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Deep-Fried Catfish

Source of Recipe

From "I Heart Soul Food" by Rosie Mayes


Recipe Introduction

"At least once on every family trip to Baton Rouge, someone hosts a fish fry in their backyard. All the kids run around playing while the older aunts and grandmas crowd around a deep fryer. The easy Motown music plays from an old stereo, and there's a table all set out full of cornbread, potato salad, hush puppies, corn on the cob with spray-on butter, and big containers of sweet tea. When the kids finally sit down at the table, someone will usually bring over a bucket of whole crab for them to gnaw on, but nobody brings over the catfish - when we wanted some of that as kids, we had to get on up and grab our own! It never lasted long enough for anyone to bring it over. Now I make my own version, and it's still so good it barely makes it to the table. To help the seasoned cornmeal and flour really stick to the fish, I like to coat the catfish with yellow mustard. Don't worry: you won't taste the mustard, unless you have super-sensitive taste buds."

List of Ingredients

◦  2 pounds catfish fillets
◦  ¼ cup yellow mustard
◦  1 cup yellow cornmeal
◦  ¾ cup self-rising flour
◦  2¾ tsp seasoning salt
◦  1½ tsp paprika
◦  1 tsp ground black pepper
◦  2 cups vegetable oil, for deep-frying
◦  Tartar sauce and lemon wedges, for serving
◦  Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish


Recipe

Coat the catfish with the yellow mustard and place them on a baking sheet. Set to the side.

In a large ziplock freezer bag, add the cornmeal, self-rising flour, seasoning salt, paprika, and black pepper. Shake the bag to make sure everything is well combined, then start adding in the catfish. Make sure the catfish is nicely coated, then remove the fillets from the bag and place them on a plate.

Heat up the oil in your deep fryer or deep-frying pan to 350° to 360° F, then deep-fry the catfish until it's nice and golden brown (usually 10 minutes, but could be a few minutes longer if the fish is thick). If you're using a deep-frying pan, turn the fish every 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the fish from the oil and set it on a paper towel-lined plate to help absorb the excess oil. Serve with tartar sauce and lemon wedges, and garnish with parsley.


Makes 4 servings