Or ‘Baccala Fritto’ in Italy. The main difference here is that Italians use ‘Baccala’, Cod that has been salted and dried to preserve it. This technique also gives the Cod a firmer texture and a more intense flavour.
This technique isn’t widely used in the UK, so instead, brine the Cod to help achieve a texture and flavour closer to ‘Baccala Fritto’ than simply using fresh Cod.
Serve the crispy fish with a generous squeeze of lemon and an ice cold beer.
To make the batter, combine the yeast and 200g flour in a bowl. Whisk in 270ml warm water. Mix until smooth. Cover with cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
To brine the cod, you will need a 10% salt solution. To do this, simply add 70g salt to 700ml cold water. Allow the salt to dissolve before adding the cod for 10 minutes. Remove the cod from the brine, give it a quick rinse before patting dry. Place in the fridge until the batter is ready. You want the cod to be as dry as possible before you start frying.
Once the batter is ready, add enough oil to a saucepan so that you will be able to deep fry the cod. Bring to a high heat.
Slice the cod into chunks before dusting with flour.
Test to see if the oil is hot enough by adding a few drops of batter to the oil. The batter should puff up straight away.
In batches, coat the cod in the batter before carefully placing in the oil. Fry until golden. Remove and rest on a wire rack until you have cooked all the cod.
Serve the cod as soon as possible, finishing with a small pinch of salt and a generous squeeze of lemon.
