Southern Fried Catfish
As the stress mounts in the midst of this hectic Holiday Season, sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to fry up a bunch of catfish! Always look to buy good quality farm raised catfish that have been grain fed; the catfish that have been raised this way have a much sweeter flavor than those bottom feeding wild catfish. A great condiment for your fried catfish is some tartar sauce! To view my tartar sauce recipe, go to Homestyle Tartar Sauce.
Ingredients:
2 lbs thin Catfish Fillets
3 cups Buttermilk
2 TBS Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
1 cup White Flour
1 tsp dried Basil
1 TBS Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
Peanut Oil for deep frying
Cooking Procedure:
First, we'll make a marinade for the catfish:
Combine the buttermilk & hot sauce in a deep rectangular container
Stir well
Lightly rinse the fish fillets with cold water & then pat the fillets dry with paper towels
Place the fish in the buttermilk/hot sauce mixture
Turn the fish several times to coat it well
Place the container in the fridge for 1 hour to marinate fish
After the hour has passed, remove the fish from the fridge & turn the fillets once more in the buttermilk mixture
To bread the catfish for frying:
Combine the cornmeal, flour, basil, salt & pepper in another rectangular container
Preheat your peanut oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees
Working in batches, take the catfish from the buttermilk mixture (let any excess drip off) & dredge the fillets in the cornmeal mixture
Coat each fillet will, pressing down lightly as you do so
To fry up the fish:
Again, working in batches (taking care to not overload your fryer), carefully slide some of the fish into the fryer
Fry each batch of fish for 6 minutes, until they're crispy & golden brown
As each batch of fish comes out of the fryer, place the fish on paper towels to absorb any excess grease
To serve: Place the fried fish on a platter and serve with potato salad or hush puppies.
Suggested recipes to round out your menu:
J.P. Gelinas
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If you're in a real do-it-yourself mood and want to catch your own catfish, here's a can't-fail bait recipe we picked up in Texas. Take a cup of bran flakes and pour a can of Big Red cream soda into it. Let it sit for a couple of days - somewhere remote, because it stinks. When it's the consistency of dough, roll it into balls and let them dry. Put 'em on a hook and the catfish can't resist them.