Fried Calamari

5 from 1 vote

Homemade fried calamari satisfies that restaurant-appetizer itch gloriously. This fried calamari recipe makes the best & crispiest calamari you've ever had!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Fish and Seafood

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 461kcal

Author: Kaitlin

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds baby squid (680g, with the hoods cut into rings and the tentacles separate)
5-6 cups vegetable oil (for frying; plus 2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
1/3 cup plain cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

First prepare your squid. Rinse it well in cold water. Cut the tentacles off using one cut, keeping about a 1/4 inch of the hood in order to keep all the tentacles in one piece. If you're using larger squid, you can cut these pieces in half lengthwise in order to make them bite-sized. Having each piece roughly the same size is important for achieving the same cooking time for each piece of calamari.
In a medium-sized deep pot, add enough oil so that the level of oil reaches 4 inches up the side of the pot. Heat the oil until it reaches 325 degrees F.
While you're waiting for the oil to heat, mix up your dry mixture. Combine the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, cornmeal, Old Bay, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
When the oil reaches temperature, you're ready to start dredging your squid. Work in batches of small fistfuls of calamari. Gently squeeze off any liquid and dredge the squid in the dry mixture.
Using a long-handled sieve or slotted spoon, lower the calamari into the hot oil. Gently move the calamari pieces back and forth. Let them fry until golden brown--about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Remove all the calamari and let drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. Taste one piece of calamari for saltiness (Be careful, it's hot!). You can sprinkle more salt immediately after frying to your taste. Continue frying in these small batches until you've fried all the squid.
Serve with marinara sauce or tartar sauce and a few lemon wedges on the side! Proceed to marvel at the fact that you can now have enormous portions of restaurant-quality calamari appetizers at home.

Nutrition

Fried Calamari by The Woks of Life. Recipe URL: https://body-goals.fit/fried-calamari/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-30336":{"type":"food","name":"Fried Calamari","slug":"wprm-fried-calamari","image_url":"https:\/\/thewoksoflife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/fried-calamari-5-1.jpg","rating":{"count":1,"total":5,"average":5,"type":{"comment":1,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"amount":"1 1\/2","unit":"pounds","name":"baby squid","notes":"(680g, with the hoods cut into rings and the tentacles separate)","id":3375,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1 1\/2","unit":"pounds","timestamp":1774160138000},"type":"ingredient","uid":0,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 1\/2","unit":"pounds","unitParsed":"pounds"}}},{"amount":"5-6","unit":"cups","name":"vegetable oil","notes":"(for frying; plus 2 tablespoons)","id":278,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"5-6","unit":"cups","timestamp":1774160138000},"type":"ingredient","uid":1,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"5-6","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","name":"all-purpose flour","notes":"","id":282,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774160138000},"type":"ingredient","uid":2,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","name":"semolina flour","notes":"","id":3362,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774160138000},"type":"ingredient","uid":3,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","name":"plain cornmeal","notes":"","id":3363,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774160138000},"type":"ingredient","uid":4,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","name":"Old Bay seasoning","notes":"","id":3376,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774160138000},"type":"ingredient","uid":5,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","name":"salt","notes":"","id":260,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774160138000},"type":"ingredient","uid":6,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Black pepper","notes":"(to taste)","id":420,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1774160138000},"type":"ingredient","uid":7,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}}],"originalServings":"4","originalServingsParsed":4,"currentServings":"4","currentServingsParsed":4,"currentServingsFormatted":"4","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}