Rehydrating and Desalting
Before consumption, salted fish products must be desalted. The length of the desalting process depends on the thickness of the fish and on how long it has been cured. It may take as long as 3 days for the thickest pieces. For the boneless skinless pieces or product typically only 1 day of desalting is necessary.
To achieve the best result we have provided these simple guidelines for the desalting process.
1. Take the precut portion of codfish and rinse excessive salt under the tap.
2. Place the fish in a large bowl of water covering the fish. The bowl of fish should be kept in cool conditions, during the whole process.
3. Change the water once a day.
4. Some of the thinner cuts of the fish are ready to be cooked
after 2 days. For the thickest cuts we recommend 3 days. After this process either cook or you may freeze for future use / ready to cook.
Before ending the desalting process you may break off a small piece and chew to get a sense of the salt level and decide to continue the process until the fish is to your salt preference.
EMERGENCY DESALT- If you find the fish is still too salty right before you are about to cook or serve it, you can do another par boil in milk which may accelerate the removal of the salt at the last minute and also tenderize it a bit (if you desire that).
Common Question about the appearance of the fish before this process –
Is dark or yellowish color bacalhau mean good, bad, old?
Most people do prefer the appearance of salted cod with a
lighter / whiter coloration. But for that to occur it means that
the codfish gets a lesser cure. Proper curing involves a heavy
salting process, plus good drying process. These two steps
give the fish a light yellow coloration and a unique flavor.
The images below show a loin that is not as light in color or attractive as some may want. However, you can see the progression as we soaked it – the color was restored to its natural state, the blemish disappeared and an elegant meal was made.
Wine
The history of Portuguese wine goes back some 4,000 years to the ancient Phoenicians, seafarers who established colonies across the Mediterranean and planted vines along the way. Yet the world is only now discovering the wines of Portugal, which have been through revolutionary change in just the past three decades. The best Portuguese wines are emerging in world markets as carefully crafted and delicious wines, typically at tremendous value for the quality.
Portugal was long ago a leader in exports, sending its wine throughout Europe as early as Renaissance times. Wine merchants created Portuguese Port Wine in the Douro Valley in the 1600s by adding brandy to table wine to keep it from spoiling on hot, bumpy trips around Europe. This Portuguese fortified wine became known and imitated all over the world, eventually overshadowing all other wines from Portugal.
