Grilling Cephalopods
By Ruth Levy

Grilling and summer are two words that are very intertwined in the Northeast.   Why cook inside when the sun is shining and the temperatures are soaring?  While everyone is familiar with the traditional grill foods such as hamburgers, hotdogs & swordfish, most people don’t even think about the wonders of grilled cephalopods:  Squid & Cuttlefish.

One of the best meals of my life was on the Amalfi Coast in Italy where my husband and I had a lunch of grilled cuttlefish.  Simply prepared, it was so tasty and flavorful that we have often duplicated the preparation at home sans the ambiance of the location.  On the beach in Thailand I enjoyed wonderful grilled whole squid that makes my mouth water even now….and all these preparations are so easy to do on your own grill!

Cleaned cuttlefish or squid only need just a squeeze of lemon, a splash of olive oil and a quick turn on a hot grill to be cooked perfectly ‘Amalfi’ style.  If the tubes are left intact, it is best to score the squid or cuttlefish tube with a knife in diagonal lines prior to cooking.  Otherwise, open up the tubes and cook flat.  You know it is cooked when the flesh turns opaque in color.  Add a dash of salt and pepper and eat while hot!  Another option is to marinate the tube in soy sauce and then cook on a hot grill.  Dip in a spicy hot dipping sauce when done and you have ‘Thai’ style.

Squid & Cuttlefish represent some of the best value in the seafood category.  Remember their cooking method is not only fried or stewed.  With the sun shining, grilled is an awesome option that is very simple to do!

Cephalopods

Octopus - An Emerging Seafood Item
by Ruth Levy

Octopus (singular), Octopuses (plural), Octopi (plural) are all part of the Mollusk family and the sub category known as Cephalopods.  These interesting creatures are found all over the world and are just now starting to join more mainstream menus as a delicious seafood item.  Very well known to Mediterranean and Asian cuisines, octopus can be prepared in a number of ways.

Edible octopi come from a number of different origins around the world.  Spanish/Portuguese and/or North African octopus is considered by many to be the best octopus to eat.  The flesh cooks up very white, is flavorful and the cooked meat recovery is very high. These are sized by the kilo and have been known to go up to 4kg and higher.  It is also the most expensive.  Other African countries produce octopus although they are not considered as premium as the North African octopus.

Larger octopuses produced in temperate/tropical areas are most common from Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.  Philippine octopus has the lowest cooked meat recovery and Indonesia the highest and the animal can be over 8#.  Mexico and Chile also produce edible octopuses although not typically as large as the Asian.  The Chilean octopus is darker in flesh color and the average size is typically 1-2 and 2-4# each.

‘Baby’ octopus is a misnomer.   Baby octopi are not juvenile octopuses but rather mature animals, small in size.  They are sized by count/kg and are found in temperate/tropical waters off of India and Asia (Thailand, Vietnam & China).

Octopus is a flavorful seafood item with an unusual presentation due to the shape of the animal.  Unless cooked and served intact (like the ‘baby’ octopus), octopuses are typically cooked boiled or stewed and cut up when used as a recipe ingredient:  paella, seafood salad etc.   However, ‘barbecued’ octopus in Australia, marinated octopus ceviche in Mexico and Italian octopus marinara are common octopus only dishes.

Octopus adds value and variation to the menu and is an emerging seafood item.  It appears the octopus trend is following what happened years ago to its cephalopod cousin, calamari, and one is starting to see more octopus offered on food service menus across the country.

Cephalopods

Cephalopods & Lent

By Ruth Levy

Lent is just around the corner and a great category to feature is Cephalopods:  Squid, Octopus and Cuttlefish.  These seafood items are consumed across many different cultures and certainly represent an opportunity for both the buyer and the seller.  In their frozen cleaned form, squid, octopus and cuttlefish are truly one of the best values in the seafood category as there is no waste, everything can be cooked.

How and where are these items used?  Squid or calamari is used in just about every type of restaurant whether it is fried, added to a seafood stew or poached and used in salad.  Cuttlefish is typically found more in Asian and Mediterranean cuisines stewed, grilled or fried.  Octopus has come into its own and can be found on your local Mexican, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese & Australian Restaurant menu just to name a few.  The dishes can range from fried, sautéed, salad, barbecued to stewed.  The applications are quite limitless for this seafood category of cephalopods.

The value for cephalopods lies not only in the versatile applications but also in the low cost of the product.  Cleaned squid, octopus and cuttlefish are all 100% usable and cost a reasonable amount compared to other proteins.  This is one category where the three mantras of value, versatility and variety all apply.

So, when thinking about what to eat or to feature during Lent, don’t forget Cephalopods:  Squid, Octopus and Cuttlefish.  There are close to seven weeks to focus on seafood and cephalopods should be on the top of the list.

