Deep Fried Salted Cod

Truth be told growing up I was pretty grossed out by the wooden bins of filled with planks of salted cod at the fish market and often thought to myself why on earth would anyone want to eat anything that looks that hideous! Fast forward to adulthood....I love Salted Cod and understand it was a way of preserving cod fish for months and years during the days when refrigeration wasn't an option.  I was reintroduced to Salted Cod by my Italian mother in law who called it 'Baccala' in Italian; she typically served it on Christmas Eve as well as Good Friday with a multitude of other dishes; her table was always filled to the brim with delicious food!

Cod Fish or Baccala can be purchased bone-in or boneless and quite frankly we prefer the boneless where we don't have to be careful picking out the bones. Due to the fact that the cod is preserved in salt, it has a meatier texture and a sweeter flavour ironically.

INGREDIENTS

Salted cod fish

1 to 2 cups flour

Vegetable oil for frying

Optional Garnish:

Lemon wedges

Fresh chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS

Soak the codfish filet in a sink full of water to wash away all the salt on the exterior.  Place the codfish in a large bowl of cold water and place in the fridge for 48 hours where the cod fish will plump up to its original size.  Be sure to change the water frequently; typically we change it every 4 to 6 hours washing the cod filet along with changing the water and refrigerating between water changes.

Fill a deep fryer or a large frying pan with vegetable oil and heat to 350F, meanwhile cut up the cod fish into serving portions and dredge in the flour.  Deep fry until golden brown and crunchy; approximately 5 to 7 minutes per side.

Serve with lemon wedges or a marinara sauce on the side.  Deep Fried Cod fish pairs well with a nice risotto and pasta and perfect with sautéed seasoned vegetables.

How to in pictures!