Recipes / Fish
Braaied calamari with lemon and chilli
Scored calamari tubes marinated in olive oil, lemon zest, garlic and chilli, cooked for two minutes over very hot coals and served with a fresh tomato sambal.
- Prep
- 25 min
- On the fire
- 5 min
- Plan ahead
- 20 minutes marinating
- Serves
- 4 as a starter, 2 as a main
- Done at
- 145°F (63°C)
Ingredients
Calamari
Tomato sambal
Method
Cooking on gas?
- Preheat with all burners on high and the lid closed for 10 to 15 minutes, until the lid thermometer reads 260°C (500°F) or more. Brush the grates clean and oil them.
- Cook with the lid open and use the recipe times as a guide, checking with a thermometer.
- Keep one burner off or on low as a cooler zone. If fat flares up, move the food there. Never use water on a gas grill flare-up.
- For a smoky taste, put a handful of wood chips in a smoker box, or a foil parcel pierced with a few holes, over a lit burner while the grill preheats.
On a skottel?
- Get the skottel very hot on a high flame. Cook the calamari in small batches for 1 to 2 minutes a side, so it sears instead of stewing in its liquid.
- Push each batch up the slope while the next one cooks, and serve as soon as the last batch is done.
- Cut each calamari tube open down one side so it lies flat. Score the inside in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife, without cutting through.
- Mix the oil, lemon zest, garlic, chilli and pepper. Toss the calamari in it and leave for 20 minutes. Do not add salt yet.
- Mix the sambal ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Get the coals very hot. Lay the calamari flat in a hinged grid or on a hot flat plate on the grid, in a single layer, and salt it.
- Cook for 1 to 2 minutes a side, until the pieces curl, turn white and have a few charred edges.
- Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve at once with the sambal.
Done when: the calamari has turned from translucent to opaque white and curled up, about 63°C (145°F), and is still tender when you bite it.
Tips
- Calamari is tender after 2 minutes or after 40 minutes of stewing. Anything in between turns rubbery.
- Dry the calamari well before it goes into the marinade so it chars instead of steaming.
- A hinged grid stops small pieces falling through the grid.
Calamari is on the menu at almost every South African seaside restaurant, usually fried. Over hot coals it is faster and lighter, and the chilli and lemon keep it simple. The whole cook takes less time than opening a drink, so have everything ready before the calamari goes on. For a slower seafood dish, try the seafood potjie.
Source
Adapted from Grilled calamari with coriander sambal at Woolworths and Grilled Calamari with Sun-dried Tomatoes at Ina Paarman's Kitchen.