product is boiling, but it should be done correctly.

Cooking seafood is not at all difficult, but you should know a few mandatory rules that cannot be broken.

If you cook clams too long, the meat will taste like tasteless gum. The first sign that squid is overcooked is a significant reduction in its original size. When boiling seafood, you need to look at the clock.

If shellfish are boiled separately, the maximum time they spend in boiling water should not exceed four minutes. As part of complex vegetable side dishes, sauces or pilaf with seafood, it is permissible to heat treat them for half an hour.

The fastest way to boil squid

  • For squid to be soft, it is necessary to keep them in boiling broth for no more than 20 seconds: only under this condition will their meat acquire the necessary tenderness.
  • To add a pleasant aroma, good cooks add a tea bag or half a lemon to a saucepan of boiling water for boiling shellfish.
How to quickly cook squid - video:

The second option for preparing boiled shellfish

  • Water intended for cooking seafood is slightly salted, brought to a boil and flavored with dill and fennel seeds (the addition of finely chopped dill leaves is also acceptable).
  • Prepared shellfish carcasses are sent into the gushing brine and the flame is immediately turned off.
  • Covering the container tightly with a lid, give the squid a quarter of an hour so that they can simmer in the brine.
  • After this, the boiled shellfish are placed in a colander and cooled in a tightly closed saucepan.

How to boil squid intended for a light snack?

To prepare this dish you will need:

  • Squid – 500 g.
  • 1 orange.
  • Tomatoes – 2 pcs.
  • Fennel – 2 small heads.
  • Olive oil).
  • Juice of one half lemon and one orange.

Cooking method:

  1. Well-cleaned squids are rinsed with running water.
  2. Fennel is cut into neat strips.
  3. After peeling the orange, remove all its internal films.
  4. Lightly boil the fennel in a saucepan of boiling salted water.
  5. Add squid to the fennel, bring the contents of the pan to a boil, after which the broth is drained.
  6. Boiled squid and fennel season olive oil, fruit juices, seasoned with spices.
  7. Skin the tomatoes, remove the seeds, and cut into even slices.
  8. All the ingredients of the appetizer (squid, orange slices, tomato slices and boiled fennel) are beautifully placed on a painted plate. You can put several large boiled shrimp on top.

Another recipe for squid - in the video:

What delicacies can be made from squid?

Recipes for cooking squid in modern cooking are so diverse that they cannot be listed. We will only briefly describe the main methods of their culinary processing.

The following dishes are made from squid at home:


How to prepare fried squid?

Before preparing this dish, squid carcasses should, of course, be cleaned. You should not overuse spices, since the specific aroma of all seafood is very easily interrupted by the smells of other components of the dish.

The time for frying squid, as with all other methods of preparing it, should be minimal.

Crispy squid in breadcrumbs

This extremely tasty and nutritious dish is simply irreplaceable during family holidays and friendly parties. It is credited with the properties of an excellent aphrodisiac.

Components:

  • Squid – 0.5 kg.
  • Eggs – 2 pcs.
  • Breadcrumbs.
  • Sour cream-mayonnaise lezon (consisting of equal amounts of mayonnaise and sour cream).
  • A mixture of vegetable and butter for frying.
  • Set of spices.

How to cook?

  1. The carcasses, cleared of films, are cut into small strips or rings.
  2. Lezon is prepared from a mixture of mayonnaise, sour cream and spices.
  3. Pieces of squid are dipped in leison, after which they are thoroughly coated in the breading mixture.
  4. Frying is carried out for 4 minutes using a mixture made from cow and vegetable oil.
  5. Place the fried rings on a paper napkin so that it can absorb excess oil.
  6. After this, the delicacy is beautifully laid out on a flat plate, decorated with herbs and served with pickled cucumbers.
  7. In a similar way, squid is prepared in beer batter, into which egg whites, a small amount of flour and beer are placed.
  8. This dish goes great with many types of sauces.
Fried squid rings in batter - recipe in video:

In this article we will look at the main methods of cleaning squid from film. If you're ready to learn something new about cooking, let's get started!

Cleaning squid from film: simple and fast

Ideally, your squid should be fresh. But if you live far from the places where it is caught, you will have to use frozen, which will complicate the process a little and affect the taste of the product. But you don’t have to choose, but you want to serve shellfish. Let's learn how to easily peel the film from squid!

