Iberia · Volume 04, The Cider and Cod Coast
Kokotxas al Pil-Pil
Basque Country
Illustration
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Researched
- 16 sources cited
The gelatinous throat or chin cut of hake, cod or monkfish. Prepared al pil-pil, using the same gelatine-emulsion logic as the cod dish above, or in salsa verde, a parsley-based green sauce.
As tradition built it
Serves 4. About 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 600 g kokotxas, hake or cod
- 200 ml olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 guindilla
Method
- Warm the olive oil gently with the garlic and guindilla until the garlic just colours.
- Lower the heat until the oil barely trembles, add the kokotxas, skin down.
- Cook gently, shaking the pan continuously in the gupilada motion, until the gelatine emulsifies into the oil, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately from the pan.
What a modern chef changes
The same precision built into Dish 1, scaled down for a more delicate cut.
Rung 1
Method
- Hold the kokotxas briefly in a lower sous vide bath, around 55°C, before the final pan emulsification, since this cut is more delicate than a full cod loin and tolerates less direct heat before toughening.
- Reserve gelatinous liquid for an emergency re-emulsification exactly as in Dish 1.
- Serve over a small spoon of strained yoghurt-free aioli, a light textural contrast rather than a competing sauce.