Restaurant Quality Fried Catfish Recipes

RESTAURANT-QUALITY FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Pat fillets with paper towel
• Place fish in a large baking dish or plastic storage bag, pour in buttermilk; coat well; allow to sit for 10-minutes in refrigerator
• Meanwhile, make tartar sauce; After the tartar sauce is made, coat and cook the fish
• In a large bowl, add cornmeal, salt, pepper and cayenne; stir with fork till blended
• Using a cast-iron, or heavy bottom skillet, pour oil into skillet and heat to medium;
• While oil is heating, take a fillet directly from the buttermilk and place it in the cornmeal; pat the cornmeal on the fillet; coat it all over, twice; repeat with remaining fillets
• Check your skillet; the oil needs to be around 312 - 350ºF; you can sprinkle a few pieces of cornmeal in the oil to see if it sizzles; if it does sizzle, the oil is ready
• Cooking in batches of two fillets, place them in the hot oil; DO NOT MOVE THE FILLETS until they've cooked for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes on one side
• After 2 1/2 -3 minutes, use tongs and flip the fish over and cook for an additional 3 minutes
• Use a thermometer to measure internal temperature; it should be 145ºF
• Remove fillets from oil and place on a paper towel
• Repeat until all fillets are cooked and drained
• Plate fillets and serve with lemon and tartar sauce
• In a small bowl, combine all ingredients; refrigerate until ready to serve

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.

RESTAURANT-STYLE FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Place the catfish fillets in a single layer in a shallow dish (you may slice the fillets in half lengthwise if desired or leave whole).
• Cover the fillets completely with milk.
• Cover and chill for about 1-1/2 hours.
• In a shallow bowl combine the cornmeal with seasoned salt, black pepper, cayenne, onion powder and garlic powder.
• Remove the catfish from refrigerator and allow to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Remove all the milk from the pan and allowing all the milk to drip off the fillets.
• Sprinkle the fillets very lightly with salt (using about 1 teaspoon for all of the fillets).
• Coat lightly with cornmeal mixture.
• Pour the oil to a depth of about 1-1/2 inches in a cast-iron or heavy skillet.
• Heat oil to 350°F.
• Fry the fish in batches about 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden.
• Drain on wire racks over paper towels.
• Serve with tartar sauce and lemon wedges.

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.

PAN FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Rinse the fillets and pat them dry with paper towels. Mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, creole seasoning, paprika, and pepper together in a shallow dish. Pour the milk into a second shallow dish. Dip the fillets into the milk and then into the cornmeal mixture, coating them well and shaking of any excess.
• Heat 1/2 the butter in a large skillet over high heat, and fry 2 of the fillets for about 3 minutes on each side, or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
• Transfer the fillets to a serving platter and keep warm. Repeat with remaining butter and fillets. Serve immediately, garnished with lemon wedges.

FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Mix cornmeal, flour, salt, red pepper, garlic powder and black pepper in a shallow bowl. Dredge catfish fillets in flour mixture, shaking off excess.
• Fill a deep fryer, or large deep skillet half full with oil and heat to 375 degrees. Fry fish 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

SOUTHERN FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Heat the peanut oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Adjust the heat to maintain the temperature.
• Whisk the cornmeal and flour together in a shallow dish. Combine the seafood seasoning, kosher salt, paprika, and pepper in a small bowl. Season the catfish fillets evenly on both sides with the spice mixture. Pour the buttermilk into another shallow dish. Dip each fillet into the buttermilk, flip once to coat both sides, hold over the pan and allow the excess to drip off. Coat both sides of the fillets in the cornmeal mixture. Set the coated fillets on a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Gently add the fillets, 2 at a time, to the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the fried fillets to a cooling rack set over a newspaper-lined half sheet pan. Repeat method with remaining fillets. Arrange the catfish on a serving platter and serve immediately.