Name: Filetti di baccalà fritti
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Italian, Lazio
Ingredients: 700 g fully desalted salt cod fillet, skin and bones removed; cut into 8 thick strips; plain flour for a very light pre-dust, about 30 g; 180 g 00 or all-purpose flour; 250 ml ice-cold sparkling water; 2 g instant dry yeast, optional but useful for a lightly aerated Roman-style batter; 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil; black pepper optional; do not add salt before tasting the cod; 1.5 L peanut or other neutral high-heat oil; 1 lemon, cut into wedges, optional

Filetti di baccalà fritti: wide hero view of the finished traditional dish

Prep25 minutes

Cook20 minutes

Total1 h 30 min

Yield8 fillets

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The dish

About Filetti di baccalà fritti

Turismo Roma lists fried baccalà fillets among classic Roman fried starters and describes the fillets as dipped in batter before going into hot oil.

The classic Roman identity is a pastella rather than breadcrumbs: the coating should puff and crisp while remaining visibly thinner than a breaded fish cutlet.

Salt cod must be fully desalted before battering; a well-drained surface is critical because excess water thins the batter and makes frying dangerous.

Stable oil around 175°C gives the batter time to become golden while heating the fish through without greasy absorption.

Technique

Three things that matter

Dry the fish well. Surface moisture dilutes batter and triggers violent splattering.
Keep batter cold and light. Cold sparkling water and minimal mixing support a crisp irregular shell.
Recover oil temperature. Frying too many fillets at once produces pale, oily batter.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Fish

700 gfully desalted salt cod filletskin and bones removed; cut into 8 thick strips
plain flourfor a very light pre-dust, about 30 g

Batter

180 g00 or all-purpose flour
250 mlice-cold sparkling water
2 ginstant dry yeastoptional but useful for a lightly aerated Roman-style batter
1 tspextra-virgin olive oil
black pepperoptional; do not add salt before tasting the cod

Frying and serving

1.5 Lpeanut or other neutral high-heat oil
1lemoncut into wedges, optional

Step by step

Method

Prepare fish and batter

Check desalting and portion. Taste a tiny cooked flake if necessary to confirm the cod is properly desalted, then remove skin and bones and cut into eight thick strips.
The raw fish should smell clean and the pieces should be similar in thickness.
Dry thoroughly. Pat every surface dry and refrigerate uncovered for 15 minutes while the oil heats.
No beads of water should remain on the fish.
Mix the cold batter. Whisk flour, yeast, sparkling water and olive oil just until smooth enough to coat; rest 20–30 minutes in a cool place.
The batter should fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon but not form a doughy layer.

Heat and coat

Bring oil to temperature. Heat oil to 175°C in a deep heavy pot.
The oil should be deep enough for fillets to float without touching the base.
Dust the fish lightly. Give each strip the thinnest possible coat of dry flour and shake off all excess.
The surface should look matte, not caked white.
Dip immediately before frying. Pass each floured strip through batter, let excess drip for a second and lower carefully into the oil.
A thin continuous coating should cover the fish without long batter tails.

Fry and serve

Fry in small batches. Cook 2–3 fillets at a time for about 4–5 minutes, turning once if necessary.
The batter should be evenly golden and audibly crisp.
Check the fish. Lift to a rack and verify the thickest piece is opaque and at least 63°C in the centre. Let oil return to 175°C before the next batch.
The cod should separate into moist broad flakes rather than look translucent.
Serve immediately. Rest 2–3 minutes on the rack and serve very hot, with lemon only if desired.
Steam should escape without softening the underside of the crust.

Practical guidance

Desalting

If starting with salted baccalà rather than fully desalted fish, soak refrigerated for roughly 36–48 hours, changing the water several times; actual time depends on thickness and salinity.

Draining

Use a rack, not a pile of paper towels, so steam cannot soften the bottom crust.

Salt

Do not automatically salt the batter or finished fish; residual salt varies widely between baccalà products.

Troubleshooting

Batter slides off. Fish was wet or not lightly dusted with flour first.
Crust is greasy. Oil temperature fell too far; fry smaller batches and wait for full recovery.
Fish is still salty. Desalting was incomplete. This cannot be corrected by frying; begin with properly soaked cod.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 2 fillets
Calories: approximately 510 kcal
Carbohydrates: 38 g
Protein: 35 g
Fat: 24 g
Fibre: 1 g
Sodium: variable, approximately 850 mg

Salt content varies strongly with desalting and the source baccalà.

Allergens and food safety

Contains fish and gluten.

Water on raw fish can cause severe oil splatter; dry thoroughly before battering.

Keep desalted fish refrigerated and bring fried fish to at least 63°C; reheat leftovers to 74°C.

FAQ

Are Roman filetti breaded?

The classic Roman form is battered and fried rather than coated in breadcrumbs.

Can fresh cod replace baccalà?

It can make fried cod, but it loses the characteristic cured flavour and is no longer the same traditional preparation.

Why use a rack after frying?

Air circulation keeps the underside crisp while steam escapes.

Final note

What matters most

Result: Crisp, irregular golden batter around moist flakes of cured cod, with enough salt-cod character to remain unmistakably Roman.
Key: Desalt completely, dry the fish, use cold light batter and hold the oil near 175°C.