1. Hold the squid's body in one hand and the head with the other and gently pull the head away from the body, taking the milky white intestines with it

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2. Remove the tentacles from the head by cutting them off just in front of the eyes. Discard the head and separate the tentacles if they are large. 

3. Squeeze out the beak-like mouth from the centre of the tentacles and discard it. 

4. If you want to retain the ink sac, look amongst the intestines for a very small, pearly-white pouch with a slight blue tinge and carefully cut it away.

5. Reach into the body and pull out the clear, plastic-like quill. 

6. Pull off the two fins from either side of the body pouch. Then pull away the brown, semitransparent skin from both the body and the fins. Wash out the body pouch with water. 

7. Insert the blade of a sharp, thin-bladed, flexible knife into the opening of the body pouch and slit it open along one side. Open it out flat and pull away any left-over intestines and membrane. 

8. Score what was the inner side with the tip of a small sharp knife into a diamond pattern, taking care not to cut too deeply. Then cut it into 5cm pieces.