Real Chics, Real Food: Bacalaitos/ Cod Fritters

Cod Fritters are one of my absolute favorite appetizers when I go out and when I came across this recipe I was all too excited to try it out. I added in the 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Salted Codfish (Bacalao)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. GOYA Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning with Pepper
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• GOYA Vegetable Oil for frying
• 1/4 c chopped red pepper
• chopped chives to taste

Remove bacalao from package and place in a large pot with enough water to cover the salted fish and bring to a boil 2 - 3 times to remove the salt. Make sure you break up the fish after the first boil to ensure that the salt is removed from the inside as well. After the 2nd boil cycle, also taste the fish to see if it has reached your desired "salt level". The recipe does not call for much seasoning so some salt should be left in the fish. Drain and cool the fish.

Remove any leftover skin and bones. Shred the fish. In bowl, make a batter by whisking together the flour, baking powder, Adobo ,garlic, chives, red pepper, shredded fish and water. Now, with the water be careful to make sure that the batter is not too "lose". The original recipe from Goya called for a full 2 cups, but I feel that it worked best with 1 - 1 1/2cups water. 

In a skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil on medium heat. Drop the batter by spoonful into hot oil and cook until golden brown. A secret to dropping the batter into the hot oil and having nicely shaped balls is to dip the spoon in water before scooping up the batter. I did this each time I scooped up some batter and it helped a bunch to not be scooping batter with a gunked up spoon. 

Drain on plate covered in a paper towel and enjoy!