How to salt cod - two simple recipes

Lightly salted cod

Cod is one of those types of fish that can be eaten raw. Of course, raw fish is not for everyone, but we salt the cod and get a delicious appetizer for any main course, or just for a sandwich.

For 500 grams of cod you will need:

• 50 grams of salt, preferably sea salt;
• 0.5 tsp each paprika and black pepper;
• Bay leaf;
• juice of 1 lemon;
• 100 grams of vegetable oil.

Thaw the fillet and cut it into portions. Mix salt, paprika and pepper and chopped bay leaf in a bowl.

Dip each piece of cod into this mixture and place in a jar or plastic container.

When you have placed all the fish, pour in lemon juice and vegetable oil. Stir the fish, close the jar with a lid, and put it in the refrigerator. The time for salting cod depends on your taste.

To get lightly salted cod, it is enough to soak it in this brine for 12 hours. During this time, it will be saturated with spices, but will remain just as tender and tasty.

Dry salted cod

We got this recipe from the Portuguese, where salted cod is considered a national dish. This is called “bacalhau”, and cod is salted whole carcasses using dry salting, and then dried on stones heated by the southern sun, or hung in a draft. Only then do Portuguese housewives prepare their masterpieces from salted and dried cod. Rumor has it that a good housewife can cook bacalau all year and never repeat it. We won’t check this, but will simply look at how to dry-salt cod. This salting is used not only for subsequent drying, but also for smoking cod.

For bacalau you need a whole fish carcass, including skin. Wash the fish, slightly scrape the scales with a knife and remove the head. Rip open the belly all the way to the tail and lay the fish out like a book. Remove the entrails and bones of the cod.

Dry it with a towel and you can start salting. Cod is usually salted with sea salt, without adding spices. Spices can be added later, during direct cooking from the bacalau.

Rub the cod with salt on all sides, especially the inside, then place the fish in a glass or plastic container and put it in the refrigerator. The goal here is to get rid of moisture as much as possible, and therefore, it is necessary to drain the resulting liquid from the container every day. A whole cod carcass weighing 4-5 kg ​​should be salted for at least 5 days, after which it can be rinsed and dried.

Watch the video - preparing dried cod: