How to Prepare Bacalao (2024)

Posted on September 14, 2019

Learn how to prepare Bacalao, which consists of desalting, cooking and shredding the salted cod (bacalao), before incorporating into our most popular and delicious recipes! Bacalao is the Spanish term referring to the dried and salted codfish. Today we consume the Authentic Salted Cod and the Salted Pollock Fillets.

The Authentic Salted Cod is purchased with skin and bones. Conversely, the Salted Pollock Fillets can be purchased skinless and boneless. When I am pressed for time, I select the Salted Pollock Fillets to eliminate the skin and bone removal process. However, you still need to remove the excess salt and rehydrate both types of fish in order to begin the cooking process.

Weprepare a variety of dishes with the salt cod after it has been desalted, hydrated and cooked. For Instance, the dishes that we mainly prepare with the salt cod are the Salt Cod Salad,Stewed Salt Cod andSalt Cod Fritters.

A Little Food History!

England took control of the fishing areas located near the coast of Newfoundland when Spain was defeated in the Spanish Armada in 1588. This caused a huge delay in shipping codfish to Puerto Rico. Finally, England started exporting the codfish to Puerto Rico in 1765. The codfish, when caught, was coated with salt and dried to prevent it from spoiling during its long voyage. For these reasons, we prefer the codfish that is dried and salted as opposed to fresh caught codfish.

The Authentic Salted Cod became scarce due to over fishing in the North Atlantic. As a result, we also consume another white fish known as Salted Pollock Fillets that is sold as Bacalao.

Learning How to Prepare Bacalao – the Authentic Salted Cod!

This is an Authentic Salt Cod known as Bacalao with skin and bones. The salt application reduces the water content, creating a firm dry texture to the codfish. It is found in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. It has a low fat content, a white flesh and a soft texture when rehydrated.

Cutting the Authentic Salted Cod into Small Portions!

I precut the Bacalao in advance. I first trimmed the excess skin and fins from the upper portion of the Bacalao on both sides with a kitchen scissor.

I also removed the tail fin of the bacalao.

Cut the Bacalao crosswise into 3-inch portions. You can also trim off the excess skin (on the sides) of each portion.

Rinsing and Soaking the Authentic Salted Cod!

Rinse all the portions of the Bacalao with cold water to eliminate the excess salt.

Place in a bowl with skin side up and cover completely with cold water. Soak the Bacalao in the refrigerator for 8 hours with 2 to 3 changes of fresh cold water.

After soaking the Bacalao for 2 hours in the refrigerator, drain the water from the bowl.

Cover the bowl again completely with fresh cold water and repeat this process after 3 more hours of soaking in the refrigerator.

After 8 hours of soaking in the refrigerator with 2 changes of fresh cold water, drain the water completely from the bowl.

Removing the Skin and Bones from the Authentic Salted Cod!

The flesh of the Bacalao is white with a soft texture after being rehydrated.

We can now remove the flesh from the skin for each portion of the Bacalao. With your fingers, separate the skin from the flesh. Place the flesh in a bowl.

Here is the skin with no flesh.

With your fingers, press down on each piece of flesh to feel for any bones. Remove bones from flesh and discard.

Cooking the Authentic Salted Cod!

Place Authentic Salt Cod in saucepan. Pour sufficient water to cover the Authentic Salt Cod. Bring the water to a boil and cook for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes of cooking, I skim off the foam, using a mesh spoon.

Remove a piece of Bacalao from saucepan to taste after the first boil to determine if the the salt content is to your liking. However, if the Bacalao is still too salty, repeat the boiling process with fresh water until the salt content is reduced to your taste.

Shredding the Authentic Salted Cod!

Place the cooked Bacalao into a bowl.

The Bacalao tends to separate into small pieces while cooking. However, if you want to obtain even smaller pieces, shred the Bacalao with your hands.

The cooked Bacalao can now be used for various dishes that have Bacalao as an ingredient.

Learning How to Prepare Bacalao – the Salted Pollock Fillets!

This is the boneless and skinless Salted Pollock Fillets, a member of the codfish family, that is sold as Bacalao. The salt application reduces the water content, creating a firm dried texture to the codfish. It is found in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. It has a low fat content, a white flesh and a soft texture when rehydrated.

Rinsing and Soaking The Salted Pollock Fillets!

Rinse the Salted Pollock fillets in cold running water to eliminate the excess salt.

Place the Salted Pollock fillets in a bowl and cover completely with cold water. Soak the Salted Pollock Fillets in the refrigerator for 4 hours with two changes of fresh cold water.

After soaking the Bacalao for 1 hour in the refrigerator, drain the water from the bowl.

Cover the bowl again completely with fresh cold water and repeat this process after 2 more hours of soaking in the refrigerator.

Note: After soaking the Salted Pollock Fillets in the refrigerator for 4 hours with 2 changes of fresh cold water, drain the water completely from the bowl.

Cooking the Salted Pollock Fillets!

Place the Salted Pollock fillets in a saucepan and pour sufficient water to cover the fillets. Bring the water to a boil and cook for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes of cooking, I skim off the foam, using a mesh spoon.

Remove a piece of Bacalao from saucepan to taste after the first boil to determine if the the salt content is to your liking. However, if the Bacalao is still too salty, repeat the boiling process with fresh water until the salt content is reduced to your taste.

Shredding the Cooked Salted Pollock Fillets!

Place the cooked Salted Pollock fillets into a bowl.

Shred the cooked Salted Pollock Fillets with your hand.

The cooked Salted Pollock Fillets can now be used for various dishes that have Bacalao as an ingredient.

I hope you have enjoyed learning how to prepare bacalao – the Authentic Salted Cod and the Salted Pollock Fillets!

Click on the button below to watch my YouTube video on Learning How to Prepare Bacalao – Desalt, Cook and Shred Salted Cod!

Recipe and Nutritional Facts!

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. Please refer to ourNutritional Facts Disclaimer for more information.

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Posted on September 14, 2019Updated on January 18, 2023