Puerto Rican Bacalaitos Recipe (with Video)

1. Once your cod fish has been soaked, (see notes for instructions) shred it into small pieces with a fork or just use your fingers. Set aside.
2. Add oil to a frying pan over medium high heat (about 360 degrees F).
3. Line a sheet pan with paper towels to drain fried bacalaitos later.
Prepare the batter
1. In a large mixing bowl, add all of the dry ingredients. Stir until well combined.
2. Add the chicken broth along with the water reserved from the cod fish. Whisk until a batter form. It should be the consistency of pancake batter. The thinner the batter, the thinner (and crispier!) the fritters will be once fried.
3. Add the sofrito, garlic, onions, peppers, cilantro and shredded cod fish. Stir until well combined.
Fry the bacalaitos
1. Use a ladle or 1/4 cup to scoop up the batter. I fill my 1/4 cup halfway for smaller bacalaitos.
2. Start by frying one bacalaito, to test for flavor and texture. Carefully lay the batter into the oil.
3. Fry the first bacalaito for about 3 minutes and then use tongs to flip it over. Fry for another 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Taste and adjust seasoning and/or consistency of batter, if necessary.
4. Fry the rest of the bacalaitos and place on the lined sheet pan to drain and cool.
Notes
1. Desalting the cod: Salted cod is extremely SALTY! Therefore, it is important to remove some of that salt before eating it. I find that soaking the salted cod in cold water overnight works much better than boiling it. When you boil salted cod fish you run the risk of making the fish tough. When soaking the fish in cold water, it remains soft and tender! To soak your salted cod, just remove from the package, give it a good rinse under cold running water and add it to a bowl filled with cold water. Store in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, reserve one cup of the salty water for adding flavor to the batter. Discard the rest of the water. Of course, if you are running short on time, you can soak the salted cod for 30 minutes and then boil for 15 minutes.
Substitutions
1. If you can’t find salted codfish, use salted pollock or hake. If you can’t find any salted fish, use fresh fish. Once cooked, flake it with a fork and use in the recipe as instructed. Instead of using bacalao broth, add 1 teaspoon of salt to 1 cup of water or just add another cup of chicken broth. I like using Better than Bouillon dissolved in water! For a gluten-free version, replace the all-purpose flour with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.