SQUIDS!! Those are a bit pricey in Tokyo lately, so I have not gotten any recently. And the tentacles are the best part, so be sure to keep them on hand to add extra flavor and texture to your next dish of stir fried noodles!
No, seriously, we had squid tonight, tentacles and all. Dotter boiled it all up with some Japanese daikon radish. She was sure to show 3 year old Grand Dotter the squid’s beak. Two small ones cost us about $4.00. They are not catching as many as they used to.
Worse. Don’t tell her. The first meal she ever fixed for me after we were married was little evil shrimp. I went through the trash for the bag they came in . The brand was “Hook ‘Em or Cook ‘Em”. Bait shrimp.
Go to your fisherman’s landing, where commercial and sport fishing get their provisions. You will find frozen blocks, ten lbs, of squid bait. Thaw in a tub of water, while you prepare breading. Use lots of powdered garlic, Italian herbs and black pepper with olive oil. Have lots of eggs, vinegar and lemons on hand. I use corn meal instead of breadcrumbs.
Next you need a tenderizing mallet. The commercial aluminum ones are too small and light. You can make a dandy one from a carpenter’s mallet. It’s maple, with a 2-3″ square flat face for persuading cabinets to fit into too-tight places. Use your skilsaw to crosshatch it, about 1/8″ deep, 1/4 to 3/8″ apart. Hold it in open flames to round off the edges and corners, then wire brush the loose carbon off. Generously coat it with olive oil. Repeat for one or two beers. Pros would start the BBQ grill for this operation, as you will need fire shortly.
Everything should be stagnating in the sun, which is good. Cut them open and trim it to a patty size. Save the tentacles for deep fat frying, and the other pieces for soup stock later. Pound the patties, squeezing lemon and/or vinegar, and toss them in the bowl of breading glop. You can add beer to the mix too. After a beer’s worth of soaking, start cooking them like ordinary hamburgers. You will find that no one can eat just one. so keep pounding.
They taste just like abalone, which is astronomically priced. Tenderness is determined by stagnating in blazing sun, lemon or vinegar and pounding. and the beers you drink. We call it phony-balone in California. 90 million tuna can’t be wrong either.
Do you really think I’m going through all that to eat squid? Although it sounds very tasty. I’ll copy your recipe and save it for the next time Frau Grace buys squids. You know, when she bought it I pointed out that there was already cleaned frozen squid rings on the freezer shelf right next to the squid bait that she bought. I must say that I always use corn meal for frying seafood. Never bread crumbs. When I cook conch I pound it with a ball peen hammer. It’s really tough. I live close to Cortez, and that’s where the fishing boats come in from the Gulf in Florida. We have access to some of the freshest seafood you can buy. The conch is frozen, of course.
Presumably they had run out of large octopi when she went to the local butchers??
I bought a frozen octopus a couple months ago. It was nasty.
SQUIDS!! Those are a bit pricey in Tokyo lately, so I have not gotten any recently. And the tentacles are the best part, so be sure to keep them on hand to add extra flavor and texture to your next dish of stir fried noodles!
Nose Girl, you’re nuts.
No, seriously, we had squid tonight, tentacles and all. Dotter boiled it all up with some Japanese daikon radish. She was sure to show 3 year old Grand Dotter the squid’s beak. Two small ones cost us about $4.00. They are not catching as many as they used to.
You paid $2 for a squid?! I’m convinced that all my readers are nuts.
Did she make you squid burgers?
Worse. Don’t tell her. The first meal she ever fixed for me after we were married was little evil shrimp. I went through the trash for the bag they came in . The brand was “Hook ‘Em or Cook ‘Em”. Bait shrimp.
Go to your fisherman’s landing, where commercial and sport fishing get their provisions. You will find frozen blocks, ten lbs, of squid bait. Thaw in a tub of water, while you prepare breading. Use lots of powdered garlic, Italian herbs and black pepper with olive oil. Have lots of eggs, vinegar and lemons on hand. I use corn meal instead of breadcrumbs.
Next you need a tenderizing mallet. The commercial aluminum ones are too small and light. You can make a dandy one from a carpenter’s mallet. It’s maple, with a 2-3″ square flat face for persuading cabinets to fit into too-tight places. Use your skilsaw to crosshatch it, about 1/8″ deep, 1/4 to 3/8″ apart. Hold it in open flames to round off the edges and corners, then wire brush the loose carbon off. Generously coat it with olive oil. Repeat for one or two beers. Pros would start the BBQ grill for this operation, as you will need fire shortly.
Everything should be stagnating in the sun, which is good. Cut them open and trim it to a patty size. Save the tentacles for deep fat frying, and the other pieces for soup stock later. Pound the patties, squeezing lemon and/or vinegar, and toss them in the bowl of breading glop. You can add beer to the mix too. After a beer’s worth of soaking, start cooking them like ordinary hamburgers. You will find that no one can eat just one. so keep pounding.
They taste just like abalone, which is astronomically priced. Tenderness is determined by stagnating in blazing sun, lemon or vinegar and pounding. and the beers you drink. We call it phony-balone in California. 90 million tuna can’t be wrong either.
Do you really think I’m going through all that to eat squid? Although it sounds very tasty. I’ll copy your recipe and save it for the next time Frau Grace buys squids. You know, when she bought it I pointed out that there was already cleaned frozen squid rings on the freezer shelf right next to the squid bait that she bought. I must say that I always use corn meal for frying seafood. Never bread crumbs. When I cook conch I pound it with a ball peen hammer. It’s really tough. I live close to Cortez, and that’s where the fishing boats come in from the Gulf in Florida. We have access to some of the freshest seafood you can buy. The conch is frozen, of course.