Fried Catfish with Hushpuppies

The big guy and Max left a while ago for a long walk on the U of A campus, so I'm a little late posting this morning. I took the opportunity to spend an extra half hour drinking coffee and reading before I tackled the elliptical to burn off last night's calories.

The big guy dangled a big anticipatory carrot in front of me the other day and asked if I'd like to join him on a trip to New Orleans in the Spring. For me that's just impossible to refuse. I love the City, absolutely love the people there, the action of the French Quarter, the beauty of the Garden District, and of course the food. The last time we were in New Orleans together was about 6 years ago before Katrina of course. I'm counting the days till we're there again revisiting the place I love....ah pralines, muffaletta sandwiches, coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde... dinner at Mr. B's Bistro for duck springrolls and shrimp and grits with red eye gravy. Do ya' think it's too early to make reservations?

Anyway to get the old taste buds moving towards a big easy kind'a feeling, I whipped up some catfish and hushpuppies for dinner last night.

The lovely firm catfish fillets soaked in a mixture of buttermilk and hot sauce for most of the afternoon, then were coated in cajun seasoning courtesy of Zatarains, dipped in egg then a mix of all purpose flour and cornmeal. Four minutes in hot oil yielded fish that was tender and flaky on the inside with a hint of spicy heat and very crisp on the outside. Accompanied by some tender little hushpuppies and a spiced up horseradish flavored tartar sauce, it was quite the feast. My only hint is for heaven's sake don't overcook the hushpuppies or they're like bullets. Oh and the other thing ...I guess the big guy's not the only hot sauce fanatic around here, cause I was the one pouring it on my fish and hushpuppies last night.  mmm - Houston we may have a problem. Ha!

Fried Catfish with Hushpuppies

1 pound catfish fillets

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup Louisiana hot sauce

Cajun Seasoning (I used Zatarains)

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 Tablespoon water

Oil for frying

Cut catfish fillets lengthwise in half into fingers, rinse well under cold water. Dry with paper towels. In a zip bag, combine catfish with buttermilk and hot sauce. Refrigerate for several hours. Combine flour, cornmeal and salt in a shallow dish. Beat egg with water in another shallow dish.  Remove catfish fillets from buttermilk and discard buttermilk. Sprinkle fillets with Cajun seasoning, then dip into egg wash and dredge in flour cornmeal mixture. Shake off excess breading. Refrigerator for 15 minutes to set coating.

Heat approximately 2 inches of oil in a Dutch oven to 375 degrees. Fry fish for 4 minutes or until done, turning once during cooking. Drain on paper towels and keep warm.

Hushpuppies:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

3 tablespoons grated onion

1 large egg

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 Tablespoon hot sauce

Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  In another bowl beat egg together with buttermilk and hot sauce. Mix in grated onion. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients lightly with a fork until just mixed.  Drop batter 1 tablespoon at a time into 375 oil and cook for 3, turning frequently until golden brown outside, but still slightly moist inside. Drain on paper towels.

Tartar Sauce:

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sweet relish

1 teaspoon dried dill

1 tablespoon horseradish

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Dash of salt

Mix ingredients together. Cover and chill.

Comments

[Sarah G]

Make me homesick for Tennessee! See if I care! I love catfish.

[June]

Sarah - it's payback time. I'm homesick for the Prairies!

[Nanan]

Those look perfect!!! I so wish I would be here for your visit to New Orleans - it really is just right there for us - a quick car trip to the city! Oh - the excellent food you will eat - and the wild caught seafood is excellent - the oil from the spill has mostly gone away and our beautiful seafood has comeback to us! You will have a great time - the weather is wonderful in the Spring - not too hot!

[June]

Lea - we wish you were going to be around too, but we'll just have to plan better our next visit. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! I'm so darned excited!

[Mags]

I've never been to New Orleans but it's definitely on my bucket list.

Lovely basket of fish and puppies June. Great photo too! (HINT)

[June]

Mags - New Orleans is an incredible City and so worth a visit. It has an unbelievable pulse, a vibe like no other. Thanks re the hint!

[Tom @ Tall Clover Farm]

This is the dinner of champions -- one of my favorites!

[June]

It's a favorite here too, Tom.

[Mary from Apron Strings & Wedding Rings]

Wonderful seafood combo for dinner. Looks so enticing June! HUGS, Mary L.

[June]

Mary, we love our hush puppies and catfish, well isn't it just the best excuse for a fry up?