Crunchy Catfish Fillets Food

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.

BAKED CRISPY CATFISH

Steps:

• . * Preheat oven to 425°F Coat a large nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray.
• * In a shallow soup bowl, combine cornmeal, paprika, thyme, salt, celery seeds, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper. Pour milk into another shallow soup bowl.
• * Dredge fillets first in milk and then in cornmeal mixture, coating both sides and pressing cornmeal mixture gently to adhere. Place coated fillets on baking sheet and lightly spray each with cooking spray.
• * Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Let stand at room temperature 2 minutes before serving with asparagus and lemon wedges. Yields 1 fillet and 1/4 of asparagus per serving.

BAKED CATFISH FILLETS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Whisk wet ingredients together in a bowl and combine dry ingredients on a piece of wax paper.
• Spray a glass baking dish with Pam or olive oil.
• Rinse catfish in cool water and DRY THOROUGHLY with paper towels.
• Dip each catfish fillet in wet ingredients and dredge in breading to coat. Just a nice, light covering is enough. Don't try to completely cover in breading.
• Place catfish fillets in glass baking dish & refrigerate for 10 minutes. This step, plus making sure the fillets are very dry before dipping in the egg will help the breading stick to the fish and NOT the pan!
• Bake at 425 for 10 to 12 minutes per side.
• Serve with lemon wedges for garnish.