Bacalaitos – delicious, crispy salted cod fitters. Flaky fish is mixed with a seasoned batter and fried to golden perfection!

Are you crazy about cuchifritos or frituras? I have lots of Puerto Rican appetizers on the blog including ALL the fried foods like sorullitos, papas rellenos, tostones, empanadas and more!

These frituras are one of the most popular in Puerto Rico where you’ll find them at nearly every street vendor and restaurant.

Sometimes the bacalaitos you get are HUGE and sometimes they are small and bite-sized.

The great thing about cooking them at home is that you can make them any size you like.

Learn how to properly prepare the bacalao (salted codfish) so you can make these easy appetizers at home.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Bacalao – bacalao is salted codfish. You can find this in the frozen section of the grocery. If possible, get it with the bone already removed (deboned). You can also substitute pollock.

Flour – all-purpose flour to thicken the batter.

Baking powder – without this your bacalaitos will be flat and hard.

Garlic – personally I like the toasted flavor of garlic powder in this recipe, and I think it melts into the batter perfectly, but you can also use fresh garlic (or both!).

Cilantro or culantro (recao) – a couple tablespoons of chopped leaves gives a burst of fresh flavor.

Sazón – this is to give the batter some color. You can use homemade sazón seasoning or achiote.

Other additions:

Ajíes dulces (sweet peppers) or red bell pepper. Use 2 tablespoons, diced.

Sofrito – another ingredient that adds fresh flavor. Use 1-2 tablespoons. If using sofrito you can omit the garlic and cilantro.

Fresh oregano – a teaspoon or so of chopped oregano in addition to the cilantro adds additional depth of flavor.

How to Make Bacalaitos

First you need to remove the excess sodium from the bacalao by soaking in cold water for 4 hours or preferably overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the water and rinse the fish for several minutes with fresh water.

Add to pot with new water and boil for 15 minutes. Remove the fish and save the water.

Let fish cool until able to handle (I like to run it under cold water), then shred into bite-sized pieces.

I prefer finely shredded fish so it melts into the fritter and you have bacalao in each bite.

If you prefer bigger chunks so you can really taste it, to each their own.

Just make sure there are no stray bones in the fish as you shred it.

In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients, then add the 1 cup of the fish water you saved, plus 1/2 cup fresh water.

The cod water will be flavorful but salty. Feel free to taste it and adjust the amount of fresh water you use.

The batter should be smooth, but DO NOT overmix or the bacalaitos will be tough. It will be like a thin pancake batter.

If you want thinner, add more water. For thicker bacalaitos, stir in a little more flour.

Gently stir in shredded bacalao and recao (or cilantro).

Let the batter rest while you heat up the oil in a skillet.

You want the oil to be at least 1/4 inch thick, or you can deep-fry.

The ideal temperature for frying is 350-375°F.

You can drop a little batter in the oil to test if it’s hot enough. It should sizzle rapidly when ready, but not burn.

You can make the bacalaitos as little or large as you like. Sometimes they’re bite-sized and sometimes they’re as big as your face! I used a little less than ¼ cup scoop for mine.

Add batter to frying pan and be careful not to crowd them.

Cook for a minute, then flip. Keep flipping until crispy and golden, then drain on paper towels.

Eat these as an appetizer or with mayoketchup if you like dipping sauce.

Bacalaitos

Name: Bacalaitos
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 4 h 40 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: Puerto Rican
Ingredients: ½ lb salted cod fish; 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 packet sazón (optional); 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves minced garlic; 1 cup cod water (saved from cooking fish); 1/2 cup fresh water; 2 tablespoons chopped culantro (recao) or cilantro; Vegetable oil, for frying

Yield: 24 pieces

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 40 minutes

Bacalaitos – delicious, crispy salted cod fitters. Flaky fish is mixed with a seasoned batter and fried to golden perfection! A quintessential Puerto Rican appetizer.

Ingredients

½ lb salted cod fish
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 packet sazón (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup cod water (saved from cooking fish)
1/2 cup fresh water
2 tablespoons chopped culantro (recao) or cilantro
Vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions

Prepare the fish:

Remove excess sodium from fish by soaking in water at least 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Drain the fish and add to a pot with fresh water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the fish and save the water.
Let fish cool until able to handle, then shred into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

Make the batter:

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, garlic and sazon (if using).
Add the 1 cup of the fish water you saved, plus 1/2 cup fresh water and whisk to combine.
The batter should be smooth, but DO NOT overmix or the bacalaitos will be tough.
Gently stir in shredded bacalao and recao (or cilantro).
Let the batter rest while you heat up the oil in a skillet.

Fry the fritters:

If you have a thermometer, the temperature for frying should be 350°F. You can drop a little batter in the oil to test if it’s hot enough. It should sizzle rapidly when ready, but not burn.
Add about ¼ cup of batter to the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan. You can make them as little or large as you like.
Cook for a minute, then flip. Continue cooking and turning until cooked through. They should be golden and crisp when done. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Notes

The number of bacalaitos will depend on the size.

Bacalaitos