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what to do with a big squid body?

What's a good use for a large frozen squid body--about 7 or 8 inches long by 3-4 inches wide? It's not a cuttlefish according to the label but rather a squid. I am accustomed to using small squid in stir fries, scoring them in a crosshatch pattern, etc., but this guy is huge and would be difficult to cook in that manner unless I were to cut it up. I once tried a recipe that called for stuffing squid bodies with ground pork, and I did not care for the results.

I did a search and found a similar question from a few years ago:

Any new ideas? I am leaning toward cutting it open, pounding it flat, breading it and pan-frying it. Deep-fried squid rings (aka that bar-food favorite "calamari rings") are an option I'd rather avoid.

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  1. You can stuff it and bake it under tomato sauce. One recipe I like, maybe Alton Brown, uses chopped shrimp, breadcrumbs, onions.

    4 Replies
      1. re: c oliver

        Yes, I was too lazy to look for it. Thanks;)

        1. re: magiesmom

          Actually I was about to post it when I saw your reference to it :)

        2. re: c oliver

          Thanks--maybe shrimp stuffing would yield more pleasing results than the pork stuffing I tried.

      2. Seafood salad....cut into rings, boil briefly, drain, mix with lemon juice,garlic,fresh ital. parsley,celery,...olive oil..

        1. I used to find big squid all the time in supermarkets; now it's just the Asian market. Got a foot-long a while back, and when cleaning it, found 7-8 tiny fish from its last supper, in varying stages of digestion! I just cut them in rings and saute quickly with garlic powder and lemon pepper. I treat squid the same regardless of size, just prefer the big ones since the cleaning goes faster.

          1. Leaving several immediate lewd thoughts to one side, I can suggest trying a preparation I had once at a Japanese restaurant: get up a good teriyaki (i.e., fairly sweet) sauce and then grill the squid quickly (or broil, flipping once, but the grill marks are nice). Cook very quickly. Then slice into rings and present as if whole (but sliced): the visual effect of the charred outside and the white insides is nice. The sauce is important, obviously, so use your judgment if you think you have some good options.

            1. Make a sauce using the squid cut up in to pieces.