Bacalhau, Bacalao, Baccalí¡, Salt Cod

[The Hersch]

I love salt cod, known as baccalà in Italian, bacalao in Spanish, bacalhau in Portuguese. It's not clear to me whether in French "morue" is assumed to be salt or fresh, although I know "brandade de morue" is made with salt cod. Perhaps Don or other frenchified folks can fill in the blanks. "Cabillaud" in French I think is probably presumed fresh cod, as are, I think, "Kabeljau" in German and "Kabeljauw" in Dutch. The transposition of the c/k and the b in these words is interesting; the bac- and kab- forms clearly derive from the same root, which appears to be the Basque bacalaiba, cod-fish.

I've mentioned before that I spent some extended time in Portugal. One of the things I always loved about Portuguese food culture, or really Portuguese culture, is the Snack. This is a feature of other European cultures as well, certainly in Italy and Spain, though I've spent far less time in those estimable countries, and it's something almost wholly lacking in every-day American life. In Portugal, there's a café or bar on what seems like every corner of every city and town, where you can get the espresso-style coffee that is an essential part of Portuguese life (a cup of which is known as uma bica in Lisbon, but not elsewhere), and a sweet or savory (which the Portuguese call salgado or salty) snack (and a glass of beer or wine or whisky if you want it). I think it's fair to say that there are two "national snacks" of Portugal: the sweet snack is the pastel de nata (or its special instance the pastel de Belém), a custard tart, and the salty one is the bolinho de bacalhau, often called pastel de bacalhau in Lisbon and the south. The latter item is almost always translated into English as a codfish or salt codfish "fritter", although it's nothing I would characterize as a fritter. To me, a fritter is some piece or pieces of something solid, dipped into a thick batter and fried, like tempura. The bolinho de bacalhau, by contrast, is a sort of mash of cooked potato and desalinated salt cod, formed into usually egg-shaped balls and fried; in other words, more of a croquette (although never called croqueta in Portuguese).

When I lived in Portugal, I probably had at least two or three bolinhos/pasteis de bacalhau per week. I never encountered them in anyone's home; they were only to be found in the bars and cafés. In the U.S., of course, you won't encounter them in bars or cafés, so having them at home is your only serious option. Here is my recipe:

• Salt cod, soaked in water for a day or so, with the water changed three or four times
• Russet potato, peeled
• Onion
• Parsley
• Salt
• Peanut oil or other oil suitable for deep frying

Cut up the potato and boil in salted water as for mashed potatoes. When soft, drain and mash.

Put the desalinated salt cod in a saucepan with water to cover, and put on a burner. Heat until the water gets to just below a simmer. Never let the water get hot enough to bubble. The fish should poach, not simmer. If you let it get up to a simmer, or worse, to a boil, the fish will become tough and it will stick in your teeth something awful. (By the way, it took me so long to learn this that I decided I'm actually pretty stupid, GPA notwithstanding.) Turn off the heat under the saucepan and let the fish rest in the hot water for a few minutes. Drain and flake/chop the fish. The traditional Portuguese approach is to wrap the fish in a towel and pound with your fists or with a wine bottle or frying pan, but I find chopping fairly fine with a knife works quite well.

Mince some onion and the parsley. Combine the fish, potato, onion, and parsley. Taste and add salt if needed. Add a whole egg, or more than one depending on the quantity you're making. Mix well. (In Portugal, these often contain a bit of a pimiento paste that you won't find in the U.S unless you make it; I often put in just a dash of a nice pepper sauce like "Tapatio", which is vinegarless--just enough to add a little pepper flavor without adding any noticeable heat.)

Heat oil in a saucepan or deep-fryer. Form the cod-potato mixture into egg-shaped balls using two spoons, as if making quenelles. Drop the balls into the hot oil and fry till golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve.

I haven't given measures for the ingredients, because I've never measured them. As a rule, you want a bit more potato than cod by volume, but not much more, and enough onion and parsley to make themselves known but not enough to become dominant or assertive. Salt depends on how thoroughly desalinated the codfish is, so you need to taste. If you want to make authentic Portuguese food, you generally have to use plenty of salt.

These are very good hot, but they're also very good at room temperature, which is how you'll usually encounter them in Portuguese bars. Eat them with your fingers.

