Cleaning squid is perceived by many as a long and tedious task, so many people ask the question “how to clean squid.” We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the instructions for quickly cleaning squid and the squid salad will prepare faster and will appear on your table more often.

It is better to defrost the squid in advance in the refrigerator, transferring it from the freezer to the refrigerator overnight. In general, it is better to defrost fish and sea life in the refrigerator, where everything will defrost gradually without forcing it and thus without losing its structure.

Housewives should take note of the recipe for delicious and satisfying stuffed squid with mushrooms, rice, cheese and meat.

By moving the “pocket” of the squid carcass apart, we separate the insides from the wall of the carcass at the point of their connection. Separate as deeply as possible.

Holding the head with tentacles firmly in one hand and the carcass in the other, we pull the insides out of the carcass.

These are the two parts we will get after this.

We cut off the tentacles right next to the squid's eyes and throw away the half with the entrails.

Between the tentacles in the middle is the squid's beak. Squeeze it out with your finger and throw it away.

We take out the chitinous plate from the squid carcass. It is located at the point where the entrails are attached to the walls of the carcass (in the first step, we separated the carcass from the entrails at this point).

If possible (if the size of the squid allows), we turn the “pocket” of the carcass outward. This way we can easily remove the horny chitinous plate without any residue.

We only have what goes into food: the tentacles and carcass of the squid.

We put the carcasses with tentacles in an enamel bowl, pour over them with boiling water and immediately, without delay, throw them into a colander and immerse them in ice water (it’s good to add ice cubes to the water)

With such a sharp change from boiling water to ice, we ensure that the squid skin can be easily removed without any residue. We remove the skin with suckers from the tentacles; for convenience, you can do this under running cold water (or in a bowl of cold water) by rubbing the tentacles with your fingers to better remove the thin skin and suckers.

All our squids are ready for cooking.

You need to cook the squids according to the clock so that they do not become tough if overcooked and do not remain raw. Many people cook for 3-4 minutes or more than 30 minutes. We recommend cooking this way: add dried fennel or dill seeds (or just finely chopped fresh dill) to boiling salted water, then add squid to our rapidly boiling brine and literally turn it off immediately. Cover with a lid and soak the squid in the brine for 12 minutes, then place in a colander and cool in the same pan under the lid.

Cleaning squid seems to be an unusually difficult task for many, and as a result, this tasty and healthy product is not included in the diet often enough. But you can cook many everyday and holiday dishes from squid! You just need to learn how to clean them correctly.

What kind of cleaning do squids need?

Structure of the mollusk

Squid- These are cephalopods. They usually range from 0.25 to 0.5 m in length. They live in both northern seas and subtropical waters. Squids have 5 pairs of tentacles and a torpedo-shaped body. Supporting cartilage runs along the body. The tentacles have suction cups. Squids are a commercial fish and are widely used in cooking.

The difference between cleaning fresh and frozen products

The squid's body and tentacles are edible. Entrails, head, jaws are thrown out. The tentacles are cut off at eye level and, if they are intended to be used, are cleared of suckers.

As a rule, you can buy unfrozen squid where they are caught. Most often, frozen squid is found in stores, but freezing allows you to preserve its beneficial properties and taste. The skin can be easily removed from fresh, unfrozen squid, but frozen ones will take a little more work.

It is best to defrost squid in the refrigerator, transferring it there from the freezer overnight.

A few words about buying frozen squid. Squid meat, defrosted more than once, has an unpleasant taste and smell, so, first of all, you need to evaluate them by appearance. The skin of the carcass should be brownish or have a pinkish-purple tint, but the meat should only be white. If it turns yellow or has a purple color, then this is a sign that it has been thawed.

How to properly cut a whole carcass

To clean a squid, you need to grab it by the head with one hand and the body with the other. Tentacles extend from the head of the mollusk. If you pull the head, it quickly separates along with the insides.

The jaws are hidden between the tentacles. They must be removed.

There is a transparent plate in the squid's body that needs to be removed. Then you should carefully remove all the films, including the thin, transparent ones that cover the squid’s body outside and inside.

This will require two containers. You need to pour cold water into one of them, you can even add ice. In the second - put squids, pour boiling water over them and quickly transfer to cold water. Films against temperature changes are easily removed.

You can also put the squid in a container, add hot water and keep it there for no more than two minutes, otherwise they will be “rubbery” and tasteless. The squid skin curls up and is then easily peeled off under running water.

Cleaning options at home on video

How to clean a whole squid (not frozen)

How to quickly clean squid

How to cook squid easily

How to remove transparent film from squid

Adding cleaned squid to dishes

After removing the films, the squid should be washed well and dried a little. Now you can

Squid is a very valuable and tasty seafood. It will perfectly diversify your family's usual diet. Many housewives do not want cook squid, considering that clean the squid very hard. But we will prove to you that this is not so. And when you finish cleaning, you can decide what to cook. Squid can be boiled and prepared in various salads and all kinds of snacks. Squids are also fried, stewed, marinated, stuffed, dried, smoked and made into minced meat.

But how to properly clean squid?

