Cod Cheeks with Rice: Creamy Rice Recipe

The long answer is in this post. The short answer: with rice and pil pil, the creamiest and most flavorful rice you've ever tasted.

Cod cheeks with rice is a fusion of sea and land that makes perfect sense: the natural gelatin from the cod cheeks, which creates that silky white sauce in the pil pil, partially transfers to the rice, making it incredibly creamy. Like a risotto, but without adding extra cheese or butter. The sea does it all on its own.

What are Cod Cheeks?

Before the recipe, it's good to know what we're working with.

Cocochas (kokotxas in Basque) are the "chins" or the muscular area of the cod's jowl, just below the mouth. They are not the cheeks (which are also tasty), but the lower part of the jaw: a very small area per animal, with a much higher concentration of collagen than the rest of the body.

• When cooked with oil and gentle heat, the collagen dissolves and forms a natural emulsion (the pil pil) without needing any thickener.
• The final texture is gelatinous and silky, completely different from any other cut of cod.
• The flavor is intense and deep — more so than the loin.

Yield fact: A 5 kg live cod yields only about 80-100 g of cod cheeks. This explains their price and rarity in the market. They are a seasonal and limited product.

At Bacalalo, when we have cod cheeks, we announce it. If you want to secure your batch, call us in advance.

Ingredients for 4 People

For the cod cheek pil pil:

• 500 g desalted cod cheeks
• 350 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 5-6 sliced garlic cloves
• 1-2 chilies (optional, for those who like spice)
• Fresh chopped parsley (for garnish)

For the creamy rice:

• 300 g bomba rice (or carnaroli if you want a more pronounced risotto effect)
• 1 liter fish broth (ideally homemade, made with cod bones and vegetables)
• 1 small onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 100 ml dry white wine
• Mild olive oil
• Salt, white pepper

Homemade cod broth (optional but recommended):

• Bones and head of desalted cod (what you have left from desalting)
• 1 leek, 1 onion, 1 carrot
• 1 bay leaf, peppercorns
• 1.5 liters of water

Step-by-Step

Part 1: The Cod Broth

If you have the bones or head of the cod after desalting, use them for the broth. Homemade cod broth has more gelatin and flavor than any fish bouillon cube and significantly improves the rice.

1. Place the bones in cold water, bring to a boil. Skim. Reduce heat.
2. Add the roughly chopped vegetables, bay leaf, and pepper.
3. Simmer gently for 20-25 minutes (no more — cod can become bitter if boiled too long).
4. Strain and set aside. The broth should be clear, slightly gelatinous when cooled.

If you don't have bones, use a good quality fish broth (not instant packet broth if you can avoid it).

Part 2: Desalting the Cod Cheeks

• 24-36 hours in cold water (refrigerator)
• Change water every 8 hours
• They are delicate — do not compress or handle them roughly
• Complete desalting is key: if they remain salty, the pil pil will be inedible

Taste a small piece before cooking. They should taste like cod, with a pleasant, not overly salty, brininess.

Part 3: The Cod Cheek Pil Pil

Pil pil with cod cheeks is easier than pil pil with loin because cod cheeks have much more collagen and release the necessary gelatin for emulsification more quickly.

1. Confit the garlic: In a wide, shallow pot, heat the oil over very low heat with the sliced garlic and chili (if using). The garlic should not brown, only infuse for 8-10 minutes. When it is transparent and soft, remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside.

1. Add the cod cheeks: With the oil at no more than 70°C (it should shimmer but not bubble vigorously), place the cod cheeks skin-side down. You will immediately notice them begin to release a white gelatin — that's what we're looking for.

1. The circular motion: With a gentle, circular motion of the pot (the famous "meneíto" of pil pil), gradually emulsify the gelatin with the oil. Cod cheeks, unlike the loin, emulsify the pil pil very quickly — in 8-10 minutes you will have a white, creamy sauce.

