With all the requests I’ve been getting via the facebook fan page and comments on the youtube channel, I finally decided that it was time to make good on my promise and post the recipe for saltfish accra. The fact that I had a craving for some salt fish accras had absolutely nothing to do with it – that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Many of you may know this as being cod fish fritters, saltfish fritters and/or fish cake, as it’s common for our food to have different names according to the island you call home. Basically the same ingredients, but we may have our own way of personalizing the overall recipe.
After posting the video for this saltfish accra on Youtube, a viewer mentioned that she usually use milk instead of water when making the batter for frying. I have to agree that this would be an excellent addition to an already wonderful recipe. Thanks to user “NadSSmith21” for the suggestion… I will try that next rongs.
You’ll Need…
1/2 lb boneless salt fish (dry salted cod)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 small onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (use a garlic press if you have one)
2 shado beni leaves (or 1 tablespoon cilantro) chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
1/4 teaspoon chopped thyme (I like using fresh, but if all you have is dried, use 1/2 the amount)
1 teaspoon minced hot pepper, red pepper flakes or pepper sauce
1 egg
dash fresh ground black pepper
¼ to 1/2 cup water
pinch of sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon parsley chopped – optional
Vegetable oil for frying (about 3 cups)
We’ll stat by preparing the salted fish for use. In a large pot, cover the fish with water and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. TIP : leave your kitchen window open or have the fan above your stove on to ventilate the scent. The scent of boiling salted fish is not for everyone.
While the salt fish boils (to remove the excess salt it was cured in and to rehydrate it), we’ll prep the herbs, garlic, pepper and onion.
After 20 minutes of simmering, drain the salted fish and rinse under cool water a couple times. Now squeeze out all the excess water and shred. You can certainly shred with your fingers, but it may be a bit chunky. The other option is to use a food processor or as I did… I placed the chunky piece mortar and with aid of the pestle, I gave it a good pounding. You can see the difference in the pictures below. Even though we used boneless salted fish, do keep an eye out for any bones which may have sneaked in.
Up next it’s time to make the batter. In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, sugar, garlic, onion, pepper and all the herds we diced earlier. Give that a good stir, then add the shredded saltfish and give that another stir. Now add the egg and stir again. Finally… tart adding water and stirring. The goal is to get a thick batter. I ended up using close to 1/2 cup water. Remember the suggestion we got via Youtube about using milk instead.
Now that the batter is ready, it’s time to heat the vegetable oil on a medium/high heat. As this comes to temperature for frying… start adding heaping teaspoon full amounts to the pan. Since I don’t have an oil thermometer I can’t tell you exactly what temperate the heat should be at (sorry). Try not to crowd the pan with too many accras. It should take a couple minutes on each side and you’ll notice they will start to float as they cook. I flipped mine a couple times each side to achieve the perfect golden brown color accras should be.
Be sure to have a draining station set up (paper towels) to allow all the excess oil to saturate. If you find that it’s getting dark quickly it may mean you have to turn the heat down a bit or risk having accras that are raw in the middle.
I believe this batch of batter made about 12 accras… could be a couple more but I was busy eating as they were coming out of the oil, so I don’t have an accurate count on the paper towels.
This is an excellent party finger food or snack and it goes well with a spicy tamarind dipping sauce. Please don’t do as I did and eat fresh out of the fryer (though it’s best served warm/hot) as your mouth/tongue will pay the price.
Before you go I invite you to leave me your comments below.. even if it just to say hello. It’s always appreciated. And don’t forget to join us on facebook and do check out the cooking videos.
I made this today and it came out for perfect. Thank you I’ve been craving it for 40 years and this is the first time it came out perfect. I will be trying other recipes.
You can add a teaspoon of poudre de Colombo (curry powder) if you like.
You can add a lil poudre de Colombo (curry powder) if you choose; a teaspoon.
Hello from the UK!
My friend who is French/Caribbean made these for me and my partner when we visited her in Paris and they went down an absolute storm. So i’m going to make them, using this recipe, for my partner’s family. With any luck I won’t fudge it up and i’ll do them justice! Can’t wait for these incredibly tasty treats!
8/26/2018
Flexed a little Yankee Trini today made the accra & Tamarind sauce..YEAH…That was good..
Thanks Carlos
I make accras all the time, all your ingredients and steps the same, and its loved by all but I never did add an egg, what’s the reason for it..
Eggs are usually glue it just hold it together
Appreciate this recipe. Will do sometime. Thanks You could cook me son!