1 Let's take the most difficult situation as a basis - you bought a whole squid. You can easily determine where the carcass's head is - it has tentacles. Grab the head with your hand and, holding the body of the squid, pull it towards you. This way you can easily remove the insides. You will also need to remove the chitin plate, which is something like hard plastic spaghetti, but flat. It can be easily felt inside the carcass and is no less easily removed. At the head, cut off the tentacles near the eyes. Carcasses are often sold with the heads already removed. In this case, simply remove all the insides. If you come across gutted carcasses, then the work will be half as much.

2 Now let's move on to removing the films. Both colored films and transparent films should be removed from both the outside and the inside. It is the transparent films that become very hard during heat treatment, and the whole squid carcass shrinks, which is undesirable when preparing stuffed squid. If the squid is fresh, the film comes off on its own in one go. But if the squid was purchased frozen, then everything is not so simple. We will tell you how to quickly and easily clean squid. First way(if the squid has already thawed). Take 2 containers. Fill one with ice water (we use ice). And put squid in the other. Scald the carcasses with boiling water and quickly transfer them to ice water. Now removing films is easier than ever. Do not overcook the squids in boiling water so that they simply do not cook. Dry the carcass well before cooking. Second way. Scald frozen squids with boiling water and immediately drain the water. The peel instantly curls up and you can easily remove it.

How to cook squid

Squid meat, completely cleared of all films, is quite tender and soft. Cooking squid can be done in two different ways. You can cook over high heat for 1.5-3 minutes (as soon as the squid meat turns white, remove it immediately). Or simmer over low heat for 40 minutes. You can fry the squid rings over very high heat for 5-7 minutes with additives (fried vegetables, for example) and up to 3 minutes without additives, or simmer over low heat for 40 minutes. If you want to cook stuffed squid, then fill the carcasses with either the already prepared filling and simply fry on both sides until cooked. Or pour liquid over the stuffed carcasses and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Sometimes squids are baked in the oven. The main thing is not to overcook the squid, otherwise the meat will become “rubbery” and tasteless, although this situation can be corrected by stewing the squid longer. If you cleaned the squid as above, the cooking time may be reduced due to scalding.

Squid, like all edible ocean inhabitants, is low in calories and high in protein. Unfortunately, they are infrequent guests on our table for one simple reason: housewives do not know how to clean squid at home. It's a pity, because they meat is also dietary, because there is practically no fat in it. Thanks to our tips, you will not only learn how to clean these ocean inhabitants, but also treat your loved ones with unusual snacks.

How to quickly, easily and correctly peel squid from the film according to step-by-step instructions

Inventory: large bowl or pan, knife, kettle.

Ingredients

How to choose squid

• When buying, do not chase the size: the smaller the shellfish, the more tender and tastier it is. Carcasses up to 20 cm in length are considered small. Too large ones have a strong ammonia smell, which is impossible to completely get rid of.
• Cleaned shellfish are several times more expensive. Often, they still have to be cleaned of films and internal cartilage. This means that it is more profitable to buy unpeeled shellfish.

• You should not buy a product with a lot of frost in the package.. Ice, as well as dark spots on the carcasses, indicate repeated freezing and thawing.
• The color of fresh squid meat is creamy, and the surface is without cracks or breaks.
• Fishing time: July and August. Shelf life in original packaging is no more than 2 years.

Step-by-step instruction

Video on how to properly clean squid from film

In the video you can see how to quickly clean squid from film and entrails. The chef explains what to pay attention to when cleaning different types of shellfish.

Secrets from the boss

• The first rule of cleaning a shellfish is create a temperature difference for it. For example, to clean the carcass of a frozen squid, you need to pour boiling water over it, while a freshly boiled one needs to be poured with ice water.

Now you know how to clean frozen squid. It's time to learn how to cook them.

• Only completely thawed carcasses can be cooked. To defrost the squid, it is recommended to fill it with salted cold water.
• The first rule of cooking shellfish is do not expose it to shock temperatures. If you boil, the water should not boil. Simmer – the contents of the pan should not boil. If you cook the carcass for more than 2 minutes, it will turn into a rubber eraser. As soon as the meat turns white, it must be immediately removed from the boiling water.
• In case the meat was still kept in boiling water, the chefs have a secret: continue cooking for another 40-50 minutes. It won’t become completely soft, but you can still chew it.
• Clams are boiled for salads, but you can stew them in sauces or wine, fry them in a frying pan or grill and bake them.
• Carcasses and tentacles are ideal for stuffing. They can be filled with anything: cheese, rice, mushrooms, nuts, tomatoes.

• Squid contains phosphorus and fluoride for teeth. And there is so much protein that you can cook them instead of meat during Lent. – a wonderful dish for lovers of sea delicacies.
• Seafood dishes are extremely tasty, but expensive. Therefore, they are often prepared for the holidays. They will diversify the holiday menu and surprise guests and household members.
• In addition to expensive seafood, there are quite affordable seafood. Meanwhile, you can cook it so deliciously that you will buy it again and again.
• Herring is another fish familiar to everyone. Many people know how to salt it, so it’s time to cook it.
• Crab stick salad has already competed with everyone's favorite Olivier salad. In order not to prepare two salads at the same time, you can prepare.

Before you try the gifts of the ocean, you need to learn how to cut them correctly. Share in the comments, did you succeed in cleaning sea mollusks using our advice?

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 look at how you can clean frozen squid carcasses from film, with or without heat treatment, 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 the defrosting mode, but if you do not have a microwave oven in your house, then you need to take care of defrosting the squids 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?

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 its main beneficial properties.

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.