Traditional Fried Cuttlefish or “Choco Frito” from Setúbal, Portugal is perhaps the official dish of Setúbal and a truly divine appetiser, a genuine delicacy. This classic dish from the Setúbal region of Portugal has plenty of variations, but for me, this recipe is by far the best and most consistent. The recipe comes from my dear friend Jorge, and it was one of his masterpieces. I’ve eaten it dozens of times, and it’s truly an amazing recipe and snack that never fails to impress.
Its normally served more as a snack than a meal, but for me, it’s kinda like octopus, if you have a little it’s a nice snacky snack hehehe, but if you make a big pile just have some fries or a salad and it’s a delicious light meal, perfect for pretty much any occasion, on my sisters house we would have it a lot during the Summer, but sometimes we would also have it as a delicious snack on Christmas, It’s that good!
Fried cuttlefish itself is an easy dish to make but difficult to perfect because it involves achieving the perfect balance in seasoning, coating with flour, and getting the frying time just right. That’s why I always say it’s worth trying to make the recipe, but do it gradually and adjust until it’s perfect. Cuttlefish follows the same principle as octopus, you either cook it quickly as we do here, or you cook it for a very very long time. It’s the only way to have it tender and delicious.
Like chicken or turkey in terms of flavour, cuttlefish doesn’t have much flavour on its own, so it’s important to either season it well as we do here or serve it with sauces to help give flavour to the cuttlefish. This is a variation of the traditional Setúbal fried cuttlefish recipe, not in the ingredients, just in the seasonings and quantities. Otherwise, it follows the same principle: first make a good marinade to give flavour to the cuttlefish, then simply fry it with corn flour. It turns out absolutely fantastic, with tender cuttlefish with a touch of lemon, salt, and the sweetness of frying.
Authentic Portuguese Crispy Fried Cuttlefish from Setúbal • Choco Frito
Trust me on this, this is always my goto recipe, if you want crispy, light fried cuttlefish, the end results are always amazing!
Ingredients
- Cuttlefish – 3 (medium)
- Bay Leaf – 1 leaf
- Lemon – 2
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Corn Flour – for Dusting
- Sunflower Oil – for frying (Or Peanut Oil)
- Pepper – A Pinch
- Salt – A Pinch
Directions
- Buy the cuttlefish at the fishmongers and ask to have them washed, cleaned, and cut into strips. If you bought frozen cuttlefish, start by defrosting them, then remove the head from the body (just pull gently), then turn the body over so that the cartilage is facing up and cut the skin lengthwise to remove the cartilage (also known as the quill) that runs along the entire body. Then remove the ink sacs and any entrails from the inside, remove the skin by pulling carefully, and you will be left with a nice flat, white piece of cuttlefish.
- For the head, cut the tentacles in front of the eyes, then remove the cartilage from the mouth. If the cuttlefish has too much ink, wash it a little more to get it clean.
- Finally, cut the tentacles. If they are small, group them in sets of 2 or 3 (try to make sure they are all the same size or the strips you will cut so they all fry evenly) and cut the body into strips, about two fingers apart/thick.
- Now place all the cuttlefish pieces in a bowl with a lid, season with the two bay leaves, followed by the juice of two lemons, and cut the lemon remains into pieces and add them to the bowl as well. Crush two cloves of garlic and add them, followed by a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Leave the cuttlefish to marinate for 2 to 4 hours. If you leave it for too short of a time, the cuttlefish will be tasteless, and if you leave it for too long, the lemon will start to cook the cuttlefish and the meat may become too soft.
- When it’s time to fry, prepare a large plate with plenty of corn flour to coat the cuttlefish pieces before frying.
- Remove all the cuttlefish onto kitchen paper. You want to remove the moisture from the marinade without removing the flavour of the marinade. The cuttlefish must be moist before being coated in corn flour, but not wet (otherwise the flour will fall off the cuttlefish), so put it under kitchen paper and cover, but don’t squeeze or try to take too much moisture from the cuttlefish just the excess water.
- Heat the oil for frying (to about 176ºC). When the oil is hot, take the pieces of cuttlefish, coat them well in corn flour (like really well, not you can press them a bit just to make sure they are well coated), and fry them. Fry a few pieces at a time; don’t put too much cuttlefish in the oil at once, as this will lower the oil temperature and prevent them from frying properly.
- Remove when golden brown and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Then taste to see if the coating has stuck well to the cuttlefish, if the flavour is good, and if the cuttlefish is tender. If the coating is not sticking or the oil is splattering too much, it means that the cuttlefish is too wet before being coated in the corn flour. If it has little flavour, then it needs to stay in the marinade longer, or you need to season the marinade or the cuttlefish itself a little bit more. If the cuttlefish is not tender but the outside is already too fried, this means that either the pieces of cuttlefish are too large and thick, or the oil is too hot.
- Adjust until it is tender and crispy, then repeat and fry the rest of the cuttlefish. 11. Serve simply with a pinch of salt on top and lemon wedges, you can also serve with a nice tomato rice, a good garlic sauce or a nice salad. Enjoy!
Depending on the time of the year, cuttlefish can be hard to find; the most practical and cheapest tends to be frozen cuttlefish. Wait until you find a promotion or a time of year when cuttlefish is at a good price and get it, it last fine about half a year in the freezer.
Some people like to add more spices for the marinade, yeah it can work fine, but I think it’s already pretty perfect as is, it’s much nicer to just make some spicy sauces, some garlic herbs mayo, some pesto to dip than mess with the marinade.
You must use corn flour, the difference between corn flour and regular flour is night and day, both in texture and flavour, I’ve tried it just to see, It’s not even a competition.
If the flour coating separates from the cuttlefish, the problem is usually that the cuttlefish is too wet before coating it or the oil isn’t hot enough.
This recipe for Authentic Portuguese Crispy Fried Cuttlefish from Setúbal • Choco Frito was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Choco Frito de Setúbal foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.
Nutrition
1370 calories; 95 g fat; 25 g carbohydrates; 115 g protein.Did you try this recipe?
Let me know how it turned out for you! Do you like these kinds of traditional Portuguese snacks? Leave a comment below ;D
