Puerto Rican Bacalaitos (Edit recipe)

Notes

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: 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. Air Fryer Version: To cook in the air fryer, just drizzle the bottom of your fryer with a little oil or spray with cooking oil spray. Add batter in small portions (about 1/4 cup, depending on the size of your air fryer). Cook at 400 degrees on the “Air Fry” setting for about 5 minutes. Flip over the bacalaitos and cook another 5 minutes. Be sure to check halfway to make sure they aren’t burning. Every air fryer is different, so results may vary.