Rhode Island Calamari

Calamari is a Rhode Island staple. It's a crispy coated calamari that is tossed with flour and deep-fried. It can be served with lemon mayo or spicy mayo. Its often accompanied by arugula, herbs, spicy peppers, and lemon wedges. Another tweaked recipe from my capstone menu, this is an easy approach to simple calamari.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Total cook time: 1 hour

Servings: 5-7

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs. Whole Baby Squid

• 2 c. Milk

• 1 jr. Hot Cherry Peppers (or Banana Peppers)

• Spicy Mayo

  • ½ c. Mayo of Choice

  • 1 oz. Sriracha

• Flour mix

  • 4 c. All-purpose flour

  • 1/2 c. Cornstarch

  • 1 tbsp. ea. Oregano, Kosher Salt

  • ½ tbsp. ea. Black Pepper, Paprika, Cayenne, Garlic powder, Onion powder

• ¼ c. Chopped Parsley

• 6-8 c. Neutral Oil (I like Canola or Vegetable)

• Salt

Equipment

• Knife and cutting board

• Big bowl

• A pot or pan that can hold a good amount of oil

• Spider strainer

Flour and Spicy Mayo Preparation

• In a large bowl mix thoroughly the flour and spice mixture.

• Do the same for the mayo and sriracha

  • Optional: if you want you can add chili powder, cayenne, paprika, gochugaru, togarashi, or lime juice to spice it up

Calamari Preparation

• Slice the squid into rings that are ¼” wide. Put into a large container and cover with the milk. Store in the fridge for at least a half-hour before using.

• Open the jar of cherry peppers and reserve the juice. Slice into ¼” rings and set aside.

• Heat oil to 350-375℉

• Strain the squid out of the milk mixture. Toss the squid in the flour mix and shake off excess flour. Fry for 2.5-3 minutes (the outside should be crispy and golden and the inside should still be tender). Your stove may be different, the goal is tender squid and crispy coating.

• Right out of the fryer shake off excess oil and add into a bowl

• Season by tossing with pepper juice, parsley, and salt.

Notes:

The flour mix is just my preference for seasonings. If you want to add in something different or omit things the recipe will still work. The cornstarch is in there to add to the texture of the mix and give a better coating to the squid. Also, make sure to pocket that spicy mayo recipe, it is a golden goose and can be used on everything. The key takeaway here is light milk marinade to help with texture and coating, fry at minimum 350℉, and reuse the pepper juice for seasoning.