Crispy Fried Calamari
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caThese Homemade Crispy Fried Calamari aren't as hard to make at home as you might think. Whether you use frozen squid or frozen calamari, you can make perfect breaded calamari every time.Pair crispy fried calamari with marinara sauce for an authentic appetizer before your main dish.Try my recipe for grilled squid for a change or one of my other appetizers like Coconut Shrimp or my Sicilian Vota Vota recipe.
Ingredients
- 17 oz calamari rings or whole calamari 1 bag of rings or 4-6 whole calamari
- 1 cups all purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 lemon to garnish and spritz
- 1 cup vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
Deep Fry Instructions
- Heat up your deep fryer to 180°F degrees. If you do not have a deep fryer, you can use a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of canola oil, just make sure that the oil is at about 180°F degrees, use a thermometer - don't guess.
- Whisk the eggs in a small bowl so that they are well combined. In a medium bowl place the flour and salt and mix with a whisk.
- Make sure that before you start to handle the calamari that they are thawed out completely. Use a paper towel to absorb any water or moisture on the calamari before dipping them in the egg wash. If there is too much moisture on the calamari the egg wash will not adhere to the calamari and ultimately the calamari will not fry up crispy.
- Dip the calamari in the egg wash a few at a time and then transfer them into the bowl of flour, dredging them so that they are covered. If they look like a mess and are clumpy, that's ok, they will fry up crispy.
- Place calamari in oil to fry for about 3 to 5 minutes until golden and crispy. Transfer fried calamari onto a plate covered with a paper towel to soak up excess oil from the calamari.
- Repeat until you have fried all the calamari. Season with more salt if desired and add sliced lemon to spritz at the table if desired.
Air Fry Instructions
- Whisk the eggs in a small bowl so that they are well combined. In a medium bowl place the flour and salt and mix with a whisk.
- Make sure that before you start to handle the calamari that they are thawed out completely. Use a paper towel to absorb any water or moisture on the calamari before dipping them in the egg wash. If there is too much moisture on the calamari the egg wash will not adhere to the calamari and ultimately the calamari will not fry up crispy.
- Dip the calamari in the egg wash a few at a time and then transfer them into the bowl of flour, dredging them so that they are covered. If they look like a mess and are clumpy, that's ok, they will fry up crispy.
- Lay flat in your air fryer and spray with your favorite cooking oil. Cook at 400F for 10 minutes.
- Half way through cooking, flip and spray the other side with cooking oil. Continue cooking.
- Remove once cooked and crispy. They may not be brown, but that's ok. Leaving them in until they get golden may result in chewy and tough calamari rings.
- Since all air fryers are different, you'll need to play around with the timing to get the perfectly cooked calamari rings.
Notes
Top Tip
Do yourself a favor and buy yourself cleaned squid (calamari). You might even find, cleaned calamari rings in the freezer section at your local grocery store. Buying them already clean means that you don’t have to slave and do the cleaning yourself. You will save yourself at least 30 minutes in preparation. Anytime you fry, it's always best to use a thermometer to monitor the cooking temperature reaches the appropriate frying temperature for the food you are frying.Nutrition
Serving: 1Calories: 430kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 25gFat: 72gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 62gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 263mgSodium: 2047mgFiber: 3gSugar: 1g
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