Cornmeal Fried Catfish with Rémoulade Recipe
By
Kate Ramos
Difficulty: Easy |
Total Time:
|
Makes:
4 servings
We couldn’t do a story about cast iron pans without giving you a recipe for pan-fried fish, so here it is. We’ve opted for economical (but still tasty!) catfish.
What to buy: Try to buy farmed catfish, as it gets two thumbs up from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch list.
If you don’t have cake flour on hand, all-purpose can be used, though the results won’t be quite as crispy.
Special equipment: You will need a candy/fat thermometer for this recipe.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup cake flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning the fish
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning the fish
- 6 cups vegetable oil
- 2 pounds catfish fillets, cut into 3- to 4-ounce strips
- Lemon wedges, for serving
- Rémoulade, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the cornmeal, flour, cayenne, paprika, and measured salt and pepper in a shallow dish and whisk to thoroughly combine.
- Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat in a 12-inch cast iron skillet to 350°F. Line a plate with several layers of paper towels; set aside.
- Use a paper towel to blot the fish pieces dry, season on all sides with salt and pepper, then dredge in the cornmeal mixture, being sure to cover all sides. Tap the fish pieces lightly to shake off any excess coating.
- Fry the fish in batches, turning once, until they’re deep golden brown and crisp on the outside with a flaky interior, about 6 minutes total.
- Remove the fish from the pan with a slotted spatula to the paper-towel-lined plate to drain. While the pieces are still hot, season well with salt. Serve with lemon wedges and rémoulade.
pan frying teh CATFISH ----- NOT the worms!
If you're using a cast iron pan, just pan fry it without "deep" frying it! I grew up on fresh caught catfish out of our lake "back home" (Michigan) . . . I'm headed home in a couple weeks and my 90-year-old Dad and I already have a date with a rowboat, a cooler of cold ones (beer for him, soda for me) and a bucket of worms (used to be a coffee can full) . . . but we'll be pan frying ours in a...+READ
If you're using a cast iron pan, just pan fry it without "deep" frying it! I grew up on fresh caught catfish out of our lake "back home" (Michigan) . . . I'm headed home in a couple weeks and my 90-year-old Dad and I already have a date with a rowboat, a cooler of cold ones (beer for him, soda for me) and a bucket of worms (used to be a coffee can full) . . . but we'll be pan frying ours in a little oil and a dab o butter . . .-COLLAPSE
Someone mentioned the addition of corn flour to the cornmeal---I second the tip on the add of CAKE flour to the corn meal--thats the secret add for crunchy. Grandma wouldnt be pleased but it works if you want you want. I do 2/3 a local brand of cornmeal fish fry and 1/3 cake flour. Just find your own preferred ratio.
Fried fish only tastes good with 4, maybe 5 toppings.
1. The red cocktail sauce
2. tartar sauce
3. malt vinegar
4. squeezed lemon or lime
5. Louisiana hot sauce
I actually disagree with the statement made here that farm raised catfish is best. I find that fresh wild-caught catfish is much better, as it has a much meatier flesh and is not as fatty as the farm raised. You can purchase wild-caught in some gourmet fish markets or go on the internet for those who ship next day air.
I personallly don't care for the paper thin catfish. Middendorf's does that and I think it tastes awful. Bozo's in Metairie has the best I've ever tasted outside of my own kitchen!
So I made this and it was awesome!
The Remoulade Sucked! never making it again... prefer this with bbq sauce
I am making this tonight I can't freaking wait!
Panko or Wondra will work just as well I think. I love Catfish though...Love it!! Catfish, in my opinion,makes the best Fish fingers..
Born and raised in the land of fried catfish, New Orleans and totally agree with shallots:
a mix of cornmeal and corn flour is key to a crunchy piece of catfish. That, and a mix of milk and egg to dip in before the flour mix.
