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Prep time
10 minutes
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Cook time
5 minutes
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Serves
4
Test Kitchen Notes
Bacalaítos—spiced, fried cod fritters—are a Puerto Rican staple for good reason. Soaked in milk overnight, the fish becomes super tender and juicy when mixed into the flour-based batter, which creates a flaky and light, yet moist, interior, and a crunchy golden brown exterior. —Food52
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Bacalaítos
Ingredients
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1 pound
salted cod, soaked overnight in 3 cups of milk
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4 cups
water, divided
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1 teaspoon
white vinegar
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2 cups
all-purpose flour
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2 tablespoons
fresh parsley, roughly chopped
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1/4 cup
fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
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1/4 teaspoon
sazón
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1
red bell pepper, finely chopped
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1 tablespoon
sofrito (optional)
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1 1/2 teaspoons
baking soda
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vegetable oil, for frying
Directions
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Add the soaked fish and milk into a pot with 3 cups of the water and the vinegar. Bring water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
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In a large bowl, combine the flour, cilantro, parsley, cilantro, sazón, bell pepper, sofrito, and baking soda.
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Using a colander, drain fish into a new bowl, reserving 1 cup of the salted fish water. Shred fish with two forks and set aside.
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Add the 1 cup of reserved salted milk water to the flour mixture, and mix together.
Slowly add the remaining cup of fresh water to the mixture, mixing together to form a pancake-like batter. For a thinner batter, continue to add water until desired consistency. Fold in your fish and let batter sit for 10 minutes.
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Heat a frying pan with about 1 ½ inches of vegetable oil on medium heat until shimmering. Once oil is hot, ladle in ¼ cup of batter in a long stride motion to create a long bacalaíto.
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Fry until edges are lightly brown, and flip over. Cooking for 2 to 3 minutes per side, drain on a wire rack or paper towels; repeat with the remaining batter. Serve hot.
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