These are the bolinhos de bacalhau I made earlier today. Instead of a snack, I ate all four of them for my lunch. They were good, and they made me very happy.

The four of them, ready to eat:

Almost gone:

[porcupine]

Where do you buy salt cod?

[The Hersch]

Where do you buy salt cod?

Most recently at the Van Ness Giant. They keep it in the refrigerator case in front of their fish counter. It used to be poor people's food, but now costs $10 a pound. Funnily, though, I recall it costing $10 a pound in the late 1980s or early 1990s, when I used to buy it occasionally at the Soviet Safeway. I think Rodman's usually has it for somewhat less.

[zoramargolis]

A&H Gourmet Seafood in Bethesda is a good place to find it.

[ol_ironstomach]

Second the vote for A&H. Their quality is superb, and they carry both whole sides and discounted off-cuts. And FWIW, they have pastel de nata (probably my favorite "borrow cuisine" in the modern dim sum constellation) there on occasion too.

Conversely, the salt cod at area pan-Asian megamarts has a tendency to be inadequately dried and of poor quality, negating its cheapness.

I have to thank Zora and her addictive brandade de morue for causing me to buy salt cod more frequently than before.

[Dr. Delicious]

Just curious...considering that you cut up the cooked salt cod, then combine it with potato and a few other ingredients, would taste be very compromised by using the "inadequately dried and of poor quality" salt cod found at the area pan-Asian megamarts? It seems to me that this is the very kind of recipe that might allow you to get away with using a poorer quality salt cod...

[frogprince]

Definitely A&H, I wouldnt dream of chancing it from anywhere else

[thistle]

Is salt cod usually what is used in Asian dishes that list 'salt fish', like casseroles? Are there any other salted or preserved fish that are used?

[Fishinnards]

Is salt cod usually what is used in Asian dishes that list 'salt fish', like casseroles? Are there any other salted or preserved fish that are used?

Most fresh and saltwater fish are dried, salted, pickled, smoked etc. throughout Asia. There are many many kinds of salted dried fish. AFAIK traditionally, salt cod is used in European and Mediterranean cuisines.

[The Hersch]

Just curious...considering that you cut up the cooked salt cod, then combine it with potato and a few other ingredients, would taste be very compromised by using the "inadequately dried and of poor quality" salt cod found at the area pan-Asian megamarts? It seems to me that this is the very kind of recipe that might allow you to get away with using a poorer quality salt cod...

I'd say you're probably right. I don't believe I've bought salt cod at any pan-Asian megamarkets, but the stuff they have at the Giant is perfectly nice. The brand is "Seal Island", and it comes from Nova Scotia; it's boneless and skinless, so there's no waste. I wouldn't hesitate to use it in a brandade, and the bolinhos pictured above were as delicious as they look. Also, for what it's worth, I just checked the package I used for the bolinhos and it says "best before January 27, 2013", which is obviously quite some time in the past. I'm not sure what's supposed to happen to it after the best-by date. Dried, salted fish is dried and salted so it will last a long, long time, without refrigeration. (And to be fair to Giant Food, I bought this package many months ago.)

[porcupine]

In all seriousness, I have to ask is A&H that good? Because the one time I tried to go in I couldn't get past the door. The rotten seafood smell was nauseating. Please tell me there must've been something wrong that night and it isn't usually like that.

[LauraB]

In all seriousness, I have to ask is A&H that good? Because the one time I tried to go in I couldn't get past the door. The rotten seafood smell was nauseating. Please tell me there must've been something wrong that night and it isn't usually like that.

That was exactly my experience the one time I visited. The smell was just sickening.

[ol_ironstomach]

Just curious...considering that you cut up the cooked salt cod, then combine it with potato and a few other ingredients, would taste be very compromised by using the "inadequately dried and of poor quality" salt cod found at the area pan-Asian megamarts? It seems to me that this is the very kind of recipe that might allow you to get away with using a poorer quality salt cod...

I found it often reconstituted quite a bit stinkier than what A&H has and what good salt cod should smell like.

Note that this is different from using less-desirable high quality pieces. In that case, the toughness of the cod, particularly closer to the edges of the belly where the skin is whiter, would slightly affect the texture of the brandade, but is probably completely insignificant if you're making croquettes. I find that it's harder to skin cleanly though.