Oh, and cut the fish thin. You'll never have a crunchy piece of catfish if its thick like in the photo. Thin is key-there's restaurants who try to get the thinnest down...+READ
Born and raised in the land of fried catfish, New Orleans and totally agree with shallots:
a mix of cornmeal and corn flour is key to a crunchy piece of catfish. That, and a mix of milk and egg to dip in before the flour mix.
Oh, and cut the fish thin. You'll never have a crunchy piece of catfish if its thick like in the photo. Thin is key-there's restaurants who try to get the thinnest down here so much so they slightly freeze the fish and put it to a meat slicer!
Good recipe though. Cake flour sounds interesting.-COLLAPSE
Before coating the fish, "marinade" them in a mixture of milk and lots of mustard (I actually use the basic yellow variety--yes, I know, but it tastes great). Oh, and don't pat the mixture off the fish; you want it well coated with mustard.
I agree with shallots - corn meal and corn flour. That's what I use for all fried fish and my favorite restos that do fried catfish do too. I am going to try the cake flour, though, maybe not on catfish.
Absolutely yum!
.. Personally, I look at any recipe as a matter of choice & taste. I play around with the ingredients, adjusting up or down, adding new or removing existing, even substituting the original main ingredient for another (walleye fillets instead of catfish?).
.. Try other flours. I gave this recipe a shot with some rice flour my daughter had left at my place. Not as good, flavor-wise, as corn flour...+READ
.. Personally, I look at any recipe as a matter of choice & taste. I play around with the ingredients, adjusting up or down, adding new or removing existing, even substituting the original main ingredient for another (walleye fillets instead of catfish?).
.. Try other flours. I gave this recipe a shot with some rice flour my daughter had left at my place. Not as good, flavor-wise, as corn flour (again, as opposed to cake flour), but it did create a nice coating that had a light crispness to it.
.. It's what I love about recipes. Folks create something they love and I come along to change it into something else. Make it my own, so to speak. But it is the work that those other folk do that gives me something fun to play with. And I thank them all for that.
.. BTW, I have yet to make the rémoulade yet. I'm still considering spicing up the recipe and it does look like it'd be a great dip for the catfish.-COLLAPSE
just curious COULD you use any other flour or frying component like panko or all purpose or the best result WOULD be cakeflour
In New Orleans we used to participate in fish fries for over a hundred fifty folks.
The dredging mix of choice down there was corn meal, corn flour and assorted peppers.
The men who cooked (and whom I was eventually allowed to join on the fry line) swore that corn flour was essential. I can't argue with their centuries of cooking.
The cake flour in this recipe results in a lighter breading that still lets the flavors of the fish shine through.
oh yeah...why are we utilizing "Cake Flour" for this recipe?
we made a remoulllade in culinary class for a deep fried sea bass(that was really good)..so im assuming,based on ingredients & methods that this dish is wonderful..maybe ill make it @ home tonight...
.. Oo-oo-oo!! Absolutely GREAT!!
.. I changed only 3 things. I doubled the amounts of Cayenne and black pepper ( I *do* love my zing!), and used canola oil (since that was all I had). Hm, maybe 4 things because I didn't make the remoulade. Maybe I should have and given *that* some extra spice.
.. But it was superb! Nice crispness and flavor, with a touch of hot. And the really cool thing was that...+READ
.. Oo-oo-oo!! Absolutely GREAT!!
.. I changed only 3 things. I doubled the amounts of Cayenne and black pepper ( I *do* love my zing!), and used canola oil (since that was all I had). Hm, maybe 4 things because I didn't make the remoulade. Maybe I should have and given *that* some extra spice.
.. But it was superb! Nice crispness and flavor, with a touch of hot. And the really cool thing was that my catfish were spring-run channel cats from the Ottawa River (Canada) that I caught myself!!
.. I highly recommend this recipe. And do play with it. I'm going to try subbing hot curry for the paprika (or maybe just add a tsp to the mix!)-COLLAPSE