These are not “grilled” at all but cooked on a plancha, a hot flat-top griddle similar to those used by short order chefs. But you can grill them, too. Both ways work fine, but in either case the heat should be very intense and the cooking time very short. The squid should be the smallest you can find, preferably about the size of an average adult’s thumb.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Start a charcoal or wood fire or preheat a gas grill; the fire should be quite hot (on a gas grill, as hot as you can get it) and the rack no more than 4 inches from the heat source and preferably less. Or preheat a heavy pan over high heat (and turn on an exhaust fan if you have one) for about 5 minutes.
Step 2
If you need to clean the squid, pull off the head and tentacles and separate them by cutting just behind the head; save the tentacles and discard the head. Rinse out the inside of the bodies and dry well.
Step 3
Sprinkle the squid with coarse salt and toss them lightly with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. If you are grilling, skewer the squid. Grill or pan-grill the squid quickly, about 1 minute per side; they should brown nicely but remain moist inside.
Step 4
Put the squid on a plate. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with lemon juice or vinegar and a bit more salt. Serve immediately.
Grilled Baby Squid, Japanese Style
Step 5
Here the grill is requisite, because the soy sauce coating would burn on a griddle: After cleaning the squid, marinate them briefly in a mixture of 1/4 cup soy sauce and 2 tablespoons mirin (or 1 tablespoon honey mixed with 1 tablespoon white wine). Grill and garnish with toasted sesame seeds (page 596). (Black sesame seeds are more commonly used here, and they look nice against the white squid, so if you can find them, by all means use them. Look in Japanese, Chinese, or Indian stores.)
