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Plate with bacalaitos fritos (codfish saltfish fritters)
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Bacalaitos Recipe (Codfish Fritters)

Bacalaitos - Recipe & Video (Codfish Fritters): easy-to-prepare and delicious side dish that can also substitute meat or fish in your Dominican meal.
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine Caribbean, Dominican
Keyword bacalaitos recipe, bacalao fritters, bacalao patties, codfish fritters, how to make codfish fritters
Prep Time 4 hours
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 35 minutes
Servings 6 (3 per person)
Calories 165kcal
Author Clara Gonzalez

Ingredients

  • ½ lb of salted codfish [0.23 kg]
  • 3 tablespoons of milk
  • A pinch of sugar
  • 4 tablespoons of cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon of chopped leek (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley
  • ½ small onion diced into very small cubes
  • ¼ red pepper diced into very small cubes
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup of oil

Instructions

  • Desalting: Soak the cod in plenty of water (about a gallon [4 l] for 3 to 4 hours.
    Boil the cod in clean water until it starts to fall apart. Taste and change the water and soak again for half an hour if it is still too salty.
    Soaking codfish in water
  • Mixing: Crumble the cod very finely and discard cartilage, bones, and skin. Taste to see how much salt is left.
    In a deep container mix the cod, milk, starch, chive, parsley, egg, sugar, bell pepper, and onion. If the cod was completely desalted in the previous step, add a pinch of salt.
    Mixing ingredients for bacalaito
  • Frying: In a frying pan, heat the oil to medium-high temperature (350 ºF [177 ºC]), and pour the mixture one spoonful at a time to make small cakes. Taste the first one that you fry to see if it needs a little more salt, if that is the case, add another pinch to the raw mixture.
    Fry the cakes until they are golden on both sides. Let them rest on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
    Frying bacalaitos
  • Serving: Serve hot as an appetizer, side dish, or meat substitute.
    Taking a bacalaito from the plate

Video

Notes

Many people use flour instead of cornstarch. Replace the cornstarch with the same amount of flour if you prefer this version.

Nutrition

Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 210mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 275IU | Vitamin C: 7.4mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.4mg