Bacalhau à Brás – Authentic Brás Style Cod

Bacalhau à Brás is a classic Portuguese salt cod dish made with pieces of cod, onions, scrambled eggs, and shoestring potatoes. This unpretentious dish was invented by a tavern owner in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto neighbourhood. You simply cannot come to Lisboa without giving it a try! This Codfish Brás Style is not only one of the most popular Portuguese bacalhau dishes, it’s also one of the simplest. Where everything comes together in just under 30 minutes.

An Authentic Bacalhau à Brás

To make an authentic Bacalhau à Brás you only need a few ingredients. The star of the dish is of course the salt cod. You can use any cut of codfish you want; this is also a great dish to use leftovers from another dish such as Bacalhau à Lagareiro.

You will also need your standard codfish recipe ingredients. That is onions, olive oil, garlic, bay leaves, fresh parsley, salt, black pepper, olives, and potatoes. Before you start boiling your potatoes, differently to most cod recipes, Bacalhau à Brás calls for shoestring potatoes instead. They are long, very thin pieces of fried potatoes. You can make it yourself or buy from the shops, in Portugal they are called batata palha. I prefer buying mine to keep things simple, and I’m sure most Portuguese restaurants do the same.

Before we jump to the recipe, if this is your first time cooking salted bacalhau, keep in mind you need to soak it to remove the extra salt. This process can take from a couple of hours to several days, it all depends on the thickness of your fish. I will be using loins that I soaked for 3 days, changing the water at least twice a day.

Traditional Brás Style Codfish Recipe

Start by draining your soaked codfish. Place it in a pan, cover with boiling water, simmer for 10 minutes. Let it cool down while you prepare the other ingredients.

Slice the onions, place a deep skillet over low to medium heat. Once hot, add in the olive oil, the onions, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook for about 8 minutes or until translucent. Push them to one side of the pan, add in your sliced garlic. Cook for another two minutes.

In the meantime, remove the skin and bones of the codfish, shred it with your hands. Add it to the skillet with the onions, fry for about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and thyme.

frying shredded bacalhau

Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a bowl, give them a gentle whisk with a fork. Pour the eggs into the hot skillet, stirring constantly to scramble. Be careful not to overcook the eggs, the mixture should still be moist. Turn off the heat.

Add in your shoestring potatoes, mix to combine. Season with black pepper, and salt if needed. Serve it with some pitted olives on top, and a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.

bacalhau a bras potatoes

How to Make Portuguese Bacalhau à Brás

Bacalhau à Brás – Brás Style Cod

Recipe by Ana Veiga
5.0 from 2 votes
Course: MainCuisine: Mediterranean, PortugueseDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Calories

371

kcal

Bacalhau à Brás is a classic Portuguese salt cod dish made with pieces of cod, onions, scrambled eggs, and shoestring potatoes.

Ingredients

  • 600 g 600 Salt cod loins – Pre-Soaked

  • 200 g 200 Onions

  • 25 ml 25 Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • 3 3 Garlic Cloves

  • 1 1 Bay Leaf

  • 5 5 Eggs

  • 70 g 70 Shoestring Potatoes

  • Fresh Parsley

  • Salt

  • Black Pepper

Directions

  • Drain the soaked codfish. Place it in a pan, cover with boiling water, simmer for 10 minutes. Let it cool down while you prepare the other ingredients.
  • Thinly slice the onions, place a deep skillet over low to medium heat. Once hot, add in the olive oil, the onions, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook for about 8 minutes or until translucent.
  • Slice your garlic, push the onions to one side of the pan, add the garlic in the space you cleared, cook for 2 minutes.
  • In the meantime, remove the skin and bones of the codfish, shred it with your hands. Add it to the skillet with the onions and garlic, fry for about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and thyme.
  • Crack the eggs into a bowl, give them a gentle whisk with a fork. Pour the eggs into the hot skillet, stirring constantly to scramble. Be careful not to overcook the eggs, the mixture should still be moist. Turn off the heat.
  • Add in your shoestring potatoes, mix to combine. Season with black pepper, and salt if needed. Serve it with some pitted olives on top, and a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.

Notes

  • You’ll need to soak your bacalhau before using it, but you can buy pre-soaked and pre-washed bacalhau at all good Portuguese supermarkets!
  • If you’re bacalhau is not pre soaked, typically you may need to soak it for around 48 -72 hours with regular water changes.

Have you tried this recipe? Please let me know in the comments! I would love to hear from you!

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