Coddies

( Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox )

Baltimore Coddies
Publication date: 05/22/2002
Yield: Makes 16 to 20 coddies

Ingredients:
1/4 pound salt cod or 1 tablespoon cod paste or 1 tablespoon fish flakes
1 to 1 1/4 pounds potatoes
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup crushed crackers
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
vegetable oil for frying
saltine crackers
yellow mustard

If you are using salt cod, soak the fish for 24 hours in a bowl of water. Change the water every 6 to 8 hours. Cover the fish with water in a pan and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and break with a fork; cool. Peel, dice and boil potatoes until cooked. Drain, mash with 2 tablespoons milk and cool. In a large bowl, combine salt cod (or cod paste or fish flakes), potatoes, crackers, eggs and black pepper and make into thin, palm-sized balls.
Flatten slightly and cook in a pan filled with 1/4 inch of vegetable oil. Brown cakes on each side and drain. Replace diminished oil between batches. To serve, place each coddie on a saltine cracker, top with yellow mustard, and place another saltine on the top. Serve either warm or at room temperature.

--Recipe based on interviews with coddie makers

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