Proteins

Salt Cod

Cod preserved by salting and drying; soaked then used in fritters, stews and brandade.

Salt cod is cod fillet cured in salt and dried for long preservation, a cornerstone of Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and Caribbean cooking. It must be soaked in several changes of water to rehydrate and desalt before use in dishes like bacalhau à brás, baccalà mantecato and brandade. Salting gives it a firm, distinctive flavor unlike fresh cod.

Salt cod is whole cod — almost always Atlantic, sometimes Pacific — that has been gutted, heavily salted, and dried on outdoor racks until it hardens into stiff, board-like planks. From the late Middle Ages onward it was the only reliable way to move fish from cold northern waters into warm southern markets, and it built the fortunes of Basque, Portuguese, Norwegian, and Newfoundland fishing towns. Today it survives not as a necessity but as a delicacy prized for what drying does to the flesh: the proteins tighten, the fibers firm, and the flavor concentrates into something clean, briny, and unmistakably marine — a flavor profile that has no real parallel in fresh fish.

In the kitchen, salt cod is a two-stage ingredient. First it must be soaked — usually 24 to 48 hours with several water changes — to leach out the curing salt and let the flesh rehydrate. Done properly, the fish plumps back to a milky-white, flaky texture with a whisper of the sea; done carelessly, it is either punishingly salty or oddly flat. Once desalted, it cooks quickly and rewards gentle heat: a brief poach, a slow braise, or a quick fry. It turns rubbery the moment it is overcooked, which is the single most common error a cook makes with it.

A few distinctions pay off before you begin. The Portuguese grade the whole fish by thickness and cure; Norwegians press the salted fish flat on rocks (klippfisk) for a denser, milder loin; Icelanders produce a lighter, more delicate cure. None of this matters, however, if the piece you buy is yellowed, ammoniated, or ancient. Treat soaking as a ritual, not a chore, and salt cod will deliver one of the most distinctive proteins in any cuisine.

Measured in: g
Storage: Pantry

Allergens

Fish

Types & varieties

Bacalhau Cura Especial / Loraine (Portugal)

Premium whole salted cod with thick, white loins and a long cure; sold by grade (Extra, Primeira, Segunda) and considered the connoisseur's choice

Klippfisk (Norway)

Salt-cured then pressed and dried on flat rocks; dense, very white, and mild — the classic for brandade

Icelandic Saltfiskur

Lightly salted, often sold in flat fillets; cleaner salt profile and more delicate flavor

Newfoundland Salt Cod

Heavy-salted and sun-dried on wooden flakes; often pollock-based for the cheaper "light cure"; stronger, more pungent flavor

Boneless / Skinless Salt Cod

Pre-prepared retail product; convenient but more expensive and slightly drier in texture

Baccalà di Norvegia (Italian term)

In Italy, this almost always means salt cod from Norway; fresh cod is stoccafisso or merluzzo, depending on region

Stoccafisso / Stockfish (NOT salt cod)

Air-dried without salt; soaked the same way but carries no built-in salinity and has a chewier texture

Buying and Grading

Salt cod is sold whole, in thick center-cut loins, in thin tail pieces, or boneless and skinned. Thicker pieces are the easiest to soak evenly and flake cleanly, so center-cut loins are worth the premium for most home cooking. In Portuguese markets, bacalhau is graded Extra (thickest, whitest, best), Primeira, and Segunda; the top grade commands a serious price and is what restaurants use for dishes where the fish itself is the star, like bacalhau à Brás or baccalà alla vicentina.

Look for creamy white to pale ivory flesh; yellow or amber means oxidation and should be avoided
The surface should smell like a clean ocean breeze, never ammoniated or sour
Whole fish and loins rehydrate better than thin tail pieces, which can turn mushy
Pre-skinned, boneless salt cod is a convenience product — fine in a pinch, but slightly drier and pricier per pound of usable flesh

Soaking and Desalting

Soaking is the entire game with salt cod. Skip it or rush it and the dish is ruined. The standard method is cold water in a non-reactive container, skin-side up so the denser back flesh sits down where the water can work on it, with the water changed 3 to 4 times over 24 to 48 hours. Thicker loins need the full two days; thinner tail pieces may be ready in 18 to 24 hours. Refrigerate the soak in warm weather to keep the fish safe and to slow any off-flavor development.

Always test a pinch of the thickest part before cooking — it should taste like the sea, not like a salt lick
Pull the bones out after soaking, not before; they release cleanly from rehydrated flesh
Skin peels away easily once the fish is fully soaked — just grip a corner and pull
Reserve a bowl of cold milk for a final 30-minute soak when making brandade or mantecato; the milk softens the saline edge and rounds the flavor
Drain the soaked fish very well and squeeze gently in a clean towel before making fritters — excess water makes the batter weep

Salt Cod vs. Stockfish

These two preserved cods are often confused, even in markets, and recipes written for one will not work with the other. Salt cod (bacalhau, baccalà) is cured with heavy salt before drying, so it arrives with substantial built-in salinity that must be soaked out. Stockfish (stoccafisso) is unsalted — cod dried on outdoor racks in cold air — so it has no salt to lose and none to add. Stockfish is chewier, more fibrous, and slightly sweeter; in Italian cuisine, the famous baccalà alla vicentina from Vicenza is actually made with stoccafisso, not salt cod, despite its name.