God bless you!
Can I use baking soda instead of baking powder?
Hi from a cold, grey and wet UK,
We are going to a murder mystery dinner with friends, set on an imaginary Caribbean island and this looks like a perfect sunshine starter. Do you ever put poudre de Colombo in these, please?
Best wishes
Jin
Just tried this. Perfection.
I got about 28. They seem to be sized similar to yours so if at the end you had 12….. well you really sampled heartily while cooking!
Hubby said it needs chutney, settled for store bought kutchela
Thank you Chris
Growing up in Montserrat, never paid attention as my Mom cooked. Thanks Caribbean pot, you are a perfect substitute teacher.
Fantastic videos.
This is a great recipe, Trinidadians use salt fish in many dishes & this is just one of them. The ingredients listed are perfect & the egg I think adds to the pillowy softness of the Accra that can be eaten long after it comes out the fryer. My parents actually knead all the ingredients in a dough and it comes out good as well but I much prefer the batter consistency. Thanks for posting this recipe.
Here in Barbados making fishcakes is a huge part of our culture for centuries. We fry them in a buckpot (cast iron skillet) and serve between bajan salt bread! Glad the recipe is spreading! For those who have it available 1/4 teasp broad leaf thyme finely chopped adds to the flavour. In order to avoid the odor of boiling the fish you can either add a couple drops of lemon juice to the water or simply soak the fish beforehand in a large bowl of cold water for a couple hours changing the water at least two to three times.
What I do is buy my fish in bulk, break it up, soak it and package it in serving portions. Store in freezer. That way it’s ready for use when needed! Sure enjoy the recipes!
Had a few when I was in Barbados last fall.. Been meaning to make/present that version here. Thx for sharing
I’ve lived in Texas for 21 years, so I haven’t had accra in as many years. I found some cod fish on sale so I decided to try accra. To my surprise, it was awesome. My husband who is American asked me why I’m holding out on him. I’m having some friends over and I’m planning on these as an appetizer. i also made tamarind sauce to go along with them. It was a hit. Will be making them very often from now on. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi from Saint Lucia,
I’ve been looking for a Caribbean website with our local recipes and finally. Today is Good Friday so I’m trying these acras for the first time. Wish me luck.
Love how you explained with visible graphics. I’ve subscribe.
Have a blessed day all!
My husband has never eaten saltfish Accra in his entire life and I have not had it in years but the recipe has eluded me a bit thanks for the assistance
My husband never had it and I have not made it in years I’m going to make it for dinner tonight .
hello
this really looks great. lovely snack for my curious european friends. thanks, Chris
My absolute favorite
Hi Chris,
This is a great tasty dish, can tuna be used instead?
Debbie
Chris I will be trying this out for the new year as this is a St.Lucian thing
Thank you so much I am a young mother , with Caribbean background and your website has helped me so much when learning to prepare foods. I truly appreciate what your doing and please do not ever stop.
much luv for the support
Hello:
this looks great, want to try, but for health reasons could they be baked instead of fried (do not laugh)
thanks
Ann Marie
Hi Chris I tried making Accra before but it never turn out.
I will give your recipe a try. would let you know how it turned out.
Thanks you.
I MADE THIS LAST FRIDAY DEC AND IM GOING TO MAKE IT AGAIN WITH MILK THIS TIME BUT IM GOING TO TRY COCONUT MILK ILL LET YOU KNOW HOW IT TASTED
Boil with a piece of lemon and a clove of garlic and you won’t have that fishy smell and will also give it same flavour, also cut down on the salt.
Chris doh miss
He’s the best!
This is definitely the best accra recipe I have ever tried.
Chris! I love how I could always come and this site and have full confidence in whatever I try!!!! Your recipes are the best!!! I made these today and they were awesome.. I added some fresh pimentos… I just love them and I love the burst of fresh seasonings… U d best chris!!!
Isn’t it strange to use an egg?
Your precise instructions are much needed since it is not only W.Indians who follow your site. I like that u don’t overpower everything with salt & also, with this particular Accra recipe u seem to follow the Bajan way of making Fish Cakes with flour in the batter. I like better the Trinidadian take on it to replace the flour with a mashed potato. Health wise it is better for u. As well, since salt fish is not readily available to me I substitute cans of tuna or salmon & they taste quite great. Thanks again for all ideas.
