Catfish Poppers With Spicy Dipping Sauce Food

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.)

CATFISH FINGERS WITH CAJUN REMOULADE SAUCE

Steps:

• For the sauce: In the bowl of a food processor, add the onions, celery and capers and process until finely chopped. Mix the chopped vegetables with the mayonnaise, relish, seafood seasoning, pepper and celery salt.
• For the catfish: Preheat the deep fryer to 325 degrees F. In the bowl of a food processor, add the cornmeal, flour, pecans, seafood seasoning and celery salt and pulse until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Dip the catfish slices in the eggs, then coat the catfish in the cornmeal mixture. Fry the fish until golden brown. Serve the hot catfish with remoulade sauce on the side.

CAJUN COMPROMISE CATFISH

Steps:

• Soak the fish pieces in milk for at least 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and hot pepper sauce. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, pepper, mustard and Cajun seasoning. Dip fish pieces into the dry mixture, then into the egg, then back into the dry mix. Set on a plate in the refrigerator and chill for about 15 minutes. This will help the batter stick to the fish.
• Heat more than enough oil to cover the bottom of a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Fry fish pieces for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Depending on how much and what kind of Cajun seasoning you used, some of the breading may get darker than the rest.
• Drain the fish on paper towels and serve with hot sauce or tartar sauce. Enjoy!

CATFISH POPPERS WITH SPICY DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the salt, Cajun seasoning and flour in a bowl.
• In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
• First dredge the fish in the flour, then dip in the eggs and finally dredge in the breadcrumbs.
• Fry the catfish pieces in about 1/2" of oil heated to 375 degrees.
• Fry about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
• Drain and serve with the Spicy Dipping Sauce.
• Spicy Dipping Sauce: Combine the mayonnaise, cocktail sauce, lemon juice, red pepper and Old Bay in a bowl.
• Chill, covered, until ready to serve with the poppers.

SWEET ONION AND CATFISH HUSH PUPPIES WITH COMEBACK SAUCE

Steps:

• For the comeback sauce: Combine mayonnaise, sambal, ketchup, lemon juice, hot sauce, smoked paprika, Worcestershire, garlic powder, mustard, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk together until the mixture is smooth and everything is well incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• For the whipped sorghum butter: Add the butter, molasses and salt to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or to a medium bowl if you're using a hand mixer or whisk. Mix on medium speed until well-combined and the butter is lightened and fluffy.
• For the catfish: Combine the catfish with salt and sugar in a bowl. Refrigerate.
• For the hush puppies: Combine cornmeal with sugar, salt, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, black pepper and cayenne in a medium bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine these dry ingredients. Whisk together the buttermilk and egg in a separate bowl until there are no specks of egg and it becomes a smooth and homogenous mixture.
• Retrieve the quick-cured catfish from the fridge, and add the catfish and diced onion to the dry ingredient mixture. Quickly stir together to coat the onion and catfish bits with cornmeal and spices. Add the buttermilk and egg and mix quickly with a spatula or wooden spoon until everything is well combined and the batter stiffens up pretty quickly as the cornmeal soaks up the buttermilk. Cover your batter and refrigerate for a few minutes while you prepare your pot for frying.
• Add vegetable oil to a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven no larger than 8 inches across-it's necessary for deep frying to have at least 2 inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium heat, bringing it up to 350 degrees F, using a thermometer to check the temperature. (If you don't have a thermometer, you can tell that the oil is ready when you add a small pinch of flour and it immediately sizzles and fries. You can fry without a thermometer if you're feeling bold, but just be careful that your oil doesn't get too hot or cold-you could either burn your hush puppies or end up with greasy ones-and no one wants that!)
• Once the oil is up to 350 degrees F, pull your batter from the fridge and begin to scoop it into the hot oil. We like to use a 3/4-ounce cookie scoop, but you could also use two spoons to scoop and drop roughly tablespoon-sized dollops into the hot oil. Fry as many hush puppies as comfortably fit into the pot at once-they should definitely have some room to expand and get crispy. It's okay to fry in several batches.
• Fry the hush puppies for 2 minutes, then turn them over and fry until golden brown and fluffy on the inside, another 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider, moving them to a plate or tray lined with paper towels to help drain any excess oil. Sprinkle the hush puppies with a little salt while they're still hot. Repeat this process until all your hush puppies are cooked and seasoned.
• Pile the hushpuppies into a dish for serving and garnish with a nice sprinkle of the chives. Serve them nice and hot with 1 cup comeback sauce and 1/4 cup whipped sorghum butter, or your favorite sauces.

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 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.