I made this recipe a few years ago for Father’s Day and it was a huge hit. I actually did a blog post about it back then, but I needed to update the look of it so it was consistent with the rest of the recipes on my site. Plus – it was such a hit, I figured it couldn’t hurt to post it again! This simple recipe calls for a relatively quick marinade to help tenderize the squid and then a short cook time on a hot grill to give you tender and juicy calamari.
Easy Grilled Calamari
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ pounds cleaned squid, tentacles separated from bodies
- 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tbsp. for garnish
- 2 lemons
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. celery salt
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Directions:
- Cut the squid bodies along the sides so they lay flat.
- With a sharp knife, gently score the insides of the squid bodies, being careful not to cut all the way through.
- In a medium bowl combine 3 tbsp. of the olive oil, juice of one of the lemons and the rest of the ingredients, except the parsley.
- Add the squid, toss to coat and refrigerate covered for 2 hours, tossing every 30 minutes or so, to make sure the marinade gets evenly distributed.
- Preheat the grill to high. Place a piece of foil on the grill and brush it with a light coating of vegetable oil to keep the squid from slipping through the grill grates and sticking to the foil.
- Grill the squid, about 2 – 3 minutes per side, until opaque and just cooked through.
- Remove from the grill, drizzle with remaining olive oil and garnish with fresh parsley and remaining lemon, cut into wedges.
Tagged: celery salt, crushed red pepper, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lemon, oregano, paprika, parsley
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