Crunchy Calamari With Ancho Chile Glaze Recipes

CRUNCHY CALAMARI WITH ANCHO CHILE GLAZE

Steps:

• Moisten sugar with 1 tablespoon water in a shallow saucepan. Cook on medium-high until sugar caramelizes to light amber. Add garlic and cook until it starts to color. Add ancho and chipotle, cook 30 seconds, then stir in wine, taking care because it may sputter. Cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramel dissolves in the wine and the mixture reduces to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, season with vinegar and salt and set aside.
• Slice calamari into thin rings. Toss with 1/2 cup flour, place in a large strainer and shake off excess flour. Season with salt. Pour club soda into a large bowl. Whisk in remaining flour.
• Heat about 2 cups oil to very hot, about 400 degrees, in a deep-fryer, sauté pan or wok. Place floured calamari in the batter. Using tongs, transfer about 1/4 of it to the oil and fry until golden. Stand back because the calamari may spatter furiously. Remove to several layers of paper towels. Repeat with remaining calamari.
• Pile calamari on a platter, dust with lime zest and serve with lime wedges and ancho glaze.

CRISPY CALAMARI RINGS

Steps:

• Preheat oil to 370 degrees F (185 degrees C) in a deep fryer, deep frying pan, or pot.
• Coat squid with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, oregano, basil, parsley, paprika, cayenne, and white pepper in a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add flour and toss to dredge.
• Fry squid in the hot oil, in batches if needed, until light brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Do not overcook, or squid will be tough and chewy. Drain on paper towels. Serve with lemon wedges and marinara sauce.

LIGHT AND CRISPY CALAMARI WITH FRIED LEMONS

Steps:

• To make the calamari, clean the squid. To clean a whole squid, separate the head and tentacles from the body. With a paring knife, cut between the eyes and the tentacles, discarding the eye portion. In the center of the tentacles, push out a little round bead with the hard beak and discard it; reserve the tentacles. For the body section, peel off the flaps and the dark-colored membrane. Remove the quill, the plastic-like bone. Squeeze out the innards like squeezing out toothpaste. Rinse the tentacles and body sections and dry well. Cut the body sections into nice rings. Leave the legs intact.
• Whisk the heavy cream and eggs together in a medium-size bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the squid, onion and lemon and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• To make the dredge mix, combine the flour, cornstarch, cornmeal, paprika, salt and pepper in a separate bowl.
• Pour the oil into a heavy 5-quart (4.5 L) Dutch oven or any heavy-bottomed pot at least twice as deep as the oil and heat to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C) on a frying thermometer. Keep the lid nearby in case of emergency.
• Drain the squid, onion and lemon, leaving some cream stuck to them, then immediately place in the bowl of flour. Roll everything around so the flour mix sticks to the cream like a heavy dredge. Knock off any excess. Fry in small batches until crispy and golden brown, about 1 minutes. Drain well on paper towels or a rack and season again with a little salt and pepper.
• Garnish with the chopped parsley and lemon zest, and serve with the marinara.

ANCHO CHILE GLAZED RIBS

Steps:

• Season racks generously with salt and pepper. Combine oil and seasoning and mix well until a paste forms. Then brush racks with seasoning paste on both sides. On a hot grill or grill pan, cook ribs for 2 minutes on both sides. While ribs are cooking, combine ingredients for braising liquid in large mixing bowl. After ribs have cooked on both sides, place in roasting pan and cover with braising liquid, reserving 1 cup, strained. Cook in 375-degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• For the Glaze: In a medium saucepan, heat and cook, onion, garlic, and peppers for 3 minutes. Add vinegar and ancho chilies and reduce by half. Add pineapple and braising liquid. Cook for 10 minutes at medium heat and puree with stock blend until smooth. Remove ribs from oven and finish n a grill or grill pan, cook racks on one side for just a few minutes brushing the other side with the glaze. Repeat twice. Cut ribs off rack and serve.

CHILE GLAZE

Steps:

• Tear chiles into large pieces and toast in a dry heavy skillet over moderate heat, about 30 seconds on each side. Soak chiles in 1/2 cup hot water in a 1-cup glass measure to soften.
• Mash tamarind with remaining 1/2 cup hot water to soften and force through a sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
• Purée chiles with soaking water, orange juice, lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, oil, and mustard in a blender. Add tamarind mixture and honey and blend well. Pour through sieve into a small saucepan and simmer, partially covered (mixture will spatter) and stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.