Salt cod croquettes are crunchy, moist flavor bombs that are also surprisingly easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.
Salt cod is cod that's been dried out and preserved in salt. It has a strong flavor profile that's a bit reminiscent of anchovies in oil or canned sardines which makes it an absolute flavor bomb in recipes.
Salt cod or saltfish has a long and storied history in world commerce. There's a lot of information about the role of salt cod in the literal biography codfish called Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World that I have on my nightstand now.
Salt cod was considered so important in Portugal for example that the Portuguese word for cod, bacalhau, refers to salt cod whereas fresh cod is qualified as bacalhau fresco.
From a food perspective this means that are a lot of great cooking methods for salt cod. Culinary traditions have evolved around it in seafaring places like Newfoundland, Norway, Italy, Portugal and various countries in the Caribbean.
Cod croquettes are a typical snack you'll find all over Portugal. These cod croquettes aren't a traditional Portuguese rendition but a riff on the concept.
Not only are salt cod croquettes crunchy, moist and flavorful - but they're really easy to make.
Quick Summary
- Desalt the cod, boil the potatoes and then mix all the ingredients together.
- Shape the mixture into croquettes.
- Fry at 150 C / 300 F for 3 minutes per side.
- Reheat in oven at 200 C / 400 F for 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- Salt cod (boneless skinless): This is the star of the show in this recipe. Salt cod is cod that's been dried out and preserved in salt. It needs a bit of preparation to make it edible again, but it brings a ton of flavor that you can't really get by substituting fresh cod. You should be able to find it in specialty Caribbean, Italian and Portuguese grocers or order it online.
- Potatoes: Potatoes add the bulk of the croquettes and also make them moist and creamy.
- White wheat flour: Wheat flour helps to bind the other ingredients so they don't fall apart while frying.
- Egg: Egg is also a binder and adds a moist and custardy element to the texture.
- Garlic cloves: Garlic goes really well with salt cod.
- Dried thyme: Dried thyme adds an herbaceous note.
- Smoked paprika: Smoked paprika brings in smoky and deep flavor notes.
- White pepper: White pepper is a peppery, musty flavor that adds deeper notes to the croquette.
- Fresh chives: Fresh chives in the croquette dough add a fresh herb element to lighten things up.
- Oil for frying: A neutral frying oil like sunflower, canola or peanut is best.
- Salt (maybe): Whether you add salt depends on how much salt you draw out of the salt cod. I recommend mixing up the croquette dough (except the egg) and tasting it to decide if it needs more salt (the cod is cured and not raw anymore).
Equipment
Non-stick skillet: These croquettes are shallow fried so a non-stick skillet is very helpful to ensure they don't stick.
Wire rack: A wire rack is helpful for draining the croquettes after frying.
Instant read food thermometer: An instant read food thermometer helps to determine if the oil is at the right temperature so you neither end up with too much oil being absorbed due to the temperature being too low, nor burning due to it being too hot. This is optional but helpful.
Instructions
Desalt the salt cod
Salt cod has to be prepared before using it or it's way too salty to be consumed.
Traditional Method: Soak 12 - 24 hours
The traditional method is to soak the salt cod for 12-24 hours, changing the water at least 3 times. Some sources recommend once per hour which...who has time for that?
If you have the forethought to plan this out then simply soaking is the more hands-off method. Or you can do the quick method - bit more hands-on but much faster.
Quick Method: Boil and drain 3 times
To quickly desalinate salt cod, rinse off the excess salt and then put it in a pot with lots of water. Bring to boil. Once boiling drain the water off. Repeat for a total of 3 times and the salt cod should be sufficiently desalted (i.e. not so salty you can't eat it).
Make and shape the croquette dough
Besides salt cod, the main ingredient in the croquette dough is potato.
The potato just needs to be boiled. Peeling the potato will make a smoother and finer croquette dough.
To speed up the cooking process, slice the potato into thin medallions then boil until fork tender.
Once the potato is cooked, it's just a matter of dicing the chives, mashing the garlic, and mixing it all together into a smooth dough.
If you find the dough is sticky, rinse your hands and start over. It sticks more to itself than your hands. It also helps if your hands are slightly damp.
Once the croquette dough is mixed, use your hands to shape it into approximately 18 oval shapes. Set them aside in a plate while you heat the oil
When you're ready to fry, heat up vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet or deep sauce pan to approximately 150 C / 300 F.
Fry the croquettes for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack to drain while you finish frying the rest.
Making ahead
To make the croquettes ahead of time you can:
- Make the dough, refrigerate it and shape when ready to fry;
- Make and shape the dough. Lay out the croquettes in an airtight container, ideally not touching one another and separated by parchment paper. They can stay in the fridge for a day or so;
- If you need longer than a day then you can make and shape the croquettes and freeze them. Again lay them out so they aren't touching and separate them with parchment paper. Allow them to come to room temperature before frying.
Reheating
The croquettes are best served hot. You can make them and then reheat when ready to serve. Reheat the croquettes in the oven at 200 C / 400 F for 10-12 minutes.
Serving Suggestion
Like many fried salty snacks, salt cod croquettes go really well with a nice cooling sauce.
Tartar sauce is a great option or you can spice things up like I did with roasted red pepper remoulade - it's really simple to make.
Related
Looking for more recipe inspiration? Maybe you'll like one of these:
Recipe
Salt Cod Croquettes
Ingredients
- 350 grams salt cod desalinated - see recipe post for details
- 350 grams potatoes approx. 3 large potatoes, 5 medium potatoes or 1.5 cups leftover mashed potatoes
- 5 tablespoons white wheat flour
- 1 egg
- 4 cloves garlic minced or mashed
- 1.5 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1.5 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 0.5 teaspoon salt or to taste - see recipe notes.
- 0.5 teaspoon white pepper
- 0.25 cup fresh chives diced
- 2 cups vegetable oil approximately, for shallow frying
Equipment
- non-stick skillet
- wire rack for draining
Instructions
Desalt the salt cod
- Option 1: Long soak: Rinse off excess salt and then soak for 12-24 hours in room temperature water. Replace water at least 3 times.
- Option 2: Quick method: Rinse off excess salt and then bring the cod to boil in a pot of fresh water. As soon as it starts boiling, drain off the water and repeat. Do it a total of 3 times then taste the cod to see if it's sufficiently desalted. If not repeat once more.
Make and shape the croquettes
- Peel the potatoes then slice them into thin medallions (this helps them cook faster). Put them in a pot with water and boil until fork tender (10 minutes) then drain them and mash - they don't have to be mashed very smooth.
- Dice the chives and mash the garlic.
- Crumble the cod into a large bowl (the cod should be soft enough to just fall apart).
- Add all the other ingredients to the bowl and mix it well until the mixture is homogenous. It helps to use your hands.
- Shape the dough into approximately 18 oval shapes. Set aside until ready to fry.
Fry the croquettes
- Heat the oil to 150 C / 300 F.
- Shallow fry each croquette for about 3 minutes per side or until golden.
- Put fried croquettes on a wire rack to drain.
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