A bacalaíto is a salted
codfish fritter
A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, or other ingredients which have been Batter (cooking), battered or breading, breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-frying, deep-fried. Fritters ar ...
, a traditional
Puerto Rican snack that typically is eaten with an entire meal.
Bacalaítos are served at the beach, ''
cuchifritos'', and at festivals. They are crispy on the outside and dense and chewy in the inside.
Description
In
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, ''bacalaítos'' are served all over the island with many different versions. The salted cod is soaked in water overnight to remove most of the salt, or is boiled, usually three times. The cod is then drained and shredded into a large bowl with
all-purpose flour,
baking powder, ''
sazón'' (spice mix), ''
sofrito'', and ''
orégano brujo'' as the most common batter mix. The cod is then worked into the batter with water or milk, then
deep-fried; when done, the ''bacalaito'' should resemble a
pancake
A pancake, also known as a hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat type of batter bread like cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based Batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a ...
.
References
Puerto Rican cuisine
Latin American cuisine
{{PuertoRico-culture-stub