If a recipe calls for baccalà and you can only find stoccafisso, you must add salt to the cooking liquid and adjust to taste
Stockfish soaking is identical in method but takes considerably longer — typically 3 to 5 days, sometimes more — and benefits from a final soak in milk-laced water
Venetian baccalà mantecato is the regional exception: it is made with stockfish and treated like a brandade. Otherwise, the two are not freely interchangeable, and the salt differential will throw off a dish built for the other

Common uses

Brandade and brandade-style purées with olive oil, garlic, and potatoesPortuguese pastéis de bacalhau (salt cod fritters) and bolinhosBacalhau à Brás — shredded salt cod tossed with eggs, onions, and shoestring potatoesItalian baccalà mantecato (whipped with olive oil) and baccalà alla vicentina (with polenta)Caribbean ackee and saltfish, the national dish of JamaicaSpanish bacalao a la vizcaína in a Biscay-style red pepper sauce, plus buñuelos de bacalaoProvençal brandade de morue, often baked with potato and creamGreek bakalaros, typically served with skordalia garlic sauce during LentHearty stews with white beans, tomatoes, and potatoes in French and Portuguese traditionsSalt cod chowders in Portuguese and Newfoundland styles

Tips & pitfalls

Soak skin-side up so the denser back flesh sits down and desalinates evenly
Change the water 3 to 4 times during soaking and refrigerate it in warm weather to prevent off-flavors
Test a pinch of the thickest part before cooking — properly desalted, it should taste like the sea, not a salt lick
Pull bones out after soaking, not before; they release more easily from rehydrated flesh
Never boil vigorously — salt cod turns rubbery if overcooked; gentle simmer or low heat is essential
Drain and towel-dry the soaked fish thoroughly before making fritters, or the batter will weep
Add a splash of milk to the poaching liquid for brandade — it softens the saline edge and gives a rounder flavor
Buy by grade and thickness: thick center-cut loins are the easiest to soak evenly and flake cleanly
Old salt cod turns yellow and may smell ammoniated — if it smells off, toss it
Open the package over the sink and pat the fish with a cloth; it can splash brine when you unwrap it

Nutrition

290kcal

Energy

1213 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 92%Carbs 0%Fat 8%

Protein

62.8g

126% DV

Carbs

0% DV

Fat

2.4g

3% DV

Fiber

0% DV

Sugars

of which

Sodium

7027mg

306% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin B12417% DV

Selenium269% DV

Phosphorus76% DV

Vitamin B651% DV

Niacin (B3)47% DV

Magnesium32% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · approx. Fish, cod, Atlantic, dried and salted

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In the shops

Matched grocery products

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Good to know

Also known as: Bacalhau (Portuguese), baccalà (Italian), morue (French), klippfisk (Norwegian)
Source fish: Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and historically Pacific cod; pollock and ling are common cheaper versions
Salt content (dry): Roughly 18–25% salt by weight
Traditional catch season: Late winter to early spring (February–April) for premium skrei / winter cod
Soaking time: 24–48 hours with 3–4 water changes; thick center-cut loins may need up to 72 hours
Rehydration yield: About 1 lb (450 g) dried yields roughly 1.5–2 lb (700–900 g) once soaked and skinned
Color when good: Creamy white to pale ivory; yellow or amber indicates oxidation or poor quality
Storage (dry): Cool, dry, dark place, wrapped in cloth; keeps 1–2 years
Caloric value: Roughly 290 kcal per 100 g dried; drops to about 90 kcal per 100 g after soaking
Cultural note: Portuguese tradition claims 365 preparations of bacalhau, one for every day of the year
Production centers: Lofoten Islands (Norway), Iceland, Newfoundland, Portugal, Spain, Italy

Substitutes

Salt pollock — The most common and affordable substitute; soak the same way; milder flavor and softer texture
Salt ling — Traditional in Basque cooking; firmer flakes and a slightly sweeter flavor than cod
Salt haddock — Works in stews and chowders; has a stronger, more bacon-like cured flavor
Stockfish (stoccafisso) — No salt, so you must add salt to the recipe; chewier and more fibrous than salt cod
Smoked haddock / finnan haddie — Use only in creamy or potato-based dishes where smoke is welcome; much saltier than salt cod
Fresh cod with added salt — Emergency stand-in only; lacks the dense, flaky texture that defines true salt-cod preparations