BBQ SQUID (Dried Smoked Squid)

BBQ Squid: Smoky, Sweet, and Built to Last a Whole Beer

A long chew, and that is the point. Thin strips, marinated sweet-savoury, smoked and then dried until they hold their shape — the flavour releases slowly rather than all at once, which is why one handful lasts longer than it looks. Sweet enough to notice, salty enough to keep reaching for, with the caramelised edge doing most of the work.

How We Make It

• Cut into strips. Thin and even. Thickness decides chew, so this step matters more than it sounds.
• Marinated. A sweet-savoury seasoning that caramelises in the smoker — this is where the barbecue character comes from.
• Smoked slowly. Gentle heat, real wood, so the smoke sits behind the sweetness instead of on top of it.
• Dried to finish. The final dry is what sets the texture and lets it keep without preservatives.

How to Eat It

• With beer. A cold lager is the whole reason this exists. The salt and sweetness are calibrated for it.
• Torn, not bitten. Pull strips along the grain into thinner threads. It eats better and goes further.
• Warmed for thirty seconds. A dry pan or a few seconds over a flame softens it and wakes up the smoke. Worth doing once to see the difference.
• In noodles or salad. Sliced thin over ramen, or through a cabbage salad with chilli and lime.
• On a board. The thing people pick at absent-mindedly while deciding what else to eat.

Keeping It

Dried squid is the most forgiving thing we sell. Sealed and refrigerated at 32–39°F it keeps one to three months, and it tolerates a cupboard far better than our smoked fish does. Once opened, press the air out and reseal — it will not spoil quickly, but it stiffens as it dries further.

Fuller guidance is in our storage guide.

Common Questions

Is it tough? It is chewy, deliberately. Dried squid that yields easily has been softened with additives or not dried properly. If you want it gentler, thirty seconds of warmth does it.

How sweet is it? Present but restrained — closer to barbecue glaze than to candy. The salt and smoke stay in front.

Is it very fishy? No. Squid is mild to begin with, and the marinade and smoke push it toward savoury. This is often the one that converts people who say they do not like seafood.

Does it contain shellfish? Squid is a mollusc, and shellfish allergies commonly extend to molluscs. If you are allergic, treat this as off-limits.