My dear…such fuss to make a simple acra dish……it used to take my aunt minutes to make the soaking was the longest to do…but in the end it tasted……mmmmmmmm…thanks
My dear,,,what a fu,ss to make some acra ….My aunt will soak the salt fish overnight..shred it the next day….mix all together…fry…..and voila its done…
Tried it and loved it.
Wow. These turned out great. Thank you. The best ones I have made.
You are so precise in your instructions. Thank you and i will definitely be trying this out. God’s many blessings upon you.
Why do you add the egg?
Chris. You are simply put “THE BEST CHEF EVER”
I LOVE ALL YOUR RECIPES. I’ve NEVER seen anyone give such precise directions. I wish you ALL OF GODS BLESSINGS
thanks for your kind words and support.
Can’t wait to make these they look delicious, your lovely recipes are so easy to follow Chris – thank you!
I can’t wait to try these. They look just like the ones my mother-in-law used to make for me in St. Lucia. Loving your recipes and you tube channel!
Hi Chris. Thanks again for another great recipe. I just made some. Tasting great. I have never added eggs before, it added to the texture. I added a small finely chopped carrot to it. The color scheme , texture and taste was amazing.
Made this for the holiday work/eat fest,It was a hit. Thanks a million.The recipe is simple,cost effective and scrumptious. Now, how to make fine fritters are engrained in my memory.
In Trinidad..where I grew up..we never try to muder our Bacalao(salt fish)…….it is just ordinary salt fish no fuss its soaked first changing the water a few times….its quite soft now we never boil the fish first.its shredded mixed with the flour,,chopped onions,choices and then died in cooking oil.in blobs pressed down…a squeeze of lime juice…thats our no fuss jul–jol……..from Querino de Freitas…..
I made the accras for the first time today for a holiday lunch at work. It’s only 9:40 a.m. and half of a long, large pain is almost gone! My co-workers absolutely love them… they literally can’t get enough!
Loved your recipes and directions so easy to follow because of the pictures
Hi Chris,
Love this, it looks simple to make will try some this weekend, Thanks much….
Thank you for the recipe.
I love it and will make the recipe as soon as possible!
Regina
São Paulo-Brasil
Made these today and they were awaesome….will be making them again very soon.
Thank you sooooooo much Chris. I have always wanted to do these from scratch but never really tried. For sure now with this recipe, fish cakes this weekend! Thanks.
Am loving yr easy to follow guides to delicious cooking. Tried this recipe today with a little twist as I didn’t have salt fish. I used canned tuna instead & as I’m reluctant to flour & frying I used a mashed potato to replace the flour & simply dropped in to muffin pans and baked. They were just great. All the best.
Hey Chris! I’ve made a few things from your website over the years but don’t think I’ve ever commented (ground provision soup and a saltfish with fry bake) and just this week, with 2 envelopes of saltfish I made the game day saltfish and tomato, and tonight the accras with the leftover saltfish. They were both big hits and the accras happened to turn out the best of any fried food I’ve ever done, not sure whether to chalk that part up to my experience or your recipe, but they were awesome. Dipped in a bit of sauce. Both dishes got a bit of habanero added. Cheers!
Hi Chris, pretty good recipe, but I soak my salted cod, the night before to get most of the salt out, then drop in boiling water for no more than 5 minutes. Shred, you can also use coconut water or coconut milk instead of water, its yummy.
Yummylicious. Very much like our Creole recipe!
Thank you.. my first attempt and they were awesome, I forgot I had no eggs and substituted with oil, water and baking powder. It was great.
I’ve never cooked with salt fish in my life but I wanted to try making fish cakes. When I found this recipe, it reminded me of the fish cakes I had years back made by my friend’s mom from Guyana. WELL !! 🙂 I must say that they came out wonderful and that they are easy to make. I I gave the recipe to a gyalfriend also. I’m cooking up my 2nd batch in a week. Thanks for this great recipe.
appetizing and lovely. very tasty especially with the sauces.
Just finished a batch! Delicious… Simple and wonderful! Thank you
Shout out from UK im of vinncentian and bajan descent you can just use fk=lour and waater ti mix salt fish cakes are sexii TRY DEM NOW
Hello I’m from Panama, my great grand parents came from Barbados and Guayana, we have a similar receipe passed through several generations, I will try using milk next time. You got a nice page, please keep it up!
Good morning to you.I am trying to refresh my skills and decided to check out this recipe.It is exactly how I made this delicious finger food for my friends just adding a little more pepper.
thanks so very much
Thank you so much for posting this!!! My grandmother had a friend from Trinidad who use to always make these for us, but then he moved back to Trinidad. Now I can try to make it myself. Quick question, in one of the photo's I see a habanero pepper, however I don't see that in the list of ingredients.
