Bacalao al Pil-Pil

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Nonreactive container large enough to hold the cod under 3 litres of water
• •Wide stovetop-safe cazuela or heavy frying pan, 26 to 28cm
• •Instant-read kitchen thermometer
• •Heatproof measuring jug
• •Fish spatula
• •Fine-mesh strainer for rescuing the emulsion, if needed

Instructions

1. 1

   Desalt the cod

   Put the salt cod skin-side up in a nonreactive container and cover it by at least 5cm with about 3 litres of cold water. Refrigerate for 48 hours, changing the water every 8 hours for 6 fills in all. Keep it cold throughout. After 40 hours, cut a tiny shaving from the thickest piece, poach it for 30 seconds, and taste it. It should be properly seasoned but not sharply salty. Give it the final 8 hours if it still bites.

   Pieces thinner than 2.5cm may need only 36 hours. Thick center-cut loins usually need the full 48. Test a cooked shaving, never the raw fish.
2. 2

   Dry it completely

   Drain the cod, pull out any pin bones with tweezers, and pat every surface thoroughly dry. Set the pieces uncovered in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, then leave them at room temperature for 10 minutes while you prepare the oil. Water clinging to the fish makes the oil spit and weakens the emulsion.

3. 3

   Scent the oil

   Put the olive oil and sliced garlic in a wide 26 to 28cm cazuela or heavy frying pan while both are cold. Warm them over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until the garlic is evenly pale gold. Lift it out before it turns brown. Add the guindilla rings for 20 seconds, then remove those as well and reserve both for serving.

   Dark garlic is bitter garlic. Take the slices out when they are one shade lighter than you want, because they continue cooking after they leave the oil.
4. 4

   Poach the cod gently

   Let the oil fall to about 80°C. Lay in the cod flesh-side down and cook for 4 minutes. Turn it carefully so the skin faces down, then cook for another 6 to 8 minutes. Hold the oil between 75 and 85°C, with only a faint movement around the fish and no hard frying. The cod is ready when white beads of gelatin gather near the skin, the flesh separates into moist flakes under light pressure, and the center reaches 63°C.

   Use a pan that holds the pieces closely in one layer. In a pan that is too wide, 400ml of oil spreads too thinly and the cod cooks unevenly.
5. 5

   Start the emulsion

   Lift the cod onto a warm plate without scraping away the gelatin, and collect any milky liquid it releases. Take the pan off the heat and let the oil cool to 55 to 60°C. Pour most of the clear oil into a heatproof jug, leaving about 60ml in the pan with all the sticky white gelatin. Add 1 tablespoon of the milky cod liquid. Move the pan in tight, steady circles until the liquid turns cloudy and begins to thicken.

6. 6

   Finish the pil-pil

   Keep circling the pan off the heat and add the reserved oil about 30ml at a time. Wait until each addition disappears into the sauce before adding the next. After 6 to 10 minutes it should be pale yellow, glossy, and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If oil gathers around the edge, stop adding and keep moving until it binds. If the pan drops below 50°C, set it over the lowest heat for 5 seconds, then take it off again.

   If the sauce splits, let it cool below 60°C. Put 1 tablespoon of cool water or reserved cod liquid in a clean pan, move a fine-mesh strainer briskly through it, and add the split sauce a spoonful at a time until it comes back together. Nadie nace sabiendo.
7. 7

   Warm and serve

   Return the cod to the sauce skin-side up. Set the pan over the lowest heat for 1 to 2 minutes, rocking it gently and spooning pil-pil over the fish. Do not let the sauce boil or it may separate and the cod will toughen. Finish with the reserved golden garlic and guindilla. Serve immediately from the cazuela, with bread for the sauce. Taste before even considering salt; bacalao normally brings enough of its own.

Chef Tips

• •Buy thick center-cut salt cod with the skin attached. The skin is not decoration; its collagen becomes the gelatin that holds the sauce. Boneless, skinless pieces may taste good, but they make pil-pil unnecessarily difficult.
• •Salt cod may also be labelled bacalhau, baccalà, or morue salée. Refrigerated bacalao desalado, pre-desalted cod, is a proper convenience if the fish is firm and smells clean. Use 1kg and begin with the drying step.
• •If salt cod truly cannot be found, rub 800g thick, skin-on fresh cod with 16g fine sea salt and refrigerate it for 8 hours. Rinse, dry well, and use only 300ml oil. The fish will be milder and release less gelatin, so the sauce will not have quite the same body or cured depth.
• •Temperature decides the emulsion. Above about 65°C the oil and gelatin fight each other; around 55 to 60°C they bind willingly. A small thermometer costs less than ruined cod.
• •A stovetop-safe earthenware cazuela holds gentle heat and makes the circular movement easy. On induction, use a heavy stainless-steel frying pan. The cod does not know what your pan is made of.
• •Serve with crusty bread and a dry, lightly sharp txakoli from the Basque Country. The wine's acidity cuts through the oil without bullying the cod.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat them within 1 day. Reheat over the lowest heat while rocking the pan. Never microwave the sauce unless you have decided you no longer want an emulsion.

Advance Preparation

• •Begin desalting dry salt cod 48 hours before cooking, changing the refrigerated water every 8 hours. If using refrigerated pre-desalted cod, the recipe takes about 50 minutes from start to table.
• •The cod can be drained, deboned, and dried up to 6 hours ahead. Keep it uncovered on a tray in the refrigerator, then let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before cooking.
• •Cook and emulsify the dish close to serving. Pil-pil is at its best when freshly bound; holding it over heat invites the sauce to split and the fish to toughen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 325g)