[Modernist Cuisine] Best Bets for Cooking Tough Shellfish (6•83)

[Anonymous Modernist 4664]

I have a problem here with the cooking of the squid and cuttlefish.

somehow the timing doesn't seem right.

Could you please confirm that the numbers are correct

barley cooked50C 10 Min

Firm65C 5 Min

tender654 h 30 min

firm seems to be pretty short in cooking time

please also check the others like geoduck and snails

Robby

[Anonymous Modernist 10]

salomon said:

I have a problem here with the cooking of the squid and cuttlefish.

somehow the timing doesn't seem right.

Could you please confirm that the numbers are correct

barley cooked50C 10 Min

Firm65C 5 Min

tender654 h 30 min

firm seems to be pretty short in cooking time

please also check the others like geoduck and snails

Robby

Hi Robby. The temperatures the book gives are accurate. The question of the relationship between time and temperature will determine the texture. Lower temperatures basically just warm it through. When you want it more traditionally cooked, like with a traditional braised style, you have to cook it both longer and hotter to get that texture. I've found that Italian Grandmothers have a good saying about squid: you can cook it for a minute or an hour, but not in between.

On the "Cooking with Modernist Cuisine" thread on eGullet they were just talking about different ways of cooking octopus. You might want to check it out for more ideas.