METHOD

1. Desalting the fish: 24 hours before - rinse the bacalao well then put to soak in plenty of water; refrigerate overnight, changing the water once.
2. Peel the cod fish skin from the flesh with a sharp knife, then feel for any bones with your fingers and remove them with tweezers or a knife before flaking it into pieces 1-2 cm long. Keep the pieces to one side.
3. Bring the stock or water to the boil in a pan, then add the butter and let it melt. Take the pan off the heat and add all the flour at once, whisking continuously, then add the eggs one at a time, working them in vigorously with a wooden spoon. Don't add the next egg until the previous one has been completely absorbed into the dough. Six eggs is usually about right, but you may need more or less. The dough is ready when it comes away from the sides of the pan easily.
4. Gently stir in the flakes of cod so that you avoid breaking them up too much. It is much nicer to find some good mouthfuls of cod inside the buñuelos, rather than tiny bits. Pour some vegetable oil into a deep pan - it should not come more than a third of the way up - and heat to 180°C (if you don't have a thermometer, test by dropping in a little of the mixture, it should sizzle).
5. Taking two lightly oiled teaspoons, make 'quenelles' by scooping some of the mixture on to one spoon, then scooping it on to the other and passing the mixture back and forth between the two spoons a few times until the mixture is smooth and egg-shaped. Finally, ease the quenelle gently into the hot oil with the help of the free spoon. Fry in batches, so that the mixture doesn't lower the temperature of the oil.
6. As the buñuelos fry, the batter will puff up. As soon as each batch is golden brown all over, lift them out carefully and drain on kitchen paper. Eat hot.