bacalao/salt cod - buttermilk soak??


 

r benash

TVWBB Emerald Member
Hey folks - wondering if anyone here has any experience with salt cod to the extent of experimenting with a buttermilk soak. I know, have prepped, and eaten it a good bit. Even in Italy - where the preparations were excellent to the point of ecstatic :)

So I had some thoughts as I am trying to replicate a leek, cipolini, light fresca tomato sauce, caper, braise then flash grill presentation and wanting to soften up the bacalao
I have a little more than the simple salt extraction soak. I know that a braise will/should work some of that out but thinking that a dunk overnight in buttermilk will help loosen the protein up a bit more.

Anyone ever do a milk or butter milk prep?

Figured I'd ask - probably going to give it a go anyway. I have some salt cod that I soaked well then vac sealed and am playing with that.

I have traditional/family recipe but wanting to stretch things into different areas.

I love slat cod. I like finding the nice thick filets at the Italian specialty delis near me. I know there are grades for it but have not clue about that.

Anyway defrosted a pair of pre soaked filets pieces (thicker parts) overnight in the fridge. Going to soak them a little more today as the are still a bit saltier than I want.

Figure I will buttermilk them overnight and see what happens.
 
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Worked fine. Not that big a difference in the end though. It did seem a little more tender overall coming out of the buttermilk before the cook. Don't know that I'll bother next time. It had been soaked in water for a couple days previous. I soaked in buttermilk for 24 hours.
 
Yeah. While the idea is great (sounds fantastic) the end result is what matters. By the same token, next time I do salt cod... it will be in buttermilk!
 
In my case what matters more is the quality of the salt cod at the start.

I've made this a bunch of times over the years. I think this time I got some filets that were old or of low quality.

I usually check closer before I buy them.
 

 

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