Southern Fried Catfish With Spicy Cream Sauce Recipes

CLASSIC FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Whisk together buttermilk and hot sauce.
• Place catfish in a single layer in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish; pour buttermilk mixture over fish. Cover and chill 8 hours, turning once.
• Combine cornmeal and next 6 ingredients in a shallow dish.
• Let fish stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Remove from buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Dredge fish in cornmeal mixture, shaking off excess.
• Pour oil to depth of 2 inches into a large, deep cast-iron or heavy-duty skillet; heat to 360°F.
• Fry fish, in batches, 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack on a paper towel-lined jelly-roll pan. Keep warm in a 225°F oven until ready to serve.

THIN-CUT CATFISH WITH SPILLWAY SAUCE

Steps:

• Fill a large Dutch oven fitted with a deep-frying thermometer halfway with oil and heat to 360 degrees F. Line a sheet tray with paper towels and fit with a wire rack.
• Unwrap the catfish and place on a parchment-lined quarter sheet tray. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill and firm up.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the cornmeal, corn flour and Cajun seasoning in a pie plate or casserole dish. In a second pie plate, beat together the eggs, hot sauce, some salt and pepper and 1/2 cup water.
• Remove the fish from the freezer and use a boning knife to very carefully cut each fillet into thin pieces. (You should be able to get 4 to 5 pieces from each fillet.)
• In batches, dredge the fish through the egg mixture and then through the cornmeal mixture, then add to the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd. Fry, turning as needed, until crisp and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to the prepared wire rack. Repeat with the remaining catfish.
• Serve the catfish with the Spillway Sauce on the side.
• Mix together the mayonnaise, ketchup, Cajun seasoning and Worcestershire in a small bowl.

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.

PECAN-CRUSTED CATFISH WITH SPICY CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• For the pecan-crusted catfish: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and set aside. Pulse the cornmeal with the pecans and some salt and pepper in a food processor until uniform and the size of breadcrumbs. Create a breading station with the flour on a plate, the milk and egg beaten together and the pecan-cornmeal mixture on another plate. Be sure to sprinkle salt and pepper on each part of the breading station. Dip the fish in the flour, then the egg, then the cornmeal mixture. Heat the oil in a large oven-safe saute pan over medium heat. Brown the coated catfish until golden on one side, about 3 minutes. Then turn the fillets over and place in the oven to finish cooking, about 10 minutes longer (a few minutes more if the fillets are thick).
• For the spicy cream sauce: Place the onions and garlic with the stock, wine and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Boil and reduce for 5 minutes, gently pressing on the onions and garlic to release the flavors. Remove the onion and garlic and discard. Turn down the heat to low and whisk in the steak sauce and lemon juice, then the sour cream. Allow to cook and reduce 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly. (Place back on the heat for 10 seconds if needed to keep the temperature high enough.)

SOUTHERN FRIED CATFISH WITH SPICY CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• BEAT eggs, buttermilk and Frank's RedHot Sauce in 2-qt. shallow dish. Add fish fillets and turn to coat well.
• MIX cornmeal, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper on a sheet of waxed paper.
• DREDGE fillets in cornmeal mixture.
• DEEP-FRY fillets, 2 pieces at a time, in 350°F oil about 5 min. until golden and fish flakes. Splash on Frank's RedHot Sauce and serve with Tangy Dipping Sauce.

SOUTHERN FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, mayonnaise, scallions and relish to make a tartar sauce. Refrigerate until needed.
• Heat oil in deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
• Combine cornmeal, Blackfish Spice and salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge catfish fillets in seasoned cornmeal. Deep-fry coated pieces in batches until they are cooked through, about 10 minutes. (For basic reference, use the manufacturer's instructions for your deep fryer for similar foods, then test the fish see that it is fork tender.) Allow to drain on paper towels and serve with tartar sauce and fresh lemon wedges (to squeeze lemon juice over the fish).

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.

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.