Squid: How to clean it
Squid, also known as calamari (the Italian-Greek name) is an ubiquitous seafood in many cuisines of this world, from Mediterranean countries to East Asia.
Most likely you will never have to clean squids as most are sold cleaned and frozen. But just in case you buy fresh ones, here is the way to clean them:
First an overview of the body parts: The head end of the squid bears 8 arms, two tentacles, a pair of eyes and a beak. The main body mass of the squid is enclosed in the mantle, which has two swimming fins along each side. Inside the mantle cavity lies the cuttle bone (an internal shell) and the internal organs (including the ink sack), which are covered in a thin epidermis. The mantle is covered by a thin skin with small dots, which can change color, the squid's camouflage. The mantle is referred to as the pouch in most recipes. The majority of squids used for cooking are between 10 - 30 cm long. Some giant squid varieties may reach 13m in length, we don't use those of course.
When cooking, it is important to keep the cooking time brief as the flesh tends to toughen if overcooked. The pouch (mantle) can be stuffed whole, cut into flat pieces or sliced into rings. The tentacles and the ink are also edible; in fact, the only parts of the squid which are not eaten are the beak, the cuttlebone and the internal organs.
For many recipes you can use octopus instead of squid. Octopus requires a bit more preparation and cooking time. The result is equally good. You can buy frozen squids and octopus from many supermarkets. They have been cleaned and the tentacles have been removed. I prefer to buy my squid from my local fish monger on the market. She sells the entire squid, cleaned but including the tentacles, the most delicious part.
Cleaning the Squid
In case you can buy fresh squid, not yet cleaned, the following will show you how to go about it. Twist and pull the head off the squid. Doing this you will also pull out all the internal organs from inside the pouch (mantle). Discard the internal organs, only keep the head with the tentacles and of course the other part, the pouch (mantle). Use a knife and cut the tentacles just under the eyes. Find the round beak, pop it out by squeezing it and cut it off. If the tentacles are too long cut them into smaller pieces.
Now, let's work on the pouch (mantle). Inside you still find the cuttle bone. Pull it out and discard it. Rub the pouch with coarse salt and pull the thin dotted skin off. The two fins should be cut off but can be used. Clean the pouch under running water and set it aside, depending on the recipe it will either be cut into rings, slices or it will be filled with a stuffing.