Crispy Fried Catfish Recipes

SOUTHERN FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix buttermilk, water, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture into a flat pan large enough to hold the fillets. Spread fish in one layer over bottom of pan, turning to coat each side, and set aside to marinate.
• In a 2 gallon resealable plastic bag, combine the cornmeal, flour, and seafood seasoning. Add fish to mixture, a few fillets at a time, and tumble gently to coat evenly.
• Heat oil in deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
• Deep fry fillets until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Avoid overcrowding so fillets have room to brown properly. Fish should be slightly crisp outside, and moist and flaky inside. Drain on paper towels.

CRISPY FRIED CATFISH NUGGETS

Steps:

• Rinse, pick out bones and undesirable bits, lightly dry catfish.
• Mix the corn meal and seasonings in a pie plate.
• Scramble the eggs and buttermilk in a bowl.
• Heat a skillet filled about 1/2 an inch with corn oil over a medium flame. Throw a drop of water in it, when it sizzles you're ready to cook.
• While the oil is heating, dredge the fish in the corn meal mix.
• Then dip in egg mix.
• Then heavily coat it in then corn meal mix pressing the corn meal into the egg. Be sure to cover all the wet spots before lightly knocking off any loose corn meal.
• Last, set the piece aside to await frying.
• For an extra thick crust, dip in egg and corn meal again. You will need to increase the amount of egg, buttermilk and corn meal by 50%.
• Once the oil is hot, place as many pieces of coated fish into the skillet without over crowding it using the pieces that have been sitting the longest.
• After about 3 minutes, turn the pieces half way around keeping them on the same side and cook until the sides start to brown. You want a medium to dark brown color on the underside before flipping.
• Repeat the same after flipping but watch closely as it won't take as long to brown.
• Remove pieces from the skillet, let the oil drain off and place on a rack to cool while the next round gets fried. You can put them in a 200 degree oven to keep hot while the rest cook.
• Coat both sides of the onion rolls with Durkee Sauce (Mayo if you don't have it), place pieces of fish on the bottom half, cover top of fish with relish and onion, add top half of the roll and resist the urge to eat it all yourself.
• The crust is a bit dry so you want to eat it with some kind of dipping sauce.
• For left overs, just reheat in a 250 degree oven or eat it cold like fried chicken.

SOUTHERN-STYLE OVEN-FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a 13x9 glass baking dish with the oil, and set aside.
• Rinse the catfish fillets, and pat dry. In a shallow bowl, combine the cornmeal, creole seasoning, paprika, sugar, and black pepper. Combine the eggs and hot sauce or water in a another bowl. Dip the fillets in the egg mixture, dredge in the cornmeal mixture, and arrange in the baking pan.
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown. Turn once during cooking. Place catfish on a paper-towel lined plate, and serve immediately with additional hot sauce.

EASY CRISPY FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• In a large skillet, fill pan with 1/2 inch of vegetable oil. Turn on heat to medium or medium high heat.
• Dip catfish in milk, then in cornmeal. Shake off excess cornmeal.
• Once oil is hot, begin frying fish in batches until they are golden brown. Flip fish so each side is cooked evenly.
• (On the 2nd or3rd batch of fish, you may want to reduce the pan heat because it will be extra hot). Add extra oil if needed.
• Drain fish on paper towels and sprinkle with salt or seasoning salt.
• Serve hot with tartar sauce.