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Cephalopods are in big demand during the Christmas season.  The three major types that are purchased and consumed are:  Pulpo/Octopus, Sepia/Cuttlefish & Calamari/Squid.

Many people do not understand the difference between these three and tend to lump them all together.  However each type is a distinct animal.  Cooking methods can be quite similar but there are distinctive characteristics to each.

Pulpo or Octopus: 

Sold as large cleaned (each individual octopus weighs one to several pounds) or baby cleaned (several octopi per one pound).  These are typically boiled for salad or stewed in tomato sauce and transcend several cuisines:  South American, Mediterranean and Asian etc.  The cooked meat is chewy but flavorful. The tentacles are quite long and are cut into pieces while the head meat is sliced.

Sepia or Cuttlefish: 

This cephalopod is not as well known in the USA as its cousins the squid or octopus.  However, in Europe and Asia, this is the prized cephalopod for flavor and consistency.  The animal is a cross between both the squid and octopus in appearance.  The thick meat cooks up snow white and is tender with a subtle flavor.  It is delicious when grilled or stewed but is just as tasty fried or boiled. The tentacles are shorter and the body (or tube) is where the thick slices come from.  Once again the forms sold in the marketplace are either:   large cleaned, large uncleaned or baby cleaned.

Calamari or Squid:    

Most everyone knows this cephalopod.  The tube and tentacles are fried or the tube is stuffed.  Product is sized by tube length and there are many tubes or tubes & tentacles per pound. 

Happy Holidays!  May cephalopods be included on your holiday menu!

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Imported Loligo Squid

There are several significant Loligo squid species imported into the US.  The two most significant are: Loligo chinensis (from China) and Loligo vulgaris (from India).  The one that offers the most value to the US consumer and is packed similar to US domestic squid is the Loligo chinensis squid from China.

Loligo chinensis is caught in the South China Sea and is typically brought to shore fresh.  There are Taiwan boats that freeze at sea, but the majority of the squid caught in the South China Sea is processed from fresh or first land frozen and then processed later.  Loligo chinensis is treated with a tenderizing agent during the cleaning process.  Very few US Squid importers list the tenderizing agent as an ingredient on their cleaned squid package.  BOSN calamari is one Chinese squid brand that has all the proper ingredients listed and is true net weight.

Loligo Chinensisafter processing is white, tender and neutral in flavor.  The US market prefers a tender squid with neutral flavor and this product meets those criteria. It is also packed in the recognizable format of tray and bag and is very competitively priced.   The squid is fully cleaned and tentacles are separated from tubes. The squid is sized by its tube length which mirrors the domestic loligo.

Loligo vulgarisis a loligo squid that comes to the US market primarily from India.  It is whole cleaned which means the tentacles are still connected to the tubes, but the tubes have been skinned and eviscerated.  The pack is typically in a block, not in a tray and bag, like the US or Chinese cleaned squid.  It is block frozen and wrapped in plastic.  Sizing is also typically tube count per kilo, not length of squid tube.

Loligo vulgaris is a very sought after specie around the world.  It is meaty, moderately tender; light colored and has a more pronounced flavor than the Loligo chinensis.  It is also chemically tenderized and the tenderizing ingredients are not usually declared on the package.

Regarding price, Chinese and Indian squid are similarly priced in the market.  The familiarity of the Chinese package versus the more obscure ct/ kg of the Indian squid and unruly block/bag means the Indian calamari is less likely to be found in retail.  Both Indian and Chinese squid packers are known to pack less than net weight, so once again it is critical to understand what one is purchasing.

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Cephalopods are an amazing seafood category.  Part of the mollusk family, these animals form a category unto themselves.  The three main types of Cephalopods are:  Squid, Octopus and Cuttlefish also known as Calamari, Pulpo and Sepia.  There are a wide variety of products available in the market from many different countries of origin.  All cephalopods are wild caught.  However, the most amazing cephalopod story occurs with Squid.

Squid is a cephalopod that in less than 20 years has become a mainstream seafood item.  Originally an ethnic specialty, Squid was introduced to mainstream USA in the mid 1980s in its cleaned form as “Cleaned Calamari.”  Now you find Calamari, (bypassing the common name of squid) featured on most restaurant menus and is a consumer favorite despite being “SQUID” or bait.  It has transcended from squid to Calamari and the fact that Calamari is squid has become a distant memory for most consumers.  Calamari is sold primarily in cleaned form:  Tubes and Tentacles, Tubes Only, Rings and Tentacles, Rings Only or even as Steaks.  Cleaned Calamari is 100% useable, with no waste.  Cooking applications range from fried and grilled, to stuffed and sautéed.  Price point, cooking ease and the U.S. love of fried food makes calamari a natural winner.

There are many different types of squid with their own particular characteristics that we will explore in future discussions.  However, regardless of the type, Calamari or Squid is one of the best seafood values out there!

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