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Friday, August 23, 2024

Trader Joe's Crispy Battered Calamari


I'm well aware all squid can be a bit chewy, but this one was borderline rubbery IMO. Sonia agrees. I've had calamari a handful of times at Italian restaurants, and I don't think this selection was quite up to par in the texture department.


I wish it came with a sauce, too. We made our own with peri peri sauce, mayonnaise, and lemon juice, and it worked great. The flavor of these morsels is very good and isn't the problem, but sauce helps almost any fried appetizer.

Our second batch we left in the air fryer a good bit longer than what was called for, and it came out a little better than the first. The batter was even crunchier...and the squid? Really just about the same. It was difficult to cut even with a very sharp knife.

$5.49 isn't a bad price for how much you get here. Product of Italy. We still can't completely get over the excessive chewiness and lack of dipping sauce.

The beautiful wifey and I are both torn between six and seven stars, so we'll go with one of each for Trader Joe's Crispy Battered Calamari.



Bottom line: 6.5 out of 10.

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6 comments:

  1. Attila SzendrodiAugust 24, 2024 at 9:42 AM

    Oh no, this stuff was horrible. Within 2 minutes of being in the air fryer it smelled so fishy I was worried my bag was spoiled. The breading was mushy and fell off and you almost couldn't chew the squid due to it's rubbery texture. Thankfully I only made half the bag and returned the rest. Fail in every way.

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    Replies
    1. Nathan RodgersAugust 24, 2024 at 10:07 AM

      If all else fails, no-hassle refund to the rescue. Thanks for your input, as always.

      Delete
  2. NJtoTXSeptember 3, 2024 at 2:20 PM

    I don't think it's terrible, but it *has* to be done at a higher temperature; cooking longer makes squid rubbery. I do air fryer preheated 400F for 7 minutes, flipping halfway.
    Also much prefer calamari with tentacles - they don't get rubbery, but some Americans get queasy.

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