| Eh, you sure you aren't pulling our leg, here? The 2" puddle of oil
on high for 20 minutes was the giveaway, I'd say.
In case you're serious, though, squid is a bit odd as far as cooking
goes. It may be stated in here somewhere in an appropriate string, but
squid will cook to the proper consistency quite quickly (I wouldn't
boil it prior to sauteing), after which it will turn to rubber (get
tough) and then at a later point it will once again tenderize. This is
true for any recipe in which you _bake_ it. With boiling and sauteing,
you generally only want to cook it until the first stage of tender,
which should be under three minutes (at the right heat, for a saute).
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| I experimented with deep frying over a period of years. When I do fish
filets now I either use our TFAL deep fryer or a FryDaddy. The FryDaddy
is a relatively cheap electric deep fryer that I've found brings the
grease to the required 360-370 degrees that produces a nicely fried fish
filet. There are various recipes in here for breading and coating, and
you'd profit by trying them. But basically, with a fish filet (such as
catfish) that's roughly 3/8" thick on average (i.e. it varies between
1/4" and 1/2"), follow the breading/coating instructions, then drop them
into 360 degree fat for 40 to 60 seconds. When they float they're done.
My uncle Chuck uses the same procedure for whole bluegills; when they
float they're done. No timing is necessary.
A $2 thermometer can help you get the temperature right, but basically,
vegetable oil or shortening will begin to smoke around 370-380 degrees.
That's just a tad too hot for me. I found that the simple FryDaddy, with
no adjustments, no controls, just a deep fryer and a power cord is
perfect for frying fish for one or two people (note this qualification).
The FryDaddy probably takes about ten minutes to come up to about 365
degrees. If you dump a bunch of filets in a small fryer you quickly heat
sink (i.e. cool) the grease; a small fryer takes a while to recover from
this heat loss, and the food can become greasy during this time.
When I cook flounder filets I ask for the smallest in the display case. I
buy 12 ounces total for two people, which means four or five small
filets. I cook them two at a time using the simple procedure I mentioned
above. This prevents the grease from cooling down when I drop the filets
in. In about three minutes I have all the filets cooked, and we sit to
eat.
More elaborate deep fryers, like the TFal, involve a two-step process in
a covered deep fryer. You drop the basket into the grease when the
correct temperature is reached (there's an indicator light); after a
certain time you raise the basket - keeping it up and out of the grease
for a specified time - then you drop it in once more for a short period.
This makes nice French fries. The TFal is also larger than the FryDaddy,
so you can cook more food without killing your grease temperature.
Hope this helps,
Art
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