How to Clean Squid

How to Clean Squid

Step 1 Get rid of the ink bag
Gently pull the head or tentacles from the body. Do not yank too hard or the ink bag will be left in the body. That tiny silverish tear-drop shape sac is the ink. Use your finger and gently pull it off and throw it away as well as any guts.

Of course, the ink is only unsightly but it is edible (not that I would). There are Italian pasta's made with squid ink though.

Step 2 - Get rid of the teeth
Hold the head upright and allow the tentacles to drop back over the head. You will notice in the middle of the tentacles a hard lump which is brownish, pull or cut this out.

Step 3 - Cut out the eyes
Take a sharp knife and gently cut out the eyes. They can squirt you so do it under running water if you do not want to get splattered with purplish black liquid.

Your tentacles are all done now.

Step 4 - Pull out the bone
In each squid, there is a transparent bone. Hold the top of the body with one hand and using your other hand slide your finger between the bone and the body. The bone should come away from the body, once it has simply pull it out.

Step 5 - Remove skin
Hold the body firmly and with your finger nails pull at the purplish coloured skin, remove all of this from the body and remove the wings. The wings can be eaten, so dont through them away.

Step 6 - Turn inside out
Turn the body upside down so the head end is facing down. Put your thumb and forefinger together to make a ring, place this around the end of the body and hold tight. Using your other forefinger push between your thumb/forefinger, this will start to turn the squid inside out. Keep pushing until the squid is completly inside out. Wash off all the guts and grime in the body of the squid. Sometimes, the squid have undigested pieces of foods which can be very icky and white, creamy stuff, these are the eggs.

Thats how I clean my squid, so I hope it helps if you didn't know how. Squid can be stored well in the freezer just like other cleaned fish.

To cut them in to Calamari rings is simple, the easiest way is when your wife isn't looking use her sissors like I do. Or you can cut the tube in half and cook whole, if you want the squid to remain flat score the outside of the tube with a sharp knife, If you want it to curl, score the inside.

G'day Kieran,
Great post mate, very informative.
And welcome to the site!


ShaneD

now if I only knew how to catch them
anyone want to show me the ropes
re places etc
cheers
Kieran