About 500 species of Squid exist worldwide, ranging in size from 2.5cm to the largest invertebrate on Earth, the infamous Giant Squid, measuring up to 18m long and weighing 900kg (a 15m long specimen was found washed up on Seven Mile Beach in eastern Tasmania in 2002 weighing 250kg).
Technically Squids are molluscs, although, unlike other molluscs, the subgroup to which they belong, cephalopods (including Octopus and Cuttlefish), don’t have external shells* and have an ink sac, from which they squirt a thick black ink to help distract predators. Most of them can also rapidly change colour, another handy survival technique.
They have a long, cylindrical body (also called a mantle, hood or tube) with 8 shorter arms and 2 longer tentacles and a thin, translucent, feather-shaped internal shell (called a quill or gladius fin), which is made from chitin, a plastic-like material from which prawn shells are also made. They are found in oceans and estuaries all over the world, from intertidal waters to great depths, but not in fresh water, and have a relatively short life span, making them a very sustainable species for commercial fishing.
‘Calamari’ is the Italian word for ‘Squids’, but it is also used to refer to those species of Squids whose side fins run the full length of their bodies as opposed to those with relatively shorter side fins. Calamari are often more tender than other Squids.
There are four main Squid/Calamari species found in Australia:
Loligo Squid (
Loligo formosa and
Loligo chinensis) is also known as Hawkesbury squid. They have mottled pinky-purple skin, long thin bodies and pointy side fins that run about half their length. Typically they are about 20cm long and weigh 100g and are found in estuaries along the NSW coast.
Gould’s Squid (
Nototodarus gouldi) is also known as arrow, torpedo, or seined, squid. They have smooth, light brownish-pink skin with a purpley-blue stripe running down the tube and are typically about 23cm long and weigh around 300g. They are found around the southern Australian coastline from southern Queensland to Geraldton in WA.
Southern Calamari (
Sepioteuthis australis) have mottled purpley-brown skin with long, rounded side fins running almost the full length of their body. They are typically about 16cm long, weigh around 150g and are common in coastal bays around southern Australia from Brisbane to Shark Bay in WA, with most of the commercial catch coming from SA.
Northern Calamari (
Sepioteuthis lessoniana) have thick, dark browny-green bodies with long side fins running almost their full length. They average about 15cm, weigh about 500g and are found around Australia’s northern coast from northern NSW to south of Shark Bay in WA. Most of the commercial catch comes from southern Queensland in winter.
Buying
When purchasing fresh whole Squid or Calamari look for intact bright skin, with a light brown to purple mottled appearance and intact head, arms and tentacles. Cleaned tubes should be white without any brown markings.
Storing
Make sure Squid or Calamariare gutted and cleaned thoroughly. Wrap in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months below -18ºC.
Preparing
To clean whole Squid or Calamari: grasp the arms and pull firmly to separate head from tube (try not to break the ink sac, as the ink stains), cut below the eyes and discard head and guts, push beak (mouth) out from between the arms. Remove quill, peel skin off by grasping side fins and peeling around the tube.
Side fins can be peeled and used; tentacles can also be washed and used. If cutting tube into rings, wash inside well to remove any remaining gut, otherwise, cut tube open along the obvious seam, lay out flat and wipe the inside clean with a clean cloth. It can then be sliced into strips, or scored in a hatch pattern (called ‘honeycombing’) and sliced into larger chunks. It is also possible to cook Squid and Calamari without peeling them, the skin will turn a dark purple as it cooks. The average yield is 80%.
Cooking
Squid and Calamari should be cooked either quickly over high heat or for a long time over low heat, otherwise the flesh will be tough and chewy. Either way it has a mild flavour and firm texture and will marry well with almost any flavouring. It is suitable for a wide variety of preparations, whole tubes can be stuffed and baked, strips or rings can be dusted in seasoned flour and deep-fried or marinated and char-grilled or stir-fried.
The ink can be used to flavour and colour risotto or pasta. Cuttlefish, a close cousin, can be substituted in almost all recipes calling for Squid or Calamari; they have broader, thicker bodies and their thicker calcified internal shell is most often seen in birds’ cages. It is Cuttlefish ink, rather than that from Squids or Calamari, which is traditionally used to flavour and colour black risotto and pasta.
* One rarely seen sub-species of cephalopod, the pearly nautilus, does have an external shell.