If the housewife managed by hook or by crook to get a fresh future decoration for the festive table, then the cutting process becomes a little more complicated. Only the mantle, wings and tentacles are suitable for food, so your seafood must be guillotined and its head cut off just behind the eyes.

Next, you need to get rid of the torso's natural filler, the viscera. They are also not particularly suitable for food. To do this, put your hand inside the squid and, holding its chord, turn it inside out, like a T-shirt. This will make it much easier for you to remove everything unnecessary from it.

Freshly frozen squid is sold without a head, so the process of cutting the carcass is accelerated, you don’t have to cut off anything unnecessary, just clean the inside. Then comes the transition to film removal, which seems labor-intensive. The process is actually not that complicated.

We remove the film

How to remove film from squid? Simply and easily! Place it in a container of boiling water for a few seconds or scald it with boiling water. Due to a sharp temperature change, the film shrinks and turns into rags, which come off on their own when washed. This method is suitable for fresh or frozen squid.

Don't know how to remove the film from frozen squid? Temperature differences are also used here. To begin with, the clam must be defrosted, then dipped in boiling water, quickly pulled out and doused with ice water (or put on ice). The surface color film will shrink, just as in the first case, and will no longer cause you much trouble.

The transparent film, which you should also not forget about, needs to be carefully pryed off with the tip of a knife and pulled off. Otherwise, the taste will be hopelessly spoiled, and picking out pieces of an incomprehensible substance from the interdental space, you must admit, is not the most fun activity.

But the best option for how to clean squid from film is, of course, mechanical. Still, immersion either in boiling water or in ice negatively affects the taste of the finished dish, so just be patient and carefully and gently remove everything by hand. This will take more time, but your household and guests will not say that you tried to poison them with an unknown and terrible-tasting dish from some alien beast.

Features of squid

As a biological species, squids appeared about 200 million years ago, in the Triassic period. Their method of movement is not found in any other living organism on the planet. These mollusks have a built-in “engine” that works on the principle of sucking water into itself, it forcefully releases it through a kind of “nozzle”, which gives it a speed of up to 30 km/h. The largest specimens have a length of up to 17 meters and a weight of up to 280 kg. A developed nervous system, some semblance of intelligence, and a whole arsenal for attack and defense place it an order of magnitude higher than invertebrates. This is how they were able to survive until now.

Squids prefer salty water, at least 33%, so you will not find this monster in “lightly salted” seas (such as the Baltic). Due to the admixture of copper, the blood of squids is blue, but crayfish and scorpions can also boast of this. But three hearts - only these people have this. And the “ink bag” is also exclusively their evolutionary invention. Not only does the discarded ink retain the shape of the squid, but the fish that pounces on this “cloud” becomes blind and loses its sense of smell due to the paralyzing properties of this liquid. And while the fish is trying to understand what is happening to it, the squid quickly changes color and runs away.

Squid dishes

You have already learned how to quickly peel the film from squid, now let’s get acquainted with some dishes from these ancient monsters, for example, Chinese-style squid.

You will need: a kilogram of squid, a couple of onions, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp. l. soy sauce, 2 tsp. sugar, herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Dip the cleaned squid into boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain in a colander. Fry the onion, cut into half rings, until golden brown in a frying pan, then add the squid chopped into strips or rings and fry for a minute. Add sugar, salt, pepper, sauce, mix quickly and fry over high heat for another two minutes. Turn off the heat, squeeze out the garlic, mix again, put in a salad bowl, decorate with herbs and serve.

Squid with vegetables is no less tasty. You now know how to clear the film from squid, so let’s move on to the process itself. For 600 g of clam pulp, take two large carrots, two onions, pepper (preferably a mixture), 1 tsp. salt, 3 tbsp. l. unrefined vegetable oil and spices to taste.

Cut the squid into rings, coarsely chop the onion, and grate the carrots on a coarse grater. We put everything in a suitable container and add the rest. The mixture must be mixed and left for 20 minutes to soak the dish. Then put the resulting mixture into dry, clean jars, cover the neck with foil and place in an oven heated to 220 degrees for 1.5 hours. You can serve it hot or cold.

Cleaning method No. 3

Just in case, here is another method on how to quickly clear the film from squid. Place the gutted squid into the pan and start heating. As soon as the water becomes hot, add salt, and a minute and a half after boiling, quickly drain it and rub the film off with your hands under running cold water. This way you will have the squid not only cleaned, but already cooked.

So, now you know how to clean the film from squid. You can choose any method, depending on whether you have time and how important it is to you to preserve the taste of this unique sea creature.

