Fried Calamari Perfect Crispy Breaded Squid Rings

Crispy fried calamari, a seafood lovers dream, I prefer my squid rings breaded for extra crunch & they take mere minutes to cook to perfection.

Perfect Crispy Squid Rings.

I have nothing against batter on fish, in fact, the beer batter on my fish and chips recipe would work really well on these rings as would the batter I use on my fish tacos.

But for me I prefer my deep fried calamari to be breaded.

This recipe came about by accident when I realised that I had no flour for the squid rings I had planned to cook and it just kinda stuck!

Cooking these perfect crispy nibbles takes no time at all particularly if you use prepared squid.

I always use frozen prepared quid… There is a great deal of snobbery when it comes to frozen produce. Of course, some of it is good and some of it less so.

Squid is one of the good guys, it is also the only squid I can get my hands on. I use it for my salt and pepper squid as well as this fried calamari recipe.

In fact, there is some evidence that shows freezing and defrosting squid helps break down the proteins and leads to even more tender “fish”.

Air Fryer Calamari Cooking Method.

Deep frying these crispy calamari rings is the very best way to cook them as far as I am concerned.

But if you are not into fried food then air fryer calamari is a real option.

The preparation process is identical to the way I outline in my recipe at the bottom of the page.

To cook them you just need to spray the prepared breaded calamari with oil and cook. You should set your temperature to 200°C or 400°F and cook for 9-12 minutes flipping after 6 or 7 minutes.

You do have to be careful when flipping, if you are too rough you will lose the crispy coating.

The results are very good, the squid is not quite as tender as it is when you deep fry. But if you are worried about frying for whatever reason it is a really good substitute.

Serving Suggestions.

Traditionally crispy calamari would be served as a start with some lemon wedges and maybe a greek side salad.

I like to do things a little differently and pivot away from greek flavours and look to Spain instead.

Romesco sauce is a pepper and almond sauce that I adore and the Spanish serve it with cod. I think it makes a great sauce for these perfect fried calamari rings.

I also like to slowly fry down some chorizo sausage in a frying pan for 20 minutes. Then sear off some leek rings in the pan before throwing in some capers.

This creates a really simple light main course meal rather than a starter.

But the work equally well with pickled daikon or even my spicy cucumber salad!