Doña Felipa’s Bacalaitos: Puerto Rican Cod Fritters

Bacalaitos or cod fritters will be made whenever my querida and former Chicago neighbor Doña Felipa Saez is having family over to her house. They taste like Puerto Rico itself, she says: Salty, savory, crispy y bien hot. Doña Felipa starts with dried, boneless, salted cod that has been gently boiled in water to cover to lose the saltiness and puff up. She then adds diced onion, cilantro and the sabor of sazón, and you’ve got Puerto Rico’s favorite appetizer and beach snack. Bacalaitos are also a favorite during the no-meat Fridays of Lent, she says.

“I use sazon para que quede bonito,” says Doña Felipa, one of Familia Kitchen’s favorite Puerto Rican abuela cocineras. She uses the orangey-red packets of spices and seasoning salt called sazon so that the food looks colorful and pretty. Sazon comes in prepackaged little envelopes sold in grocery stores, but cooks seeking to skip the MSG from the big-name brands can make their own with a combo of ground spices including: coriander, cumin, annatto seeds (same thing as achiote) turmeric, dried oregano, plus onion and/or garlic powder. 

You can also add sofrito — the traditional garlic, cilantro and peppers foundation of so many Puerto Rican dishes — to the batter. Doña Felipa’s sofrito is one of our most popular, go-to recipes, although she doesn’t use it in her own bacalaitos, she says, preferring to keep the recipe essential and simple to let the cod flavor shine.

Back in Puerto Rico, where Felipa grew up, a truly great day at a Boricua playa (especially famous Luquillo beach, to the east of San Juan) means pulling over on the way there or home to buy hot, fried, finger-burning frituras like bacalaitos and alcapurrias from your pick of dozens of roadside friquitines or food stands. 

No beach for us today. We’re in Doña Felipa’s kitchen on a cold Sunday in Chicago, where she’s lived for 40-plus years. She chops and stirs, preparing to plop-plop-plop spoonfuls of the bacalao flour mix into the pan. Doña Felipa ladles two batches of six fritters each into the hot oil and watches with satisfaction as bubbles form at the edges of each patty.

She nods her head: “Ya huele.” Yes, the  aroma is starting to fill the room. So good. “El aceite tiene que estar bien calientito,” she advises. Make sure the oil is very hot, or the bacalaitos won’t crisp up the way she likes them: burnished-gold on the outside, chewy-crunchy melty on the inside.

”Están perfectas,“ says Doña Felipa. “La fiesta can begin.” They are perfect. Let the party begin!

Ready to make Doña Felipa’s family-famous bacalaitos?

Dona Felipa’s Bacalaitos—Puerto Rican Cod Fritters

Recipe by Felipa Saez

4.0 from 15 votes

Cuisine: Puerto Rican

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs bacalao (salted, boneless, dried cod—sold in most Latino markets, loose or packaged)

• 1 onion, small, chopped

• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

• 2 cups flour

• 2 Tbsp baking powder

• 1/2 packet sazón seasoning

• 3 cups water, room temperature

• 2 to 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying the bacalaitos

Directions

• To de-salt the bacalao, gently boil the fish in water to cover for 15 minutes. Change the water once or twice more and simmer for another 15 minutes. If you have time, soak the fish overnight in water the night before for even better, less salty results.
• Drain the fish well. Chop the bacalao into bite-size chunks.
• Add the diced onion and cilantro. Mix well.
• Fold in the flour, water and sazon and mix together well, until fully blended. The batter will now turn a glorious orangey-pink color.
• Pour oil into a wide, low frying pan, so that the oil is several inches deep, over medium-high heat.
• When the oil is nice and frying hot (about 350°), use a large kitchen spoon to take a scoop of the bacalaito flour mix and slide it into the frying oil. Repeat until you fill the pan, being careful not to overcrowd the fritters in the oil.
• Fry the first side 2 to 3 minutes, until it turns golden brown. Flip and brown the second side.
• When done, scoop out each bacalaito with a slotted spoon and place on a plate covered with paper towels to absorb the extra oil.
• Serve hot. Put out a plate of bacalaitos and watch them disappear!

Notes

• Because boneless, salted, dried bacalao is SO salty, it’s ideal to let the dried cod sit in a bowl of water to cover in your refrigerator overnight before cooking it. Change the water again the morning before you start simmering the fish.
• Abuela cooking tip: Don’t use olive oil, which has a lower smoke point than vegetable oil and is not good for frying.