Italian · Starter · Easy
Grilled Calamari
Tender calamari tubes and tentacles, grilled fast and hot, with lemon, garlic, and parsley. Simple and smoky.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Grilled Calamari, in 5 ideas
- Dry calamari sears instead of steaming on the grill.
- High heat and short time is the whole secret.
- Score the tubes lightly so they do not curl into tight rolls.
- A grill basket keeps the tentacles from falling through.
- Squeeze fresh lemon over right before serving.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs cleaned calamari (tubes and tentacles)
- 3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for grilling
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- Salt and black pepper
- Lemon wedges for serving
How to make it
Directions
- Pat the calamari very dry with paper towels.
- Toss with olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon zest and juice, salt, and pepper.
- Marinate 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Heat the grill to high and oil the grates well.
- Grill the calamari 2 minutes per side until charred at the edges and just opaque.
- Do not overcook or it turns rubbery.
- Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with parsley.
- Serve with lemon wedges.
Frozen calamari is often fresher than the fish counter kind, thaw it overnight in the fridge.