(Experiment 72) Fried calamari

I love fried calamari but I hate ordering them. So many things can ruin this Mediterranean appetizer, too much batter, too cooked, too springy ewww

This is the recipe I have been using for years and the only place I had better one are in Italy.

Note that whatever recipe you use, if you overcook them, you f*cked up.

You need 

• 1lbs sliced calamari fresh or frozen ( about 1/2″ slice)
• 1 cup milk or buttermilk
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2cup cornstarch
• A mix of spices is 1 tbsp of ( salt, pepper, garlic or onion powder,, Cajun mix or paprika)

(Optional) dipping sauce

• 4-5tbsp Mayonesse
• 1/2tsp++ Sriracha ( adjust to your taste)
• Dash lemon juice
• Finely chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Like almost all fried food, you need to have your dry and wet mix. Now calamari are a bit picky and need to be tenderized for better results. You can soak them in lemon juice for 20 minutes or just let them sit a few hours ( or overnight) in milk.
2. So let’s just do that, put the sliced calamari in a mixing bowl, put the milk, cover, and let it nap in the fridge for at least 1 hour ideally 8.
3. When ready to cook them, toss this into a colander to remove the excess milk.
4. For the dry mix, put in a mixing bowl the flour, cornstarch + all the spices and mix
5. In a pot, heat up ~1 liter of oil to 350F.
6. Take about 6 calamari slices(don’t overcrowd as it will lower the oil temp), dip them in the wet mix then toss them in the dry mix then put them individually in the hot oil for 2 minutes. Put on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Repeat for remaining calamari. I like to lightly coat with salt before serving
7. For the sauce just combine it all together.