Fried catfish is an icon of Southern cuisine: For many, there's simply no other way to prepare it. People often debate whether it's better to fry it, batter it, bread it with cornmeal, or simply dredge it in flour. I believe this is a worthwhile discussion.
Now I love a good beer batter, and some fish are best with this simple flour dredge. But not catfish. Catfish needs breading. Corn flour breading.
There's just something about a cornmeal crust that perfectly complements catfish. Maybe it's the combination of a truly American fish with a truly American grain.
It's a simple dish, but there are a few keys to good fried catfish: hot oil and the right breading. If you've ever had moist, oily catfish, it's because the oil is too cold. You want it around 350 degrees. And use peanut butter if you can - it adds a lot of flavor. (Lard is even better...just sayin'.)
For breading, use fine, white cornmeal if you can find it. Unfortunately, this is not always easy outside the South. In the absence of fine, white cornmeal, use the plain stuff with a little flour. Unless it is finely ground, cornmeal husk has a gritty taste.
As for the spices, what we have provided below is exactly what I like to use; you can use whatever seasoning you want, from your own blend to Lawry's to Old Bay, Zatarain's, or even just lemon pepper.
Serve your catfish with whatever you like, but traditionally you'd want cole slaw and hash puppies, which, if you've never heard of them, are deep-fried cornmeal dumplings. Hot sauce on the side too.
Recipe for Fried Catfish
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: Serves 4
This frying method works with almost any thin fish fillet: If you can't find catfish, use tilapia, bass, halibut, walleye, perch, rockfish, croak, or black sea bass.
Ingredients
- 4-6 catfish fillets, about 1-2 kilograms
- 1 cup milk or buttermilk
- Salt
- 3/4 cup fine cornmeal (do not use coarsely ground cornmeal)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
- Oil for frying (use peanut oil if you can)
Method
- Heat oil in a skillet, preheat oven: In a heavy skillet (I prefer to use cast iron), pour enough oil to come 1/2 inch up the sides of the pan. Heat the pan over medium-high heat.
Preheat your oven to 200°F and place a cookie sheet inside. Place a rack over the top of the cookie sheet. - Soak the catfish in milk or buttermilk: As the oil heats up, let the catfish soak in the milk or buttermilk.
- Mix together cornmeal, flour, spices for dredging: Mix the cornmeal, flour, and spices. (Or you can substitute your favorite spice instead.) Place in a shallow dredging dish.
- Dredge fillets in flour mixture, then fry in hot oil: Allow the oil to reach 350°F - a good test is to drop some of the dry breading into the oil, and if it sizzles all at once, you're good.
When the oil is ready, season the catfish fillets with salt and coat them in the breading. Gently shake off the excess and carefully place it into the hot oil.
Fry until the fillet turns golden brown, which should take about 2-4 minutes, depending on its thickness. Use a metal spatula to carefully turn the fish and cook for another 2-4 minutes.
Cast iron heats up and stays hot, so keep an eye on the heat while frying; you may need to reduce the burner heat at some point. - Keep the cooked fillets warm in the oven: Once the fish is done, move it to the oven while you cook the rest of the catfish. Keeping the fried catfish warm in the oven will maintain its crispiness.
When they're done, serve all at once with your favorite hot sauce, cole slaw, and a few hush puppies.
