Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Yummy Deep Fried Goodness

I went to a Portuguese soccer club for a benefit last month, and was looking forward to these yummy little deep fried codfish fritters they make. There were none, so a month and a Portuguese cookbook later, I made my own. They are really good.

1 Pound of cod fish
1 Pound of boiled potato - drained well
3 Eggs
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 Cup Parsley

Get out the food processor. Pulse the cod fish. Smash the potatoes and add them and give them a couple quick pulses. Beat the eggs and fold in with the parsley and salt & pepper. Stick in the freezer and get really cold. Heat an inch of oil in a high sided pan because it will foam up when the batter hits. I went to 350 degrees on a candy thermometer. Take the batter and 2 teaspoons and shape each fritter like a little football and drop it into the oil. Fry up golden brown - they will be light and fluffy inside still. I served them with tartar sauce made with mayo, chopped capers and pickle relish. I also gave lemon wedges as an option and everyone, including me loved them. Try this out if you get a chance. It's good.

They do sound good. I have an Indian cookbook with some fish cakes in it. They, too, are delicious!

M

What? No onion?

I like to cook fritters and the like at 360F. The cold fritters will drag the temp down quickly, and starting higher will prevent greasy fritters.

Of course, if the temp is too hot, then the darn little things over cook on the outside, and they might well still be raw inside.

I use a digital these days, and play with the 'volume' knob.

The recipe in my book had onions as optional, and the Portuguese dinner I go to serves them without onions. I don't put onion in clamcakes either. I reserve them for hush puppies. I made some with the left over dough today, and they're still really good. I got one comment from a Portuguese friend that I didn't use salt cod. He said they were good though, really light which he said was the challenge when making cod cakes. You really ought to try some.

Looks really good Rob. Another trick to not having your oil temp plunge is to use more oil than you need in a larger pot. The temp is more stable if you don't over load the pot.
I've used a very similar method for salmon patties with mustard and Tarragon. They came out very well.

I like about a half gallon of oil in my Creuset Dutch Oven, but oil's $12 a gallon. I actually tried frying patties to use less oil and it wasn't good at all. I am going to try again with a little chopped onion, because Mannlicher is probably right about that one. Shaws has their brand of Corn/Canola blend for $9 a gallon. That's the best I've seen so far, but just this Winter you could get Micasa corn oil for $4 a gallon.

For home use I'd venture a guess I use a good half gallon. I strain the oil and save it in a cool dark place and try to fry chicken or some thing else soon so I get more than one use from the oil.