Fried Catfish Recipe

This Southern Fried Catfish is golden brown on the outside and flaky and delicious on the inside. Seasoned through and through, it’s the perfect recipe for when you want a good piece of fried fish.

Fried fish is a staple among the Black community in the United States and it’s a vital part of African-American culinary traditions. Many celebrations call for a fish fry where pieces of fish are seasoned and deep-fried until golden brown. Not only does this tradition calls for some delicious piping hot fish to be served, but there is also a form of unity and connection that comes along with it.

Now when it comes to catfish, Black folks like to season their catfish and deep fry it, resulting in the most delicious and crispy filets. For this recipe, I use a technique that is common in frying any piece of fish. Season the fish, use seasoned cornmeal mix in the coating, and fry the fish until it’s golden brown. Following those basic steps will lead to some pretty darn good Southern fried fish.

Restaurant-Quality Fried Catfish

Catfish fried in a tasty cornmeal batter, served with homemade tartar sauce.

Prep: 10min

Total: 20min

Yield: 4

Serving Size: 1 fillet

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 fillet, calories 1469 kcal, Carbohydrate 65 g, Protein 11 g, Fat 131 g, Saturated Fat 15 g, Trans Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 27 mg, Sodium 1252 mg, Fiber 8 g, Sugar 6 g, unSaturated Fat 112 g

Ingredients:

• 4 fillets catfish (a little over a pound, total)
• 1½ cups oil (vegetable, canola or peanut (you may need more or less; depends on how deep your skillet is) See Recipe Notes)
• 2 cups cornmeal (yellow, not self-rising)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper ((red pepper, ground))
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2½ tablespoons relish (, (dill or sweet); squeezed in a paper towel)
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vinegar (or lemon)

Instruction:

1. Meanwhile, make tartar sauce; After the tartar sauce is made, coat and cook the fish
2. Plate fillets and serve with lemon and tartar sauce
3. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients; refrigerate until ready to serve

Fried Catfish Recipe

This classic southern fried catfish recipe is dredged in a perfectly seasoned and spiced cornmeal breading and fried until golden brown and tender.

Prep: 15min

Total: 40min

Yield: 8

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 136 kcal, Carbohydrate 13 g, Protein 12 g, Fat 4 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 74 mg, Sodium 508 mg, Fiber 1 g, Sugar 1 g, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt (up to 2 teaspoons/ taste the seasoned cornmeal and adjust)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp hot sauce
• 1 lb catfish fillets
• lemon wedges, tartar sauce and hot sauce for serving

Instruction:

1. In a brown bag or ziploc bag, add cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon pepper, and paprika and shake together.
2. In a deep pie plate or large shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and hot sauce.
3. Add each filet into beaten eggs on both sides then add to the cornmeal breading and shake liberally to coat well. Place the fillet on the coated baking sheet. Repeat with each fillet.
4. Let fish set for about 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator then remove.
5. In a large dutch oven, pot or deep fryer, pour in about 4 inches of oil and heat over medium high heat until the temperature reaches approximately 340 degrees.
6. Working in batches, fry fillets until golden brown then remove and drain on racks or paper towels.
7. Cool for 5-10 minutes then serve with lemon and chopped parsley.

Southern Fried Catfish

Prep: 0 25min0

Total: 0 45min0

Yield: 6 servings

Serving Size: 1 of 6 servings

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 of 6 servings, calories 861, Fat 60g, Saturated Fat 11g, Carbohydrate 38g, Fiber 2g, Sugar 2g, Protein 40g, Cholesterol 126mg, Sodium 440mg

Ingredients:

• 1 quart peanut oil
• 1 cup stone-ground fine cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 (7 to 9-ounce) US farm-raised catfish fillets, rinsed and thoroughly patted dry
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

Instruction:

1. Heat the peanut oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Adjust the heat to maintain the temperature.
2. Whisk the cornmeal and flour together in a shallow dish. Combine the seafood seasoning, kosher salt, paprika, and pepper in a small bowl. Season the catfish fillets evenly on both sides with the spice mixture. Pour the buttermilk into another shallow dish. Dip each fillet into the buttermilk, flip once to coat both sides, hold over the pan and allow the excess to drip off. Coat both sides of the fillets in the cornmeal mixture. Set the coated fillets on a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Gently add the fillets, 2 at a time, to the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the fried fillets to a cooling rack set over a newspaper-lined half sheet pan. Repeat method with remaining fillets. Arrange the catfish on a serving platter and serve immediately.

Southern Fried Catfish

This Southern Fried Catfish is golden brown on the outside and flaky and delicious on the inside. Seasoned through and through, it’s the perfect recipe for when you want a good piece of fried fish.

Prep: 40min

Yield: 6

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 199 kcal, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Catfish (filleted with skin removed)
• 1.5 cups buttermilk or milk (optional)
• oil for deep frying
• ½ cup hot sauce
• ¾ cup very fine cornmeal
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika

Instruction:

1. If soaking your catfish filets, start by adding the filets in a flat container and covering them with buttermilk or milk. Allow the filets to soak for 45 minutes to an hour.
2. Next, add about 4-5 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot and heat over medium-high heat until the temperature of the oil reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You will want to use a deep-frying thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil.
3. While the oil is heating, create a dredging station. In one shallow bowl, add the hot sauce. In another shallow bowl, add cornmeal, all purpose flour, Old Bay Seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper and whisk to combine.
4. Remove the filets from the milk mixture and shake off any excess buttermilk. Dip the fillets into the hot sauce mixture, and then into the seasoned cornmeal mixture, shaking off any excess cornmeal. Place fillets on a plate until the oil has reached the desired temperature.
5. Once the oil has reached the correct temperature, gently drop the catfish fillets into the hot oil. Be careful not to cause any oil splatter. Fry each filet for about 3-4 minutes, until the fillets are golden brown.
6. Remove the filets with a slotted spoon and lay them on a wire rack or paper towels.
7. Serve the filets as is or season with additional salt and pepper.
8. Enjoy.

Southern Fried Catfish: How to cook this delicious fish

FAQ

Should you soak catfish in milk before frying?

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Do you need to soak catfish before cooking?