Summarize

So we figured out how to clean squid from the film, photos of the processes were presented to you in the article. Prepare for your health!

Squids are ten-armed edible mollusks of the cephalopod order, which are simply irreplaceable in cooking. Hundreds of dishes are prepared from this sea creature: salads, soups, snacks. For example, crispy rings in batter can be served both as an appetizer and as an addition to the holiday table. And to make the food tasty, you need to know how to properly clean squid. There are many secrets and rules in this process.

In general, if you have this “rare guest” product in your diet, correct yourself urgently: squid meat contains iron and potassium, iodine, zinc and selenium.

It has no cholesterol at all, but a lot of protein.

The calorie content is relatively low - 100 kcal per 100 grams (the amount of kcal varies depending on the method of preparation).

Dishes with squid are a high-quality “building” material for muscle tissue, which has a general strengthening, anti-sclerotic, and vascular tonic effect.

When consumed, this sea shellfish removes toxins and heavy metal salts, improves digestion and supports the functioning of the endocrine system (especially the thyroid gland).

Typically, this product is rarely used by those housewives who do not know how to clean squid, what part to eat, as well as how to cook it correctly and how much for a salad or some other dish. Of course, there are difficulties, but they are minimal! Once you’ve done everything, you’ll only be left wondering why you couldn’t do it before!

How to clean squid from film: basic methods

There are 3 main ways to deal with the film on a carcass - clean without heat treatment and use blanching, pre-boiling.

Cold method

  1. Take a fresh or frozen carcass in your hand and pull off the film with a “stocking”.
  2. If the film is not removed with a sharp movement, it can be peeled off little by little, pulling it away with smooth movements.
  3. After removing the film, the insides of the marine animal and the notochord (a chitinous backbone) are removed.

Hot method

If the freezing method is unknown, especially if the squid thawed and froze again during storage, or was covered with ice, or was crushed and deformed, then the “stocking” cleaning method is not suitable for it.

  1. Such shellfish should be placed in a heat-resistant colander and lowered into boiling water for 7-10 seconds.
  2. Then take it out and immediately plunge it into ice water. In most cases, the film will wrinkle and peel off on its own.
  3. Sometimes you will need to work a little with your hands and remove its remains from the carcass.

Cleaning cooked squid

  1. If the squid was boiled in film, then to remove it you need to slightly cool the carcass.
  2. After this, you can use a new soft kitchen brush.
  3. It is enough to rub the carcass a little, and the film will gather into balls and peel off.

Experienced chefs do not like to use this method - the taste of the finished seafood deteriorates.

How to clean fresh squid

If you are lucky enough to purchase a freshly caught shellfish, then you need to clean it immediately. The process diagram is simple:

  1. We hold the whole carcass well with one hand, with the other we tightly clasp the head just behind the eyes and confidently pull it out - in one hand the body with fins remains, and in the other - the head with tentacles and entrails:
  2. We cut off the tentacles and throw away the rest (eyes, entrails, the longest “whisker”). Be careful with the beak - it may remain with tentacles, remove it, they do not eat it;
  3. we free the carcass from the remaining entrails and chitinous core - we simply pull it out by hand;
  4. We tighten the film under running water.

Cleaning whole frozen carcasses

  1. To clean the squid, you need to defrost it.
  2. The best way to defrost is gradual, gentle.
  3. To do this, the carcass is transferred from the freezer to the refrigerator compartment.
  4. When it thaws, you need to move it to room temperature and keep it until the normal state is completely restored.
  5. We clean it in the same way as freshly caught fish. Afterwards, rinse the carcasses with water and place them in boiling water.
  6. The length of stay in boiling water depends on further actions.
  7. If you immerse it in ice water after scalding, then a 10-second blanching is enough. Carcasses removed from cold water can be easily cleaned by hand. This method is reliable, but squid cleaned using this method is not as tasty.
  8. If the squid will be cleaned immediately after being removed from boiling water, then you need to keep it in the water for about a minute. The film is carefully cleaned with a brush. The meat of squid cleaned using this method is juicier after cooking.

The easiest and fastest way to clean

  1. Frozen carcasses should be placed in a bowl, poured with boiling water for a couple of minutes, then placed under running cold water and cleaned with your hands from the film, chord and entrails.
  2. This method is really fast and simple. Its only drawback is that the squid becomes less juicy and flavorful and becomes tougher.

You can use this “shock” method only if there is an acute lack of time for gentle defrosting.