Italian National Dishes
Baccalà mantecato
Last updated: 2026-08-26
Recipe at a glance
Baccalà mantecato
Key recipe details from the source.
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Preparation
- 25 minutes
- Cooking
- 20 minutes
- Total
- 45 minutes
- Approx. energy
- 690 kcal per serving
Veneto / Venice
Baccalà mantecato
Venetian baccalà mantecato is made from soaked stockfish, not salt cod in the usual Italian sense. The warm fish and skin are beaten while oil is added gradually, producing a compact, creamy emulsion that is traditionally served with polenta.
01 · Overview
Overview
In Venetian usage, baccalà can mean dried stockfish. The Dogale confraternity formula poaches already-soaked fish with lemon and bay, then works flesh and skin together so their natural gelatin helps bind the oil.
The technique is closer to making an emulsion than to blending a fish pâté. Add the oil slowly, keep the mixture warm enough to move, and use a spoon or paddle rather than a sharp blade so the final texture is creamy but not completely smooth.
Oil is an allowance
The confraternity notes that the exact uptake depends on the fish; stop when the emulsion is compact and stable.
Keep some texture
A few small flakes are part of the character of the dish and help avoid a gluey puree.
02 · Ingredients
Ingredients
Fish
- 300 g
- soaked, deboned stockfish include the skin as in the confraternity method
- 60 g
- lemon about 1/2 medium lemon; for the poaching water
- 2 leaves
- bay leaves
- 2 g
- fine salt for lightly salting the poaching water; adjust final seasoning cautiously
- 1 g
- black pepper freshly ground
For whipping
- 225 ml
- sunflower oil
- 75 ml
- mild extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g
- flat-leaf parsley finely chopped; optional finish
03 · Directions
Directions
Poach the stockfish
20 minutesPoach gently
Put the soaked stockfish in a saucepan, cover with cold lightly salted water, add the lemon and bay leaves, bring just to the boil and cook gently for about 20 minutes.
The fish should be cooked through and separate easily without hard boiling.Drain and clean
Lift out the fish, reserve a little cooking liquid, remove any remaining bones and discard the lemon and bay. Keep the fish flesh and skin together.
Work while the fish is still warm, when it emulsifies most readily.
Whip the mantecato
10–15 minutesStart the emulsion
Beat the warm fish and skin vigorously with a wooden spoon or a paddle attachment, avoiding a sharp-bladed blender.
The fish should break down into a coarse cream while retaining a little texture.Add the oils slowly
Combine the sunflower and olive oils, then add them in a thin stream while beating continuously. If the mixture becomes too tight or glossy, beat in a teaspoon of reserved cooking liquid before continuing with the oil.
The finished texture should be compact, pale and creamy rather than oily.Season and serve
Season cautiously with black pepper and only as much salt as needed. Fold in or scatter over the parsley if using, and serve with warm or grilled polenta.
A small amount of fish texture should remain; do not puree it completely.
04 · Control points
Control points
Emulsion
Oil uptakeAdd oil in a fine stream; if the mixture turns glossy and tight, loosen with a teaspoon of cooking liquid.
Safety
Cooked fishPoach until the fish reaches 63 °C or is opaque and separates readily.
| Problem | Guidance | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| The mixture looks oily | Oil was added faster than the fish could absorb it. | Pause the oil, beat in a teaspoon of warm cooking liquid, then resume more slowly. |
| The texture is gluey | The fish was over-processed with a sharp blade. | Use a wooden spoon or paddle and stop while a little flake structure remains. |
05 · Practical
Practical
Serving
Spoon onto warm or grilled polenta; the mild corn flavour supports rather than competes with the fish.
Storage
Keep refrigerated and use within 2 days; return only the portion needed for serving toward room temperature.
06 · FAQ
FAQ
Is this made with salted baccalà?
In Venice the name baccalà mantecato conventionally refers to soaked stockfish. The locked recipe therefore uses rehydrated stockfish.
Must all 300 ml of oil be used?
Not necessarily. The source gives 0.3 L as the working allowance and explicitly notes that absorption depends on the fish.
07 · Nutrition
Nutrition
- Calories
- 690 kcal
- Carbohydrate
- 1 g
- Protein
- 18 g
- Fat
- 69 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
- Sodium
- 620 mg
Approximate values per 1 of 4 servings. Estimated per one of four servings. The full 300 ml oil allowance is counted as retained, making this a deliberately conservative high-fat estimate; actual uptake varies with the stockfish.