I finally saw Salt Cod

While I've seen many recipes calling for salt cod, I don't think I have ever seen any. While traveling south on I-5 this week, we made our usual stop in Williams at a place called Granzella's. It is a hot spot to stop because it is basically out in the nowhere lands, serve OK food, and the deli is very nicely stocked with lots of imported type foods, great raviolis, Italian ices, baked goods and a great meat and cheese deli. I wanted to pick up a log of salami and happened to look down to the bottom shelving and saw huge bins of salt cod. The pieces were huge and I was amazed at seeing them there for the first time in the over forty years we have been stopping there. My guess is, that these pieces were about 15 inches or longer, and very wide. They were sticking out of the bins a bit, each separated by some sort of paper and a large clear plastic cover thrown over the top of the bin.
My question is, does one buy that huge chunk of salt cod, break off what you need, or ask the clerk to give you so many pounds? After I got over my amazement of seeing that, I headed for the deli to pick up my usual products and promptly forgot about asking those questions to the clerk.

Karen,
I've only ever bought whole fillets. I look for the smallest, fattest one. They are usually large enough to use in at least 3 -4 different ways for the 2 of us.
Thin fillets have exceptionally dried out ends that never rehydrate well but are still tasty for things like soup/stews. Thicker sections work best for other uses where the texture is more important
It keeps very well so you can stretch out its use for a good 4-6 weeks.
Never thought to ask for a slice or portion of the whole but it doesn't hurt to ask.

You can buy it from Corti Bros in Sacramento.

[Jenise]

Shopping at a Whole Foods Market in Westlake Village (So Cal, at the west end of the San Fernando Valley) this past weekend I saw something that I don't recall seeing there before: a plexiglas bin of salt cod that you could help yourself to with a pair of tongs. Wonder if it's becoming more popular?

Shopping at a Whole Foods Market in Westlake Village (So Cal, at the west end of the San Fernando Valley) this past weekend I saw something that I don't recall seeing there before: a plexiglas bin of salt cod that you could help yourself to with a pair of tongs. Wonder if it's becoming more popular?

I wondered the same thing Jenise, when I saw the amount they had in the wooden bins. The store I mentioned, Granzella's, is a farming community , with some Italian families, and has a strong Mexican population...I wonder if that make the difference?