Salt cod is salted and dried cod, a method of food preservation that has been around for hundreds of years.

To bring salt cod back to life and purge it of excess salt, you need to soak the fish in cool water for 24 hours, changing the water 4 to 5 times. Many chefs also swear by the slow running water method whereby cod is submerged in a dish of cold water and left in the sink under a slow-dripping faucet, so that the salty water is constantly replaced with fresh water.

Once the cod has finished soaking, you can pre-cook the fish for various recipes by placing it in a pan deep enough to hold the salt cod fillets and covering with 1 inch of water. Bring this to a simmer, remove from the heat, cover and let stand 20 minutes until the fish is tender and easily flaked. Once the fish is cooked, you can easily remove the skin and bones.