1. Temperature control: The temperature should not exceed 75-80°C at any time. If you see the oil starting to fry (large, active bubbles), remove it from the heat and continue stirring. Pil pil is made at confit temperatures, not frying.

1. Result: The cod cheeks will be cooked when they are opaque and the sauce has the consistency of a light béchamel — silky, white, coating the back of a spoon.

Carefully remove the cod cheeks and set them aside. Also, set aside the pil pil sauce separately.

Part 4: The Creamy Rice

1. Base sofrito: In a large saucepan, sauté the finely chopped onion in mild oil for 10-12 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic, 2 more minutes. The sofrito should be transparent, almost mellow.

1. "Nacarar" the rice: Add the bomba rice and sauté it with the sofrito for 2-3 minutes. The rice should become translucent at the edges ("nacarado") — this seals the grain and improves the final texture.

1. Deglaze with wine: Add the white wine and let the alcohol evaporate (1-2 minutes over high heat).

1. Add the broth: Add the hot broth all at once (ratio 1:3.2 — for every cup of rice, 3.2 cups of broth). Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat.

1. First part of cooking: Cook the rice for 12-13 minutes without stirring too much. Unlike risotto, bomba rice doesn't need constant stirring. Just make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom.

1. Incorporate the pil pil into the rice: In the last 3-4 minutes of cooking, add 3-4 tablespoons of the pil pil sauce to the rice and stir carefully. The pil pil sauce contains the gelatin and fat from the cod — when incorporated into the rice, it makes it tremendously creamy without adding anything else.

1. Finish: Turn off the heat when the rice is al dente (it should still have some broth — creamy rice is not dry). Let it rest, covered, for 2-3 minutes.

Part 5: Incorporate the Cod Cheeks Without Breaking Them

This is the most delicate part. Cooked cod cheeks are very fragile — they break apart easily when handled.

1. Place the cod cheeks on the rice at the moment of serving, not during cooking.
2. If you want to warm them slightly, place them in a soup plate with a little of the pil pil sauce and heat them in the oven at 60°C for 3-4 minutes. Do not boil them or put them in a hot pan.
3. When serving, move the plate instead of moving the cod cheeks — the creamy rice will surround them without needing to push.

Why they break: The collagen that makes cod cheeks gelatinous also makes them fragile to heat. Once cooked in pil pil, cod cheeks have a delicate structure that breaks down with excessive heat or rough handling.

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Presentation and Serving

This dish is served in a deep bowl or soup plate:

1. A generous base of creamy rice with pil pil
2. 3-4 cod cheeks carefully placed on top
3. A drizzle of pil pil sauce around
4. The confit garlic from the pil pil distributed
5. Fresh chopped parsley
6. Chili if used (for decoration and for the brave)

The visual contrast between the creamy white rice, the white cod cheeks, and the green parsley is beautiful. And the taste needs no description — let it speak for itself to those who try it.

Cod Broth vs. Standard Fish Broth

The broth you use changes the dish:

Homemade cod bone broth: Gelatinous, intense flavor specific to cod. Enhances the gelatin of the pil pil. The final result is more coherent — everything tastes elegantly of cod.

White fish fumet (hake, monkfish): Good result. More neutral flavor. The pil pil dominates the dish.

Vegetable broth: The result is milder, less marine. Works if you have no other option.

Water: The bare minimum. The rice will only taste of pil pil, without extra depth. Only recommended if the pil pil is very expressive.

Buy Cod Cheeks at Bacalalo

Cod cheeks are a product with limited availability. At Bacalalo, we work with them when the season and quality allow. If you want to make sure you get them, consult with us before coming.

Buy cod cheeks at Bacalalo — Mercat del Ninot, Barcelona

Frequently Asked Questions

At Bacalalo, since 1990, we've been delighting our customers at Mercat del Ninot with cod cheeks. If you've never tried them, start with this dish: it's the most generous way to understand what makes this unique part of the cod so special.