Crunchy Calamari With Ancho Chile Glaze

Name: Crunchy Calamari With Ancho Chile Glaze
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 1/3 cup sugar; 1 teaspoon minced garlic; 1 teaspoon crushed ancho chile; 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder; 2 cups dry red wine; 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar; Salt; 1 pound cleaned calamari, the smaller the better; 1 cup flour; 12 ounces club soda; Vegetable oil for deep-frying; 1 lime, zested, then cut into wedges

Recipe from Matador Room

Adapted by Florence Fabricant

Crunchy Calamari With Ancho Chile Glaze — Rikki Snyder for The New York Times

Total Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 4(99)
Notes: Read community notes

My introduction to manzanilla decades ago was alongside a plate of fried prawns at El Faro in Cádiz, near Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in southern Spain. Nothing could provide a better partner for the sweet, briny shrimp than the pale, intensely floral, somewhat saline wine. Yet after our tasting of deliciously intense manzanillas, I was determined to show how well the wine could pair alongside food that was not Spanish: with dim sum, for example, or fried Ipswich clams. That was until I tasted Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s crunchy calamari at the Matador Room, his restaurant in Miami Beach. Delicately crisp, impossibly tender and fueled with a piquant glaze, they were perfection with a glass of manzanilla. Back at home with his recipe, plenty of oil, the hottest possible temperature and a messy stove got me close. —Florence Fabricant

Featured in: A Hands-Off Approach to Manzanilla Sherry

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

⅓cup sugar
1teaspoon minced garlic
1teaspoon crushed ancho chile
¼teaspoon chipotle powder
2cups dry red wine
1tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt
1pound cleaned calamari, the smaller the better
1cup flour
12ounces club soda
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
1lime, zested, then cut into wedges

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
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 ½ cup, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, season with vinegar and salt and set aside.
Step 2
Slice calamari into thin rings. Toss with ½ 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.
Step 3
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 ¼ 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.
Step 4
Pile calamari on a platter, dust with lime zest and serve with lime wedges and ancho glaze.

Ratings

4 out of 5

99 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

Lorna6 years ago

sugar wine mixture is the dip, the flour/club soda is the batter. Took reading about 10 times to figure it out

ed3 months ago

Yes, the batter was runny and didn't adhere very well to the calamari, BUT this was still delicious. Some batter stayed with the calamari and the batter that fell off into the oil turned into crispy bread-crumb-like things that were great mixed in with the calamari. (Make sure your oil is up to 400F for every batch.) The lime brightens it all up and the wine dipping sauce was a new (for me) and excellent addition. Still, I'd like to try making this again with a bit thicker batter.

Rozen4 years ago

Don’t make this. The batter with so much club soda didn’t stick to the calamari at all. It became a soup of oil and slimy calamari that I had to throw out entirely.

Amy4 years ago

I would add a bit less wine, but loved the recipe!

SNick6 years ago

This is the first time I've attempted to make calamari. I had trouble with the batter - it didn't stick to the squid. I tasted good, just didn't look like what I've ordered in restaurants. Any suggestions? Should the squid be completely dry before the initial flour coat?
Thanks!

Heidi6 years ago

This is definitely a keeper
it is excellent - much better than in any restaurant
It does make a mess, but the clean-up is worth it

Bunnee6 years ago

Between the two of us, we devoured this in no time. Easy, tasty and well worth repeating. Might add a bit more heat next time.

annie6 years ago

I made this for dinner last night and it was perfect. Yes, it does spatter and leave the stove a mess. So what? It's worth every minute of cleaning up. I liked the glaze but will try with something simpler the next time.

mjan6 years ago

Step 1 of the recipe produces the ancho glaze that is cited in Step 4.

Jean6 years ago

Ah, memories of living in Spain! Will make this it at our cottage but on the gas burner of the BBQ where I do all the fish frying. Thank you!

Robert Chamut6 years ago

I assume the sugar/wine mixture into the flour/ club soda to make the batter?

Lorna6 years ago

sugar wine mixture is the dip, the flour/club soda is the batter. Took reading about 10 times to figure it out

ted6 years ago

I dont understand what to do with the club soda and flour...I think a step is missing

gale6 years ago

Incredibly messy and incredibly delicious. But Ms Fabricant warned me, she was right and it was worth the cleanup.