The dish to eat in Bilbao · Spain

Bacalao al pil-pil

Name: Bacalao al pil-pil
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Spain
Ingredients: 4 thick pieces salt cod loin with skin (about 6 oz / 170 g each); 1 cup (240 ml) mild extra-virgin olive oil (arbequina is ideal); 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1 or 2 small dried red chilies (guindilla or cayenne), cut into rings; Crusty bread, to serve

Photo: Jun, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source

Salt cod cooked gently in olive oil with garlic and chili, the oil swirled until the fish's gelatin turns it into a pale golden sauce.

Bilbao grew rich on salt cod, and its signature is a kind of kitchen magic: just oil, garlic and cod, swirled in a clay dish until the sauce emulsifies by itself.

Where to eat it Cook it at home

Where to eat it: the best three in Bilbao

Víctor
Plaza Nueva, Casco Viejo
Order: Bacalao al pil-pil in the upstairs dining room
A family restaurant on the old town square, devoted to classic Basque cooking.
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Río-Oja
Calle Perro, Casco Viejo
Order: Bacalao al pil-pil and the stews in clay dishes
An old-town tavern serving traditional cazuelitas since 1959.
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Gure Toki
Plaza Nueva, Casco Viejo
Order: The bacalao pintxo
An award-winning pintxo bar across the square, for a bite-size version.
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All three are on Chef Amazing’s list The best bacalao al pil-pil in Bilbao, which you can save and take with you.

Cook it at home: Bacalao al pil-pil

Serves 4Time 45 min, plus 2 days desalting

Everything depends on gelatin from the cod skin and patience. Cook the fish gently in warm (not hot) oil, then swirl the dish, or whisk the oil with a sieve, until it becomes a thick golden sauce.

Pans and tools

Large bowl for soaking
Clay cazuela or wide heavy pan
Small sieve (colador), for whisking

You’ll need

4 thick pieces salt cod loin with skin (about 6 oz / 170 g each)
1 cup (240 ml) mild extra-virgin olive oil (arbequina is ideal)
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 or 2 small dried red chilies (guindilla or cayenne), cut into rings
Crusty bread, to serve

Steps

Desalt the cod: soak it skin up in a large bowl of cold water in the fridge for 36 to 48 hours, changing the water every 8 hours. Taste a flake: it should be pleasantly seasoned, not salty. Pat very dry.
In a clay cazuela or a wide heavy pan just big enough for the fish, warm the oil over low heat. Add the garlic and fry gently until golden, about 4 minutes. Lift out the garlic, add the chili for 10 seconds, lift it out too, and set them aside.
Take the pan off the heat and let the oil cool 5 minutes to about 160F (70C); it should be warm, not hot.
Lay the cod in the oil skin side up. Put it back on very low heat and cook 4 minutes, until the fish starts releasing white droplets of gelatin into the oil. Turn the pieces skin side down and cook 4 minutes more. Never let it fry.
Take the pan off the heat. Lift the fish onto a plate. Now make the sauce: swirl the pan in small circles continuously, or whisk the oil in circles with a small sieve, for 5 to 10 minutes. The oil and gelatin will turn cloudy, then thick, pale and creamy, like a loose mayonnaise.
If it won't thicken, put the fish back and keep swirling; the skin keeps releasing gelatin. Add any juices from the plate.
Return the fish skin side up, spoon the pil-pil over it, scatter with the fried garlic and chili, and serve in the cazuela with bread.

Chef’s tips

Use thick loin pieces with skin; thin pieces don't release enough gelatin.

If the oil is too hot, the cod fries and the sauce never comes together. Low and slow.

Basque groceries sell ready-desalted cod (bacalao desalado), which saves two days.

Contains: Fish.

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