Danish Cod Fish Balls - Fiskefrikadeller

Attention seafood lovers, are you ready to sink your teeth into something fin-tastic?  With their fluffy, airy, tender texture, and delicious savory flavor, these cod fish balls are a pleasure to eat and share. So grab your ingredients, and let's get cooking – these golden fried fish balls are worth their weight in gold!

By Clara Gonzalez - Last revised Dec 3, 2023. Published Aug 29, 2014.

Why I ❤️ it Recipe Ingredients Video Preparation

Cod fish balls.

Why I ❤️ it

This dish, my dear reader, has become part of our multicultural family's tradition. Cod fishballs are a traditional Danish food called fiskefrikadeller. These are slightly fluffy fish balls with which I stuff my face every time I can when I am in Denmark.

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Utensils and tools

• Food processor
• Large bowl
• Small saucepan or pot
• Ice cream scoop (optional)
• Paper towels

Ingredients

• ¾ pound [0.35 kg] fresh cod fillets
• ⅓ cup of heavy cream, or whole milk
• 1½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 medium white onion, minced or grated
• 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of minced fresh parsley
• 2 cups of vegetable oil for frying

Video

Preparation

Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.

Step 1: Mix all the ingredients

In the food processor vase, combine cod fillets, cream, salt, onion, flour, eggs, pepper, and parsley. 

Pulse until the fish is chopped into small flakes.

Step 2: Frying

Heat oil over medium-high heat so there's a good depth for frying.

Carefully place balls made from two tablespoons of the fish mixture (I used an ice cream scoop). Fry until they turn golden brown. Place them on paper towels to drain excess oil.

Serving suggestions

Serve the cod balls with a few slices of lemon (some love the taste of a few drops of lemon juice), and garnish with some parsley or green onions.

You and your guests will love these juicy bits of goodness. Serve cod fish balls with tartar sauce, mayonnaise, or mustard as party food. Yuca fries give it a nice contrasty Caribbean touch.

It can also be served as the main course for dinner with mashed potatoes and a green salad. My Danish-inspired parsley potatoes recipe is absolutely perfect with this.

Background

Fiskefrikadeller is one of my favorite Danish dishes. You and your guests will love these juicy bits of goodness. Serve cod fish falls with a dip as party food or with mashed potatoes as dinner.

For this cod fish balls recipe, I consulted several books about traditional Danish cuisine. Unsurprisingly, no two recipes were alike. I ended up picking what I liked and worked best and making a few changes of my own based on the ones I liked best.

Variations

If you can't find fresh cod, haddock is great for it. If you can't find either, any white fish fillet will do, though the texture and flavor will vary. Even salmon can be used following the same instructions.

In Hispanic countries, it's common to find salt cod, but for this recipe, we need to use fresh or frozen (thawed beforehand).

You can fry these in ghee (clarified butter) if you prefer.

Check out this smoked cod recipe for another interesting way to serve cod.

Nutritional information

Calories: 224kcal - Carbohydrates: 6g - Protein: 19g - Fat: 14g - Saturated Fat: 2g - Cholesterol: 119mg - Sodium: 662mg - Potassium: 435mg - Fiber: 1g - Sugar: 1g - Vitamin A: 155IU - Vitamin C: 3.5mg - Calcium: 38mg - Iron: 1mg

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