easy homemade Calamari Fritti
Better than restaurant Calamari Fritti rings lightly dusted and pan-fried to crispy golden perfection. Served alongside a Peri-Peri Yogurt Dip. Perfect for a big ole fish fry or at-home appetizer!
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Since I learned how to make Calamari Fritti I have become hard-pressed to find a restaurant version that lives up. Most of the time I find the batter is too thick, too grainy, too greasy. Or the calamari is overcooked. Good thing this recipe is so easy to make and costs a fraction of what you would pay at a restaurant.
My kids love calamari and this recipe is an all-time favourite in my house. I don’t make it too often because it is fried but when I do I make loads of it. It is almost like they are bottomless pits so I have to make a tonne.
We all know calamari makes a great appetizer recipe but I often make it as a main and serve it with a chopped caprese salad, air fryer roasted veggies and some adobo rice or garlic bread.
For those who have never tried calamari, you may be wondering what to expect and what the heck is calamari. Well, it is squid. Yup, you heard me. When I first found out what it was I was totally freaked out and wouldn’t eat the little tentacle pieces you get at restaurants if you paid me. Now they are actually my favourite part when I can find them.
Fresh vs Frozen Calamari
You can either purchase fresh or frozen calamari. While most of the time fresh seafood is always the best in the case of calamari I highly recommend frozen. Why? Because it is flash frozen and I find it to actually be much fresher than anything I can get at the grocery store in my area. Plus, there is no cleaning involved. Just thaw the calamari out, drain and rinse and you are ready to get started.
If you do prefer fresh calamari and have access to great seafood check out this page on how to properly clean calamari.
Star Ingredients
- Calamari Rings – I prefer rings or baby calamari because when fried their tentacles get super crispy and I am here for it!
- Vegetable Oil – Or you can use any low-smoke point oil you prefer. The calamari is fried so stay away from low-smoke oils like olive oil.
- All-Purpose Flour – or really any flour you prefer. This is what gives the calamari its light crispy texture. All-purpose I find stands up to frying a bit better than softer flours like pastry or bread.
Step-By-Step Made Simple
Tips for making great Fried Calamari
- Frozen is best! I always buy flash-frozen calamari or if buying fresh it needs to be super fresh or it may taste fishy
- Make sure to jiggle away any extra egg wash before tossing the calamari into the flour. If you don’t I find that the flour gets very clumpy fast from the extra moisture and won’t coat the calamari well. Instead you end up getting clumpy calamari that tastes bready.
- Work in small batches. Only toss a few calamari rings in the flour at a time and make sure the inside and outside of the ring are coated lightly and when I add the rings to the heated oil I like to use my fingers to hold them like earrings to make sure the rings are a full circle. When the rings are not pinched together they cook more evenly.
- Work fast. When they look lightly golden get them out of the oil as fast as possible so you don’t risk overcooking. Overcooking will mean tough rubbery calamari. Sometimes if I need to make a large batch for Easter it is a team effort. One person batters, while the other fries.
Calamari Fritti
Equipment
- Large deep sauce pan
- Large Bowl
- Medium bowl
- Tongs
- Paper towels
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Small Bowl
- Spoon
Ingredients
Calamari
- 35-50 fl oz. vegetable oil
- 750 g calamari rings
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp seasoning salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt to taste
Peri-Peri Yogurt Dip
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ tsp Peri-Peri sauce
Instructions
- Fill a large deep saucepan till about 1" deep and preheat to 300-310F (medium heat)
- In a large bowl add 1 1/2 cups flour and 1 tbsp seasoning salt. Mix well.
- In a medium bowl add 2 egg, 1/2 cup milk and 1 tbsp lemon juice and beat to mix well.
- Drop a handful of calamari rings into the egg wash. Remove and shake excess egg off and then toss in the flour mixture to coat evenly the inside and outside of the rings.
- Gently add the calamari rings to the preheated oil in small batches and let cook for 1 minute. Flip with tongs and let cook another 60 to 90 seconds. They should be a lightly browned. Removed and let rest on paper towels to drain excess oil. Season with salt as desired.
Peri-Peri Yogurt Dip
- In a small bowl add 1/4 cup Greek yogurt and 1 1/2 tsp of Peri-Peri sauce. Mix well and serve alongside the fried calamari for dipping.
Video
Nutrition
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Have all the ingredients and will make this week, often I can tell just reading a recipe if it’s a winner, and this one is for sure a winner! Thank you very much for sharing!!
Just made this recipe tonight and it was delicious. Slight tweak – added Portugese Cicken seasoning to the flour to spice it up a little. The verdict from 17 year old son was that we’re definitely having this again.
I love making fritti rings at home because I can make a big batch of it and enjoy all night long 🙂 Fantastic calamari fritti recipe!
Thanks.. we always make a huge batch too!