Low-Carb Calamari (LC, SF)

Calamari are one of my favorite foods. Even as a child, I would choose Calamari as my birthday food year after year.

The other day I REALLY missed them and thought I might try to make them LC.  As luck would have it, our local Asian store had some pretty good looking, already cleaned squid tubes available, so it was time to have some Calamari!

 

 

First of all - the secret to plumb, tender and delicious Calamari: Soak them  in milk overnight, or at least for several hours prior to cooking. In my case I soaked them at 7.30 AM, to cook them at 5.30 PM.

Personally I prefer to use actual milk, as it serves as a marinade and most of it won’t be consumed. You can also use buttermilk however, if you feel more comfortable with that.

So, several hours before cooking the calamari, clean the squid and cut it into generous rings. Large rings tend to be better. Place them in a bowl with 1 cup of milk/buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

When the marinating time is over, drain the milk and discard. Pat the squid rings with some paper towels to dry.

 

Ingredients:

 

4 medium sized squid tubes, cleaned and cut into rings

1 cup milk or buttermilk (for soaking)

 

1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp. vital wheat gluten

3 tbsp. oat flour

2 tbsp. low-carb bread crumbs (I usually grind left-over pieces of low-carb bread really fine in the coffee grinder) You can also use dried, ground low-carb tortillas and such!

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

 

oil for frying

Lemon wedges to serve

 

Preparation:

Cut, soak, drain and dry the squid as outlined above.

Pour enough oil into a heavy large saucepan to reach the depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium heat to 350 degrees F. You can also use a deep fat fryer.

Toss the squid rings in the egg.

In another bowl, combine the flours, bread crumbs and seasonings. You can add any other spices and seasonings you desire at this point!

Use a whisk to combine everything well.

Then take the rings one by one and toss them in the flour mixture.

 

Make sure it’s evenly coated inside and out.

 

The calamari are best fried in several batches. I did four frying batches for the quantity in this recipe.

Carefully add the squid to the oil and fry until crisp and very pale golden, about 1 minute per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried calamari to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Repeat with the other batches.

Serves immediately with lemon wedges and dipping sauce of choice!

 

And look at this! Tender, succulent Calamari - not a “rubber band” in sight! And a nice crunch on the outside!

I served mine with homemade low-carb tartar sauce, but you can choose any sauce you like.

 

Serves 4. My carb count per serving was 8g of net carbs, but it very much depends on the bread you use! Please adjust your carb count accordingly!