[sidediva]

I have made calamari fried and in a tomatoe sauce in the past and they have always been tender. This year I decided to try a stuffed recipe, unfortunately they came out a little rubbery.When either frying or cooking in sauce i only cook them for a very short period of time. However, the stuffed recipe said to cook for 25 minutes after having sautéed them to brown.

Any Suggestions or thoughts?

Thanks…adventurous cook…Rosanna

 

[koukouvagia]

Calamari is tricky. You either have to cook it very quickly like when frying OR you have to let it cook slowly for a long time. Anything in between that and you run the risk of it being too tough. This may have happened here. Did you cook it in a sauce?

 

[mike9]

If you're going to stuff something like squid that requires a quick cook the stuffing needs to be cooked before it goes in the tube.  I've made stuffed squid on the grill and it was stellar.  I chopped up the legs and wings and incorporated those into the stuffing which was cooked it was delicious.  I should try it indoors now that you brought it up.

 

[welldonechef]

Yes, calamari needs a quick cooking time if it is cut in ribbons, and a long slow cooking time if cooked whole. To give you an example, I used to stuff calamari with a scallop forcément in an Asian style dish and steamed it for 45-60 minutes until it was finally tender...

 

[sidediva]

I did first chop and sauté the tentacles before adding to stuffing mix. Once stuffed the recipe said to saute the tubes until browned all around, then added to sauce and cooked for about half hour. Should it have been longer? I guess it should have been longer based on second response. Thanks for getting back to me, I was afraid cooking longer would make it tougher.

 

[welldonechef]

I'd say that perhaps it needed to be longer. When you added it to the sauce, how fast wad the sauce simmering? That can make a huge difference. You may find that braising (which is the technique you are using here) will go better if you put it into the oven.

 

[koukouvagia]

Yes if you cook it longer it will soften up.