Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
No matter the occasion, we just can’t seem to say no to fried food. Even when we hit up our favorite Italian place we are always tempted to grab fried calamari for our appetizer.
I noticed a local restaurant oversupply store we frequent had frozen calamari and I just had to try my hand at it.
And it turned out AMAZING!
I was so surprised! I thought I would have to tinker with the recipe for a while, but I got it right off the bat.
We used our Presto deep fryer to crisp these bad boys up. You can find it here:
Ingredients
- 1 lb calamari
- 2 cups flour
- 2 pinches cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup + 1/2 TBS lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place calamari. Cover calamari with 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Stir to make sure all calamari is coated. Cover and refrigerate, soaking for no less than 30 minutes and no more than 3 hours.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine milk and 1/2 TBS of lemon juice for a buttermilk like mixture. In another large mixing bowl, combine flour and the cayenne pepper.
- Preheat deep fryer to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Dredge the soaked calamari into the flour mixture, then into the juice, then back into the flour.
- Deep fry breaded calamari in batches for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels or a cooling rack.
- Serve with our lemon basil dipping sauce.
I served ours up with a lemon basil dipping sauce that is to die for! I had extra and ate it up with some fried shrimp as well. It is sooo good! You need to check it out!