In all seriousness, I have to ask is A&H that good? Because the one time I tried to go in I couldn't get past the door. The rotten seafood smell was nauseating. Please tell me there must've been something wrong that night and it isn't usually like that.

I think it is for the Spanish specialties; the only better Spanish market I've been to in the US was in Seattle. But yes, it's rather aromatic by American standards, although not like a market full of dried mollusks. Some of the items they carry do normally have a funk associated with them that would be out-of-place if they were a place that only carried fresh fish, plus it's a tightly packed space.

[thistle]

What about smoked milkfish (Bangus) ? They also have marinated boneless milkfish (vinegar, s&p), it's pretty inexpensive & I'd like to try it out....it should be good in soups, right?

[zoramargolis]

In all seriousness, I have to ask is A&H that good? Because the one time I tried to go in I couldn't get past the door. The rotten seafood smell was nauseating. Please tell me there must've been something wrong that night and it isn't usually like that.

That was exactly my experience the one time I visited. The smell was just sickening.

re: A&H. When were you last there? About three or four

years ago it was taken over by Santi Zabaleta, the former chef at La

Taberna de Alabordero. He renovated the interior, replaced the old

sagging shelves, added dozens of new products, and breathed new, much

more fragrant life into the old space. Any "fishy" smell that remains is

actually from the salt cod, which is kept in open boxes at the back of

the store. I love that place!

[LauraB]

re: A&H. When were you last there? About three or four

years ago it was taken over by Santi Zabaleta, the former chef at La

Taberna de Alabordero. He renovated the interior, replaced the old

sagging shelves, added dozens of new products, and breathed new, much

more fragrant life into the old space. Any "fishy" smell that remains is

actually from the salt cod, which is kept in open boxes at the back of

the store. I love that place!

I was there within the past two years, so presumably following the renovation.

[zoramargolis]

If A&H, with its mild aroma of salt cod, smells like "rotten fish" and is overwhelming to you, then you probably are not a good candidate to enjoy making and/or eating bacalao.

[DanielK]

Saw a 1 lb. "box" (also bagged) of salt cod at Harris Teeter. $11.

[LauraB]

If A&H, with its mild aroma of salt cod, smells like "rotten fish" and is overwhelming to you, then you probably are not a good candidate to enjoy making and/or eating bacalao.

I bow to your superior knowledge. I will cross bacalao off my list of 'must eats.' But, I can assure you, it was no *mild aroma*. Oh, and I should mention that I was with two other people on that visit and they both had the same reaction.

[porcupine]

If A&H, with its mild aroma of salt cod, smells like "rotten fish" and is overwhelming to you, then you probably are not a good candidate to enjoy making and/or eating bacalao.

And for that reason I avoided eating it all my life. And then a year or so ago a friend ordered salt cod fritters at a restaurant, and I thought they were delicious, and The Hersch's post reminded me of that, so I thought I would give it a try.

[zoramargolis]

And for that reason I avoided eating it all my life. And then a year or so ago a friend ordered salt cod fritters at a restaurant, and I thought they were delicious, and The Hersch's post reminded me of that, so I thought I would give it a try.

Just be forewarned. What you enjoyed is the end product of a process that involves soaking (smelly) dried salt cod in several changes of water over a couple of days.

[DaveO]

Great thread, beautiful pics, inspired to make that dish. One simple question...I assume if I'm buying pre packed salted cod, I don't need to resoak for a day or so...or do I?

[porcupine]

Just be forewarned. What you enjoyed is the end product of a process that involves soaking (smelly) dried salt cod in several changes of water over a couple of days.

Thanks for the warning. I needed to run errands in Bethesda anyway, so I went into A&H. The smell was strong, but not revolting. Fishy smell must be like hot peppers: the same amount to some is intolerable, to others barely noticeable.

[The Hersch]

Great thread, beautiful pics, inspired to make that dish. One simple question...I assume if I'm buying pre packed salted cod, I don't need to resoak for a day or so...or do I?

No matter what the packaging in which you find salt cod, it should be dry and very salty, and you need to soak it in fresh water for a day or so, changing the water three or four times. Once salt cod has been desalinated by this process, it becomes nearly (or perhaps fully) as perishable as fresh fish. Please don't let this requirement deter you; it's hardly any trouble. You just have to bear in mind that you have to plan a day or so ahead. (And though I say it, you won't go astray if you just follow my recipe above.)