How to Reheat Calamari? – The Best Way to Reuse Leftover Calamari

Do you have extra calamari and are downhearted as you would have to throw it away? Time to relax! You have arrived at just the right place. In this article, I will tell you all about storing and reheating your leftover calamari in the easiest method so you can reuse it in the best possible way.

How to Reheat Calamari?

Before I move on to tell you how to reheat calamari, let me give you some tips on how you should store calamari that you would want to use later on. The first thing you need to do is store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container to retain the freshness and flavors of calamari. But make sure that you have it at room temperature, as if it’s hot you might just give it all the more reason to get soggy which will surely ruin its taste and texture. Also, it’s necessary that cooked calamari is not left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. You should rather discard uneaten calamari that’s been out for more than 2 hours as it’s pretty much not worthy to store and reuse it.

There are many ways to reheat calamari- microwave, oven, over the stovetop, and more. But as you know the best calamari preparation is the fried one and re-frying is definitely not a good option. You might want to consider some other method of reheating it. If you overcook calamari during the cooking or reheating process, it will turn chewy and lose its freshness and flavors. The same is the case with reheating fried calamari in the microwave. It will overcook calamari and make it inedible. So then, what’s the most effective way of reheating calamari?

The best way to reheat fried calamari is in the oven, in other words baking the leftover calamari for a few minutes. 

Steps to Reheat Calamari in an Oven

Step 1:

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2:

Place a parchment paper or foil on the baking sheet. Now, spread the leftover calamari over the baking sheet and put it in the oven.

Step 3:

Reheat the calamari for about 7 minutes.

Step 4:

Take the baking sheet out and flip over calamari, so that it’s cooked on both sides.

Step 5:

Place it again in the oven and reheat for approximately 6 minutes such that the internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You can use a meat thermometer to check for the internal temperature.

Step 6:

Remove from the baking sheet and drizzle some lime juice over it. If you don’t like calamari with lime juice, you can also serve it with marinara sauce, flavored mayonnaise, tartar sauce, or yogurt. 

Your crispy reheated fried calamari is now ready to be enjoyed with your favorite sauce. You can also serve it as a pasta side dish. 

Final Thoughts

Reheating your leftover calamari is quite a simple task when done the right way. Of course, reheating it will make your calamari a bit chewier than it was before, but it is still good and still worth eating. You just need to store it right and reheat with the most effective way given above. Make sure to follow all the steps, so that you can enjoy your delicious fried calamari and not worry about throwing it away.