How to Make Fried Calamari — Crisp Italian Calamari Fritti from a Naples Grandmother and a Sicilian Seafood Chef

Transcript

Show Host: Bay of Naples. The fishermen come in at dawn with crates of fresh small squid, glistening in the morning Mediterranean light. By noon the whole stretch of seaside trattorias from Naples down through Sorrento, across to Palermo, smells of hot olive oil and lemon. This is Calamari Fritti — the canonical Italian seaside antipasto. Crisp, golden, light, eaten with the fingers. Tonight our Naples grandmother and our Sicilian chef walk us through — two pounds of squid, semolina coating, three-hundred-sixty-five degree oil, sixty to ninety seconds in the fryer. Everything else is a mistake.

Nonna Lucia: First — the squid. Two pounds, that is nine-hundred grams, of FRESH SMALL squid. Baby calamari if you can get them — eight to twelve centimeters body length. Fresh smells like the sea, never fishy — capito? Slice the tubes crosswise into half-inch rings, about one-and-a-quarter centimeters. Keep the tentacles whole, in small clusters. Now the MOST important step before anything else: PAT THE SQUID COMPLETELY DRY with paper towels. Wet squid means soggy coating and oil that splatters all over your kitchen. Mamma mia, that is the number-one mistake. Dry. Dry. Dry.

Chef Marco: Now the DREDGE — this is the Sicilian secret. In a wide bowl combine ONE CUP, one-hundred-twenty-five grams, of FINE SEMOLINA flour, plus HALF A CUP, sixty grams, of all-purpose flour, plus ONE TEASPOON of kosher salt, plus HALF A TEASPOON of fresh-cracked black pepper, plus an optional pinch of Calabrian chili flakes for heat. Whisk it well. The SEMOLINA — bedda mia — that is the trick. Semolina gives Sicilian calamari that extra-crispy crackle all-purpose flour cannot. Dredge the dry squid right in this mix thirty seconds before you fry — no longer or the coating turns gummy.

Nonna Lucia: Now the OIL. Four cups, one liter, of NEUTRAL high-smoke-point oil — sunflower or peanut, NEVER olive oil for frying, the smoke point is too low. Pour it into a heavy cast-iron Dutch oven, about four inches deep. Heat slowly over medium until it reaches EXACTLY three-hundred-sixty-five to three-hundred-seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit, that is one-hundred-eighty-five to one-hundred-ninety Celsius. Use a deep-fry thermometer — NEVER guess. The single biggest mistake: oil too cold, calamari sits in it, absorbs grease, comes out limp and soggy. Trust the thermometer.

Chef Marco: Now the FRY — and this is where most people RUIN it. Work in SMALL batches — no more than a handful at a time. Drop the dredged squid into the three-hundred-sixty-five-degree oil with a slotted spoon, never crowd the pan or the oil temperature drops thirty degrees instantly. Fry just SIXTY to NINETY seconds per batch. Mizzica — squid overcooks in seconds and turns to RUBBER. Watch the color: pale-gold and crisp is done, deep-amber means you have gone too far. Lift each batch with a spider strainer to a paper-towel-lined tray. Skim oil between batches.

Nonna Lucia: Now the SEASONING — IMMEDIATELY while the calamari is still HOT from the fryer, before the steam stops rising. Toss it in a large bowl with ONE TEASPOON of flaky sea salt, the finely grated zest of ONE Sorrento lemon — the WHOLE lemon, every bit of yellow peel — plus TWO TABLESPOONS of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus a drizzle of TWO TABLESPOONS of your best Italian extra-virgin olive oil. The hot oil from the fry plus the cold raw olive oil — bellissimo — that is the Neapolitan finish. Toss gently for ten seconds, plate immediately.

Chef Marco: Now the SAUCE and the PLATING. Quick marinara: take ONE fourteen-ounce, four-hundred-gram, can of San Marzano whole tomatoes, crush them by hand. In a small saucepan heat TWO TABLESPOONS olive oil with TWO cloves sliced garlic plus a pinch of Calabrian chili until the garlic is golden, about TWO minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, simmer FIFTEEN minutes, finish with a pinch of salt. Plate the hot calamari on a warm rustic terracotta plate. Marinara in a small ramekin BESIDE the calamari, never poured on top — never. Three lemon wedges. Chilled Grillo white wine. Serve immediately.

Nonna Lucia: Now the MISTAKES — listen, this is what every home cook gets wrong. ONE: oil too cold below three-hundred-fifty Fahrenheit — calamari becomes greasy sponge. TWO: oil too hot above three-hundred-eighty-five — coating burns black before the squid cooks. THREE: overcrowding the pan — oil temperature crashes thirty degrees instantly. FOUR: not patting the squid dry — soggy coating, oil splatters dangerously. FIVE — and this is the WORST mistake — overfrying past ninety seconds. Squid turns to RUBBER, to a shoe leather. Bellissimo calamari is sixty to ninety seconds. Set a timer. Trust the timer.

Show Host: Three takeaways tonight. First — buy FRESH SMALL squid, two pounds, nine-hundred grams, baby calamari if possible, slice into half-inch rings, and PAT BONE DRY before anything else. Second — dredge in one cup fine semolina plus half a cup all-purpose flour plus salt and pepper, heat four cups of neutral oil to EXACTLY three-hundred-sixty-five Fahrenheit. Third — fry SMALL batches sixty to NINETY SECONDS MAXIMUM, toss immediately with sea salt, lemon zest, parsley, EVOO, plate with marinara on the side and a glass of Sicilian Grillo. Crisp, golden, light, eaten with the fingers. Buon appetito.