O Bacalhau -10 Recipes With Cod – Portuguese Cuisine

Portugal uses mainly dried and salted cod. The Portuguese are believed to have been the first to discover that drying and salting the cod helped preserve it for their long voyages at the time of the Discoveries. Cod gradually became part of the staple diet of the Portuguese and is now one of the principal gastronomic traditions. It is nutritional and a source of proteins, calcium, iron, essential minerals and complex B vitamins.

Tips for desalting: soak the fish/fish pieces in cold water skin side up. For flaked cod – 6 h / Normal fillets – 24 h / Thick fillets – 40 h / Very thick fillets – 48 h / Very thick cod loins – 72 h (change the water several times).