Sherry-brined Cod
We created this recipe in honor of Clarence “Bob” Birdseye, the quirky genius, intrepid adventurer and food enthusiast who revolutionized the frozen food industry. Inspired by Inuit ice fishers in the Canadian Arctic who taught him how to catch and preserve cod in sub-zero conditions, Birdseye realized that flash freezing was the secret to preserving the taste, texture and nutrients in fish, and in so many other foods. Once inspired, he set about developing the machinery and infrastructure that would do just that!
2024 will be the 100-year anniversary of the founding of Birdseye’s General Seafood Corporation, whose Birds Eye products can now be found in the frozen food aisle of every grocery store in America.
Birdseye raved about the sherry-brined foods he ate (though being a trapper, his foods were often of the four-legged kind). He frequently wrote home often about his great food discoveries from the wilds of Labrador - before locavore or foodie or blogging were even words! Since he loved cod, we believe this recipe would have appealed to him as much as it does us - especially since they feature exquisitely flash frozen wild Alaska cod.
- 2 6-oz. Portions Popsie’s Wild Alaska Cod Loins
- Salt and pepper
- 2 T. dry sherry
- 2 T. cold butter, plus butter to line baking dish
- 1 T. parsley
Remove frozen cod loins from freezer, remove vacuum packaging, place on paper-towel-lined dish and thaw in refrigerator for one day. When ready to cook, let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes and gently pat dry. Add dry sherry to dish and brine cod for about 15 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Choose baking dish just large enough to contain both portions of cod. Smear butter in bottom of dish. Sprinkle cod portions with salt and pepper and place in baking dish. Pour dry sherry over the cod. Cut butter into pieces and dot on top of cod. Bake for about 12 minutes for each inch of thickness. Check for doneness by seeing if fish is opaque and flakes apart at thickest part.
Place on serving plates and spoon the delicious sherry-butter juices over the baked cod. Simplicity itself!
