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The 'suckers' on squid tentacles seem to each have small shell-like (chitinous?) 'rings' inside them that can be removed by pulling or rubbing the tentacles. This takes a lot of time and I am wondering if it is necessary?

Also, how much of the mouth/head is generally good to eat? It seems that the ring where the tentacles connect is quite edible but there are also some much harder/tougher parts of flesh nearby.

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2 Answers

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No you do not need to remove them, unless you're talking about very large squid.

Good to eat? I prefer the flesh and not the tentacles, but basically anything that isn't what you remove when cleaning (the internal 'bone' and assorted goop attached to it) is fine.

Best method for cooking is very, very fast--squid needs fast nigh heat, usually no more than 40-60 seconds depending on size. Dust with cornstarch and deep fry very fast, or sautee in butter very fast. Too long and you will be chewing rubber.

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Yes, very fast or (I've heard) very very slow is the way to go with squid. – NBenatar Aug 25 '10 at 10:28
Never had it slow, but the best (IMHO) is breaded and deep-fried just until the outside crisps. – Adam Shiemke Aug 25 '10 at 15:02
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i've had squid braised long and slow in red wine. spectacular, melts in the mouth. – daniel Aug 25 '10 at 19:03
I'm a big fan of the tentacles dusted in cornstarch and deep fried as well. Goes really good with black bean sauce that you can get at an Asian grocery store. – Allan Chow Nov 4 '12 at 17:32
From what I remember, Alton Brown said that if you accidentally cook them too long, wait even more and if you cook them long enough, they will become tender again. – Jeff Axelrod Jan 28 at 23:46
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I think the best way to prepare squid is to soak it in thin seasoned buttermilk /egg mixture to help tenderize it a little then before frying, dredge it in cornflour and quickly fry it until crispy. But be careful not to over cook it.

Serve with a hot chipotle aioli.

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egg does absolutely nothing to tenderize anything. the acids in buttermilk do. – daniel Aug 26 '10 at 7:03
The eggs are to make it into an egg wash so the flour sticks. – user2185 Aug 26 '10 at 10:32
uhh.. one dusts something in flour first, then egg. the other way around won't get you very far. – daniel Sep 3 '10 at 7:58
It is not necessary to do flour egg flour with squid. If so it will be gummy and the coating will be way to thick. It is a delicate process try it sometime – user2185 Sep 4 '10 at 7:06
chris... flour egg flour won't work either. the method for breading is flour (sticks to the product, gives the egg something to hang on to), egg, breadcrumbs. alternatively, flour then batter. flour/egg/flour in that order just won't work. please bear in mind that many of us here are professional chefs and sometimes we do know what we're talking about. – daniel Sep 5 '10 at 17:52
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