Looking for an authentic bacalhau à Brás recipe? This one comes straight from the best Portuguese cook I know. Try it to see why this is the ultimate Portuguese comfort food!
If you love cod, make sure to try these recipes for Spanish salt cod croquettes and pan fried cod.
Introduction
Dishes that are hearty, hot, and best served family style are the perfect comfort food! Portuguese Bacalhau à Brás is the quintessential example of comfort food made with simple ingredients and full of flavor.
This recipe comes from the kitchen of 33 Hostel in Ferrel, Portugal, where my friend Melissa had the pleasure of working in the summer of 2019. Maura Rolo is the master chef behind it, and she shared the secrets of her tried-and-true bacalhau à Brás recipe. Make it yourself to see what real Portuguese home cooking is meant to taste like!
Ingredients
Want to taste homemade bacalhau à Brás for yourself? Grab these ingredients, and you'll be ready to start! Let's talk about the key ingredients that you'll need.
- Salt Cod (Bacalhou): Bacalhau is the Portuguese word for salt cod, which has been a staple of the country's cuisine for decades. Although it's not produced locally, it's one of the most iconic foods throughout Portugal, and features heavily in traditional dishes.
- Potato Sticks: These finely cut potatoes add a delicious crunch and flavor to this dish. In the US, use fried hash browns or shoestring potatoes.
- Eggs: This is the binding agent that holds all the flavorful ingredients together. Use large, preferably free-range eggs if you can get them.
- Black Olives: A few black olives add an irresistible flavor and color contrast to the bacalhau à Brás.
- Parsley: I love adding a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley to the finished dish for a burst of color. Otherwise, it's quite plain looking!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Bacalhau à Brás
If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.
- Soak the salt cod for 24-48 hours in a bowl of water in the fridge. This hydrates the fish and removes a lot of the excess salt. (image 1)
- Remove the skin and bones and shred the fish into smaller pieces. (image 2)
- Simmer the fish in boiling water until it's cooked through, then drain it and set aside. (image 3)
- Heat some olive oil in a large skillet, then add the onion and sauté until it's cooked through. (image 4)
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the cod and cook until it absorbs the oil. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the potato sticks. (image 5)
- Lightly beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the cod and potato mixture, stirring in between each addition. (image 6)
- Remove the pan from the heat before the egg solidifies; it should be slightly runny and moist, but not raw. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (image 7)
- Transfer to a large serving dish and garnish with the black olives and parsley. Enjoy right away! (image 8)
Recipe FAQs
The key ingredient is shredded salt cod that has been rehydrated (which is the bacalhou). Besides the fish, it's a simple combination of eggs, olives, onion, garlic, and crispy potato sticks.
These seemingly random ingredients come together to form a perfectly salty, soft, spoonable mixture that's surprisingly delicious. It's hard to stop once you've started, but be careful—this is no light lunch!
To make bacalhou à Brás, you need boil the cod after it's been hydrated in cold water for 24-48 hours and shredded it into small pieces. You'll simmer it in boiling water until it's cooked through before adding it to the other ingredients.
While the Portuguese have hundreds of ways to prepare bacalhau (salt cod), one of the most famous—and among my personal favorites—is bacalhau à Brás. It's a rich, creamy concoction of fish, egg, and potatoes that I think of as the Portuguese version of mac and cheese.
This has less to do with its ingredients and more to do with the feeling it inspires; eating it feels like receiving a warm hug. It's the kind of thing I would expect my mom to make for me (if she were Portuguese).
Serve
Bacalhau à Brás tastes best when served hot and fresh. It's also a hearty dish that stands alone, but if you want to round out the meal with other recipes, I'd recommend serving it with a light mixed salad or a slice of crusty bread.
Expert Tips
- If you can't find potato sticks, you can make your own by chopping potatoes into thin matchsticks (like hash browns or shoestring potatoes) and frying them until crispy.
- You can also add extra ingredients. Maura likes to add shredded carrot and leeks to the onion and garlic mixture, and chopped prawns along with the cod.
- One of the keys to good bacalhou à Brás is making sure that the egg cooks until it's just set; you don't want it to be raw or overcooked.
Best Bacalhau à Brás
Ingredients
- 18 ounces dried salt cod
- olive oil for sautéing
- 1 large onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 14 ounces potato sticks or hash browns fried until crispy
- 8 large eggs
- 7 ounces black olives
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped fresh parsley to taste
Instructions
- Cut the salt cod into large chunks and place in a glass bowl of water, then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate and soak for 24-48 hours. (The longer it soaks, the less salty it will be.)
- Once it's done soaking, shred the rehydrated cod into small pieces with your hands.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the cod, lower the heat, and simmer until it's cooked through.
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Chop the onion and garlic finely and add to the pan and cook until golden. Add the cod and cook until it absorbs the oil.
- Turn the heat down to low, then add the potato sticks and stir to combine. Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl, then add the eggs to the pan gradually, stirring as you go.
- Continue stirring as the egg cooks, and remove the pan from the heat before the egg solidifies completely. It should be slightly runny but not totally raw.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. The cod and potato sticks already have a lot of salt, so you won't need to add a lot.
- Transfer to a clay or ceramic dish, garnish with olives and parsley, and serve right away.
Notes
- If you can't find potato sticks, you can make your own by chopping potatoes into thin matchsticks (like hash browns or shoestring potatoes) and frying them until crispy.
- You can also add extra ingredients. Maura likes to add shredded carrot and leeks to the onion and garlic mixture, and chopped prawns along with the cod.
Nutrition
Photography by Giulia Verdinelli
Veva
Being a Portuguese native living abroad I greatly enjoyed this authentic Bacalhau a Bras it was truly amazing and not difficult to prepare. Love it