Recipe Fried Catfish

classic33

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Ingredients
4-6 catfish fillets, about 1-2 pounds
1 cup milk or buttermilk
Salt
3/4 cup fine cornmeal (do not use coarsely ground cornmeal)
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
Oil for frying (use peanut oil if you can)

Method
  • In a heavy frying pan, pour enough oil to come 1/2 inch up the sides of the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high. Turn your oven to 200° and lay a cookie sheet inside. Place a wire rack on top of the cookie sheet.
  • While the oil is heating, soak the catfish in the milk or buttermilk. Mix the cornmeal, flour and spices together. (Or you can substitute your favorite seasoning instead.) Let the oil reach 350 degrees — a good test is to flick a little of the dry breading into the oil, and if it sizzles at once, you're good to go.
  • Once the oil is hot, sprinkle the catfish fillets with salt and dredge them into the breading. Shake off the excess and gently lay into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes, depending on how thick the fillet is. Use a metal spatula and gently turn the fish over and cook for another 2-4 minutes. Cast iron heats up and stays hot, so monitor the heat as you fry; you may need to lower the heat on the burner at some point.
  • Once the fish is ready, move it to the oven while you cook the rest of the catfish. Keeping the fried catfish warm in the oven will help keep it crispy. When they're all done, serve at once with your favorite hot sauce, cole slaw and some hush puppies.

www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fried_catfish/
 
Oh wow, that looks delicious. I wasn't aware there were different grounds of cornmeal, silly me. I'm pretty sure I have the finely ground, but I could be wrong. I haven't fried fish in a while, and now that the weather is finally starting to turn Fallish, it's time to get back to cooking. This looks like a nice recipe to make. Fried catfish is one of my favorite fish that is readily available down here. Cod is my all time favorite, but it's not nearly as common here, so I mainly eat Catfish or Tilapia.
 
I think I would leave out the cornmeal. The last time I tried oven frying something with cornmeal, I did not like the finish. I would use bread crumbs instead. Other than that this is a simple recipe which should not fail.
 
I love to grill catfish. They become naturally oily and crispy when you grill them slowly with a lot of ambient heat. I have not tried frying them because I am still enjoying how they come off so nice and crispy fresh from the grill.
 
This looks really good. I have never had catfish before. The truth is before I read this recipe I didn't even know you could actually eat catfish.
 
This looks really good. I have never had catfish before. The truth is before I read this recipe I didn't even know you could actually eat catfish.

I don't think I ever had catfish until I moved down south (in the U.S.), where it's quite popular. I've had it smoked, blackened, baked, and fried, and fried is definitely my favorite way of cooking and eating it. I hope you get to try it soon, it's delicious. Down here, it's often served with cole slaw and hush puppies. Here's a recipe for hush puppies, in case you've never had or heard of them. http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/hush-puppies
 

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With catfish you have to soak it buttermilk for a while before cooking it to get rid of the slightly muddy taste it has. I prefer a beer batter as opposed to cornbread batter, but that is just me. Catfish is good because it is a hearty fish that will fill you up. Some people do not like it, but I enjoy a catfish fry every once in a while. They are not nearly as popular here in the Pacific Northwest as they are in the southern states.
 
My husband used to like catfish particularly the fried catfish. He grew up in a house beside a vast fish pond that sometimes a catfish would be found on the road. They seldom buy food in the market for the fish around their house was able to sustain their daily needs. And the best is fried catfish with a dip made of vinegar, salt and crushed garlic. However, one time we bought an African catfish that we cut in several pieces for frying. Whoa, those pieces were moving while being fried. They looked alive to me. That was the last time we had catfish... it was 1994.
 
My husband used to like catfish particularly the fried catfish. He grew up in a house beside a vast fish pond that sometimes a catfish would be found on the road. They seldom buy food in the market for the fish around their house was able to sustain their daily needs. And the best is fried catfish with a dip made of vinegar, salt and crushed garlic. However, one time we bought an African catfish that we cut in several pieces for frying. Whoa, those pieces were moving while being fried. They looked alive to me. That was the last time we had catfish... it was 1994.

I've been hearing and seeing a lot of stories about fish staying alive even after being deboned. I'm not sure how true the stories are, but their prevalence seems to be growing, so maybe there's something to it. I knew some creatures could more after their heads were chopped off (for a time), and even snakes can inject venom after being killed, but I agree, seeing fish moving while being fried would freak me out too.
 
I've been hearing and seeing a lot of stories about fish staying alive even after being deboned. I'm not sure how true the stories are, but their prevalence seems to be growing, so maybe there's something to it. I knew some creatures could more after their heads were chopped off (for a time), and even snakes can inject venom after being killed, but I agree, seeing fish moving while being fried would freak me out too.

When we visited a town with fish ponds, we asked one pond caretaker about African catfish because they are raising that particular catfish in their ponds. The caretaker said that African catfish has a strong spirit (he did not elaborate what that means) and there are instances that the catfish is already cooked and they seem to be alive. Take note, seems to be alive but not really alive. We were advised to just settle for tilapia next time. That's the local carp which is also nice to eat when fried to crisp.
 
Oh yeah that's a great recipe the cornmeal will really add some crunch. I like my catfish steamed or grilled though-- frying jut reminds me of fast food. I get rid of the fishy smell with a slice of lime, lemon juice or soy sauce.
 
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