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5 Tips for the best crispy fried calamari recipe Do not cut the calamari rings too thinly. I cut my squid tubes into ¾-inch thick rings, which extends the cooking time long enough for the flour coating to brown and crisp up nicely, while making sure that the calamari is tender on the inside. Soak the rings in a solution of salted milk for 30 minutes (refrigerated) before cooking. I shared this earlier, but this is the trick to tenderizing the calamari meat and it also helps tame the fishy taste. For crispy fried calamari, coat the rings in a mixture of flour, cornstarch, and baking powder! You’ll get a golden-brown, crispy exterior on the tender squid rings. Once coated in the flour mixture, allow the squid rings a few short minutes to sit in a colander before frying. This allows the flour to rehydrate so that the coating does not fall off the calamari when fried. This will happen naturally anyway as you wait for the oil to heat, and you will be frying the calamari in batches which will allow enough time for the coating to stick. Manage the heat of your cooking oil. Heat the oil to somewhere between 350 and 365 degrees F before cooking the calamari. The more common problem with oil temperature is that it is often too low and the calamari will absorb too much of the oil and become too soggy or chewy. And if the oil is too hot, the outside will burn before the inside is cooked properly. So that is why it is important to manage the oil heat. An oil thermometer is helpful here, but if you do not have a thermometer, how do you know if the oil is ready for frying? To test, drop just one calamari ring in the oil, lots of gentle bubbles should form around it immediately and the calamari and bubbles begin to float to the top. Serve ASAP! Fried calamari rings are at their best when served as nice and warm with a big splash of lemon juice!