Seafood salads have become very popular todaypopular. And this is explained not only by fashionable trends in cooking, but also by the availability and relative cheapness of shrimp, mussels and squid. In fact, you can buy frozen shrimp or shellfish or even a seafood cocktail in almost any supermarket. In short, many people love such salads, they know a lot of recipes for their preparation, but not everyone can always cook such a dish. And the whole point is that you need to be able to properly boil squid. And you need to know not only how best to cut up the carcass, but also how long to boil it. Armed with this knowledge, you can always do everything right and get the most tender squid meat as a result, and not a rubbery brew. So, let's learn how to cook squid for a salad.
Cutting process
Most often we buy frozen onesSeafood. The shellfish meat needed for the salad is no exception. In addition, we put chopped meat in the salad, and in the store we buy whole carcasses. Therefore, first you need to learn how to properly cut squid and prepare them for cooking. First, the shellfish meat must be defrosted. It is advisable to do this naturally, that is, leave the frozen product to defrost at room temperature. If you need to do this quickly, you can speed up the process. To do this, put the squid in cold water and leave for about an hour. During this time, the tender meat will have time to completely defrost. In no case should you put squid in hot water - the meat will become tough. Defrosted carcasses must be gutted and cleaned of films and cartilage. First, take out the entrails and remove the cartilage. To do this as thoroughly as possible, the carcass can be turned inside out. After that, it must be thoroughly washed and the films removed from the inner and outer surfaces of the carcass. The film is carefully picked up with nails and pulled off like a stocking. If the meat was very frozen, the film may tear, then it should be removed in parts. Some people prefer to boil the shellfish first and then remove the film. However, this method of preparing squid for salad is not always convenient, since the film can be removed with great difficulty from boiled shellfish. It is most convenient to clean the squid from the film under cold running water. And after preparing the carcasses, they can already be boiled for salad.
The cooking process
How long to cook squid?This is perhaps the most pressing question that arises when we are going to prepare a salad with the meat of these mollusks. Most novice cooks are afraid of undercooking the mollusks, and as a result, they get tough and rubbery meat. By the way, its taste will not be the best. Naturally, you can’t put such a brew in a salad. So how long do you need to cook squid so that their meat turns out tender, juicy and tasty? You will be surprised, but it will take no more than three minutes to cook squid. However, first things first. First, put a pot of water on the fire. Its volume depends on the number of carcasses. The pot should be of such a size that the water poured into it only slightly covers the squid. You can add any spices to your taste to the water. However, most often they use black pepper (peas), dill (dried or fresh), parsley, cloves and bay leaf. So, wait for the water to boil, and then lower the shellfish into it. Wait exactly two minutes and take out the carcasses. When the squid has cooled, you can cut it and put it in the salad. Keep in mind that boiled shellfish greatly decrease in size. There is another way to boil shellfish and almost completely preserve the original size of the product. How long to cook squid this way depends on the number of carcasses, because we will boil them separately. To do this, boil water, adding a little salt and a bay leaf. As soon as the water begins to boil, lower the carcass into it, count to ten and take it out with a slotted spoon. Let the water boil again and boil the next carcass, and so on, cook them all in turn. That's all the wisdom. Your salad will definitely be delicious if you cook the squid for it correctly. And you already know how to do this. By the way, for the salad, the meat of these mollusks does not need to be cooked at all. It is enough to clean the carcasses, pour boiling water over them, hold for half a minute and drain the water. Then the meat needs to be sprinkled with vinegar and you can put it in the salad. Cook with pleasure and bon appetit!
