Bacalao is part of the gastronomic culture the Americas inherited from the Iberian colonization, an ingredient steeped in history and religion, salted codfish, or saltfish is a Lenten staple and popular an inexpensive ingredient Learn how to cook Bacalao at home.
Why we ❤️ it
Bacalao is an ingredient that was inexpensive, easy to store and cook, and steeped in our gastronomic culture and heritage. We mostly associate it with the Lenten and Easter period, but you can find it in colmados and supermarkets year-round, and enjoy it in the many delicious ways that we present to you here.
What is bacalao?
Bacalao is the Spanish name for codfish, fresh and otherwise. However, in the Dominican Republic, it is always assumed that when you say bacalao you mean the salted, dried variety. You have to order "bacalao fresco" to get non-salted bacalao. Be mindful that even "bacalao fresco" won't be fresh, but frozen, as all bacalao is imported.
Bacalao is nowadays used to commercialize a number of white fishes, one of the most common being haddock. It can be found as bacalao fillets, but it's more commonly available bone-in.
Salted bacalao has a different taste and bite than fresh fish. They are not interchangeable.
Bacalao in tomato sauce with potatoes
Bacalao guisado
Bacalao fritters
Bacalaítos o torrejas de bacalao
Bacalao with eggs
Bacalao con huevo y tayota
Bacalao salad
Ensalada de bacalao
Cod fish cakes with potato
Torrejas de bacalao con papa
Cod fish balls
Croquetas de bacalao
Bacalao in English
Bacalao is cod or codfish in English. To find the salted kind, search for "saltfish" (as it's known in the English Caribbean), "salted codfish", "salt cod" or "salt codfish".
Where to buy bacalao
To buy bacalao, saltfish, or salted codfish a good place to start is with shops that cater to West Indian, Spanish Caribbean, and Portuguese-speaking communities. It's also available from Amazon.
How to make bacalao
Salted bacalao is extremely salty and very dry. The first step is to rehydrate it and get rid of as much salt as possible. Our preferred method is to rinse it thoroughly to get rid of superficial salt, soak it in plenty of water to rehydrate and extract more salt, then boil in abundant water to rehydrate, cook and desalt. Our recipes will give you detailed instructions on how to cook bacalao.
Recipe
How to Cook Bacalao - Favorite Recipes
Ingredients
- 2 pound bacalao (salted codfish), [0.9 kg]
- Water, for washing and boiling
Instructions
Desalting codfish
Rinse the codfish in running water, scrubbing off as much surface salt as possible. Soak the codfish in abundant water overnight, or at least two hours. Change the water at least once if you leave it overnight.
Boiling
Rinse the bacalao again and discard the water. Place the codfish in a big pot or large dutch oven, and add about a gallon (2.5 liters) of fresh water to it. Simmer over medium heat until the codfish starts flaking, add a cup of water every so often to maintain a similar level as when it started, and stir to cook evenly. This may take 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the freshness and quality of the fish.
Once the bacalao is flaking, remove it from the heat and the water, drain and discard the water. Taste the fish, it should have a pleasant saltiness, but not excessively so. If it is still too salty you will have to soak it again in clean water for about an hour.
Prep fish
Once cooled to room temperature, flake the codfish into small, spoon-size pieces, and make sure to discard bones, fins, and skin.Continue cooking per the instructions on any of the recipes above
Video
Tips and Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutritional information.
History of Bacalao
Salted bacalao is a food that was brought to our island by the conquistadors. By 1942 salt cod had already long been a traditional food in Catholic Spain, where bacalao was the fish of choice inland during the Lent season, and on days when Catholics were banned from meat consumption. It is very popular in Spain, Portugal, and, likewise, many of their former American possessions, including Brazil, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.
Saltfish is also a staple of Jamaican cuisine.
When Catholics were forbidden from eating meat on Fridays, and during Lent, fish was the obligatory option. Before Columbus set foot in the New World, the Basques had already established a large fishing fleet that traveled to present-day Canadian waters in search of this valuable fish. Salted cod thus became the official dish of the Lenten season, and one of the pillars of Iberian cuisine.
Second history lesson: no one has done more for cod in Spain than the Catholic Church. The endless days of abstinence that they imposed turned codfish, salted, or cecial --cured and air-dried like jerky-- in the king of fish of interior Spain.
Source (translation mine)
The ease of transport and the duration of salted fish in storage made it an easy item to use during long sea voyages. And that's how cod arrived in our country. From American waters to Spain, and then back to America. Cod later became one of the pillars of the "triangular" trade with America: cod was transported in one direction and enslaved Africans in another. A food that went from America to Europe and back, with a history of blood, sweat, and tears.
Published May 31, 2022, and last revised
