French Quarter Catfish With Bearnaise Sauce Recipes

CLASSIC FRENCH BEARNAISE SAUCE

Steps:

• Tie the peppercorns and 2 tarragon sprigs in cheesecloth and secure with butcher's twine to make a sachet. In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, shallots and sachet and simmer over low heat until the liquid is evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool; discard the sachet.
• In a medium bowl set over a double boiler, whisk together the egg yolks and lemon juice. Heat, whisking constantly, until the yolks are pale and slightly thickened. Slowly ladle in the clarified butter, whisking constantly, until the sauce is emulsified. If sauce looks like it is getting too thick, add water by the tablespoon until you reach the desired consistency. Remove from the heat and add the chopped tarragon and 1 tablespoon of the shallots. Season with salt and pepper.

FRIED CATFISH TOPPED WITH CRAWFISH AU GRATIN SAUCE

Steps:

• For the sauce: In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the onions, peppers and garlic until wilted. Add the flour and stir until a blond roux is achieved, about 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar, chicken base, crab base, granulated garlic, basil, black pepper, cayenne pepper and thyme. Add the milk and wine and cook over medium heat until the milk thickens, stirring constantly, about 6 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese melts and fully incorporates into the sauce. Add the crawfish tails and cook until heated through, about 4 minutes. Add the green onions just before serving.
• For the catfish: Sprinkle the catfish with Creole seasoning. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk. Coat the catfish in flour and dip in the milk/egg mixture, then coat with cornmeal. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a large skillet. Fry the catfish until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Serve the catfish with the crawfish au gratin sauce.

CHEF JOHN'S BEARNAISE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place 1 cup tarragon, shallots, and peppercorns in a saucepan. Pour in white wine vinegar, white wine, and water. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer; stir. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer and reduce liquid to about 3 tablespoons, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer, pressing vegetable/herb mixture to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Place 1/4 cup chopped tarragon and capers in a mortar. Mash with a pestle about 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon cold butter. Mash and pound with pestle until ingredients are thoroughly combined in a solid mass. Transfer to a piece of plastic wrap; wrap and chill.
• Place egg yolks in a stainless steel (flameproof) mixing bowl; add 3 tablespoons tarragon/shallot reduction; whisk together. Add cold butter cubes. Place bowl over low to medium heat whisking constantly until sauce thickens, as you hold the bowl with a kitchen towel. After butter melts continue whisking; mixture will turn a lighter yellow color after 8 to 10 minutes. When mixture is nice and thick, reduce heat to low and stir in compound butter broken into chunks. Continue whisking. Remove from heat. Season with salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.

BéARNAISE SAUCE

Steps:

• Put the vinegar, shallots, black pepper and 1 tablespoon of tarragon leaves into a small saucepan, and set over a medium flame. Bring just to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer until there are only a few tablespoons of liquid left, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
• Fill a small saucepan with an inch or two of water, and set over medium-high heat to boil.
• Put the cooled shallot-and-tarragon mixture into a metal mixing bowl along with a tablespoon of water and the egg yolks, then whisk to combine.
• Turn the heat under the saucepan of water down to its lowest setting, and put the bowl on top of the pan, making sure that it does not touch the water directly. Continue to whisk the yolks until they thicken, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. You should just about double the volume of the yolks.
• Slowly beat in the butter, a tablespoon or two at a time, whisking slowly to combine and emulsify. Remove the bowl from the pan occasionally, so as not to overcook the eggs, and taste the sauce. Season with salt. If the flavor is not sharp enough, add a splash of lemon juice. If the sauce is too thick, stir in a splash of hot water. Add the remaining teaspoon of tarragon leaves, and serve.

FRENCH-QUARTER CATFISH WITH BEARNAISE SAUCE

Steps:

• Thaw fish if frozen. Wash and dry fish. Brush fish inside and outside with the French dressing; arrange in a shallow dish. Refrigerate, covered , for 1 to 2 hours, brushing French dressing over fish several times. In a large bowl, combine breadcrumbs, butter or margarine, fines herbes, paprika, onion, salt and celery salt; mix. Roll fish in crumb mixture, then arrange on a well-oiled shallow baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. While fish is baking, make Bernaise Sauce and keep warm. Bernaise Sauce: In the top part of a double boiler, beat egg yolks and lemon juice. Set top pan over bottom pan filled with hot water, and cook slowly, never allowing water in the bottom pan to come to a boil. Slowly add melted butter to egg yolks, stirring constantly with a wooden sppon. Add salt and pepper, capers, parsley and vinegar. Makes about 3 cups.

FRIED WHOLE CATFISH WITH SPICY BLACK BEAN SAUCE

Steps:

• In a saucepan add oil, black bean, chili flakes, ginger and garlic and lightly sauté. Add in sugar, oyster sauce, clam juice and cornstarch roux to lightly thicken and keep warm.
• Take the whole catfish and clean inside and outside and with a chef knife make 3 slice along the side of the catfish about 2" apart and season with salt the inside and outside and cover the catfish with cornstarch and pat off extras cornstarch.
• In a wok halfway fill with oil over a high heat to 350° and place the catfish head first and lower catfish into the hot oil and deep fry to a golden brown and with a wok spatula of hot oil pour over the catfish. Place the cooked catfish onto a large serving platter and pour the spicy black bean sauce over the catfish.

FRENCH BEARNAISE SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the vinegar, wine, scallions, and tarragon in a small saucepan. Place it over high heat and boil until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
• Fill the bottom of a double boiler with water and bring it almost to a boil. Lower the heat so that the water is hot but not boiling.
• Combine the egg yolks and the reserved scallion mixture in the top of the double boiler, and place the top over the bottom. Gradually whisk in the melted butter in a slow, steady stream. Continue whisking until the sauce has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
• Makes 1 1/2 cups.

CATFISH WITH PARSLEY SAUCE

Steps:

• In a food processor or blender, process parsley until coarsely chopped. Add remaining sauce ingredients; process until smooth. Refrigerate. , Combine the flour, cayenne pepper and salt in a bowl. Dredge each fillet; shake off excess. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoons each of oil and butter. Fry fillets for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Turn fillets; add remaining oil and butter if necessary. , Divide the sauce and spread evenly on the cooked side of each fillet. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.