Fried Catfish
Last night was a rough night for my exhausting devil child beautiful young daughter. I’ve read that 75% of babies her age can sleep through the night (defined as what I can only imagine is a glorious 8-12 hour stretch). But we are members of the bleary 25% who are still waking up at least twice - or in the case of last night, five times - each night for feedings.
So dragging myself into the kitchen this morning - large cup of coffee in hand - to tackle the marinade for my dinner plan was less than appealing. But I did it, and, oh, was it worth it.
I got some catfish from my fish share this week, and I have to admit I know next to nothing about it. I think it has whiskers? According to my mother, catfish is “very Louisiana” and “definitely a bottom feeder” and also absolutely delicious. I found this fried catfish recipe from Chef Todd Richards, author of Soul - and he got it from his mother. So that speaks pretty highly for it, no?
This catfish is incredibly easy and incredibly delicious. My morning task was to immerse the catfish in a buttermilk marinade with Worcestershire, powdered onion, powdered garlic, hot sauce, salt and pepper. After that, you can basically ignore it except to give it a turn at midday.
But... I have to admit I was a little intimidated by this recipe. Frying isn’t a common technique in my household, not out of any opposition to frying but because I’ve always assumed it’s something that requires a high level of skill. Also, I’m extraordinarily lazy when it comes to cleaning up and I was under the impression that frying was extremely messy. Turns out, I was delightfully wrong on all fronts.
After doing some research, I identified two key tricks for frying. First, measure the temperature of the oil. I didn’t have a thermometer to leave in the oil, so I used an instant read thermometer to get to a pretty confident 350°F reading. Second, like any time you dredge, remove any excess liquid (in this case, buttermilk marinade) and excess grain (in this case, cornmeal). (As a newbie, I’m very interested in hearing other people’s expertise on this topic!)
Despite all my fears, this catfish was incredibly easy and a total hit at home. The crust was flavorful and crispy, the meat was moist and tender. And I didn’t destroy my stove with an oil storm, which has now opened my mind and heart to frying at home.
I highly recommend serving this up with something to cut the richness — something fresh like a tomato, or acidic like pickles, or bitter like lightly sautéed Swiss chard. These corn jalapeño muffins are amazing, too. At the end of the day, you will not regret dragging yourself into the kitchen to get this going.
Fried Catfish
Servings: 4 || Time: 45 minutes || Source: Chef Todd Richards
Catfish fillets - 1.5lbs
Vegetable or canola oil - 4 cups
For the marinade
Buttermilk - 2 cups
Worcestershire - 2 tbsp
Hot sauce - 1 tbsp
Garlic powder - ¼ tsp
Onion powder - ¼ tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 1 tsp
For dredging
Cornmeal - ½ cup
Cayenne - ½ tsp
Salt - 3 tsp
Black pepper - ½ tsp
Up to eight hours before cooking, combine the ingredients for the marinade in a gallon bag or shallow baking pan and add the catfish. Refrigerate.
When you’re ready to cook, combine the dredging ingredients on a large plate or shallow bowl.
Heat vegetable oil in a large pan (cast iron or stainless steel) over medium heat until it reaches 350°F.
Working with as many pieces of catfish as you can fit in the pan at one time, remove the catfish from the buttermilk and dredge in the cornmeal mixture, shaking to remove excess. Let stand for five minutes as the oil heats.
Add the catfish to the oil and fry until golden brown, around 4 minutes per side. Use tongs to check for browning and turn when it’s turned golden brown. Remove catfish to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Serve with tartar sauce, hot sauce, lemon, and your choice of sides.