Chris I really enjoy your recipes. I order your cookbook since January 2013, the check was cashed but i did not received the cookbook. Could you let me know what's up. I know that you are busy but if you can get me a number i can call.
Thanks
35 years ago we lived on St. Lucia for a year. We ate there fish cakes made by a very friendly fisherman's wife, but we never had a recipe. Now I found this one and I will for sure going to make them one day!
Hope they will be as good as we remember 🙂
I made these on the weekend (along with the honey mustard mango sauce) using milk instead of water. They were awesome! Served them to 9, west-coast Americans who had never tried anything like them before and they all loved them! Thanks so much for sharing this one!
Shout out from the UK..came across this website as being BritAsian of Indian descent I love the fact that Caribbean also has Indian cuisine..i love how you are using a few staple ingredients to create beautiful master pieces..i am def going to try out.keep up this fab blog i will be sure to add on fb
I love all your recipes am going to try this tonight. I will let you know how they come out.
Hey Chris, the milk instead of the water in the recipe really makes a difference. I use milk when i make accras
Most of the things you post, I have never heard of or seen since I was born and raised in Chicago, but I can't wait to try these! I will definitely let you know how they turned out.
Great recipe, I actually cooked my saltfish with the herbs and tomato first bc I thought I would just have it with festival. So I cooled it down and then made the batter. Delicious!
I just found your website and i soooo want to try this right now!!!! It looks so delicious!!!!!
Thank you so much for the recipe!
A lovelly fish pakoras and fish cakes. Good recepee and Thank u Chris.
Frpm Hamoud.
looks rather delicious must try it soon
This is so great. I never could make the batter right. Even with my Grandmother AND my mother trying to teach me. ^_^. For the salt fish though, for less salt and more of the actual flavor of your seasoning to shine through or if you’re low on time, try boiling it in sugar water. Not a lot of sugar because it will get too sweet and sweet salt fish is just as bad if not worse than overly salty salt fish. That’s how I grew up cooking it. And if all you want is salt fish then the beauty of it is you can cook it with curry, tomato sauce, pepper, etc. It’s really versatile. And delicious.
I am not the best cook in the kitchen, but I'm sure to be a hit with your recipes. Thanks for posting my brother.
Accras, or fish cakes, as we Bajans call them, are some of the tastiest delicacies ever served. When I make them, i fry them in a "buck pot"; widely know as a cast iron skillet and drain them on brown paper bags-"lunch bags". These can be had at the 99 cent stores or the supermarkets. The bags absorb the oil better and allows the fishcakes to remain crispy. I find that draining them on the paper towels make the the towels soggy and the fishcakes become limp. I also make a simple dipping sauce with ketchup and Bajan pepper sauce. Bon appetit.
going to make this for dinner tomorrow
Thanks Chris……I LOL when you said you eat
more than you counted! Reminds me what I always
say "The cook eats less but the cook eats best!" LOL
Thanks for posting this recipe!!!!! I love your channel because I live in the States and when I'm homesick I make your recipes because they taste as great as my grandma's and mon's cooking. Just a hint for you…Christmas is comming up soon could you post a pamie and pastells recipe? Thanks and keep up the great work!!!!!
Can't wait to make them!
I will definitely try this recipe. My husband is not a huge fritter fan and so I don't experiment too often with it…. but seeing as how my mouth is now watering. Will try it and check back in with you!
hey chris, thank you so much for this recipe,when u gave the hint to look out for it I was so excited, I said to my husband hey Chris is goin to post accra recipe soon, i've made it before but I feel like something's missing, somehow i feel its the pepper, anyway I'll try it and see if i like yours better. Your sweetbread recipe is mmh, mmh so delicious, I am not a sweet fan, but when I tried it I ate more of it than my husband and children did. So I'm saying thank you soooh much, keep sharing the with us.
A burnt tongue is a small price to pay for the glory of hot accra.
But you're right, it's better to be patient.
Thanks for the recipe.
This really looks good ,my husband is from Nigeria and he does Accra but with beans instead of fish i will for sure surprise him with these …thanks a lot.xx
My husband is nigerian as well and he does the same thing. I thought of mixing saltfish with his bean batter.
YEAH, I am very happy that you posted this recipe. My mom used to make these all the time. I've tried to make them but they never seem to be quite right. I always thought it might have something to do with the consistency of my batter. I will definitely try this recipe.