On the Basque coast of Spain, there is a longstanding tradition of preserving fresh seafood. Bacalaos Alkorta, a family-run company in the village of Elgoibar, specializes in cod, offering it fresh, frozen, cooked, salted, and jarred.
This cod in olive oil—what we think of as cod confit—uses the confit method of slow-cooking in liquid, a method long-revered for its superior preservation of flavor and texture. For this confit, select, tender cod fillets are gently cooked in olive oil for a succulent result. Ensuring an exceptional product, the cod used at Bacalaos Alkorta is some of the best available in the world, fished from the icy-cold eastern Atlantic waters near the Faroe Islands, a remote archipelago between Norway and Iceland. After harvest, the fish is transported at optimal temperature and immediately processed. Each cod is cut with precision to yield the best cuts and eliminate waste. Bacalaos Alkorta is U.S. FDA FCE-certified as well as certified by IQNet and AENOR for its quality management systems, and currently employs 45 people.
It is perfection instead of tuna on a Niçoise-style salad, or fresh-out-of-the-jar with a hunk of crusty baguette. It would be fantastic crumbled on warm pasta with a pinch of chopped parsley and a spritz of lemon. Don’t forget to use the delicious oil itself, too—try it in a red potato salad.
