Southern Fried Catfish Nuggets Recipes

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.

FRIED CATFISH NUGGETS

Steps:

• Place the catfish pieces into a mixing bowl and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Toss until the catfish is evenly coated with the thyme. Mix in the mustard with your hands. Cover, and refrigerate overnight, up to 24 hours.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk the flour, salt, black pepper, and baking soda together in a mixing bowl.
• Dip the catfish pieces one at a time into the flour mixture and shake off the excess. Fry the catfish nuggets in batches until they are no longer translucent in the center and are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Let the oil come back up to temperature between batches. Drain the nuggets on a paper towel-lined plate before serving.

SOUTHERN FRIED CATFISH NUGGETS

Steps:

• Put oil in a skillet until it is halfway up or you can use a deep fryer, a deep fryer is actually best for these. Heat until hot or if using skillet use medium high heat.
• In a large bowl beat egg with a fork, add buttermilk to it. Beat again to incorporate.
• In another big bowl put cornmeal and seasonings to taste.
• Rinse nuggets and dip into milk mixture, depending on how many you have you could probably fit them all in at one time.
• Take a few out of the milk and dip in to the cornmeal, roll around to get it coated good, then put into oil.
• If using skillet put them in until skillet is full. fry 3 minutes, turn and fry another 2-3 minutes. If using a deep fryer fry 5 minutes, about halfway through stir them around to break up any that might have clumped together. They are done when golden brown and flake easily with a fork.

FRIED CATFISH NUGGETS

Steps:

• Pour oil into deep pot, Dutch oven or deep fryer, filling no more than 3/4 full. Heat on medium-high heat to 375°F.
• Mix buttermilk, egg, Creole Mustard, Hot Sauce, OLD BAY and black pepper in medium bowl. Place Fish Fri in separate shallow dish. Dip fish in buttermilk mixture, then dip in Fish Fri to coat.
• Working in batches as needed, fry catfish nuggets in hot oil about 4 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with additional Cajun Hot Sauce or Creole Mustard for Dipping. Chef Millie's Charcuterie Tips:•When plating a charcuterie board, you want to plate the star of the show in the middle-that's our catfish nuggets!-because we want people to eat it while it's hot. You probably won't have to worry about re-heating anything because McCormick seasonings add so much flavor, everything will be devoured before any reheating is necessary. •You can turn any soul food staple into a small bite perfect for a charcuterie board - whether it's collard greens you turn into spring rolls, mac-n-cheese into fried gooey nuggets of goodness, or banana pudding made into individual pie bites. •Adding ready-made sauces to the board for dipping allows guests to create their own unique combos in every bite. Mini ramekins with an assortment of condiments like Stubb's® Bar-B-Q Sauce, Zatarain's® Creole Mustard, or even French's® Mustard can really jazz up the board.

AIR FRYER CATFISH NUGGETS

Steps:

• Preheat an air fryer to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place seasoned breading mix in a gallon-size plastic resealable bag. Drop catfish pieces inside, close, and shake to coat fish with breading on all sides.
• Spread out nuggets on a baking sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place nuggets in an even layer in the air fryer basket, sprayed side down. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your air fryer. Spray the tops with non-stick cooking spray.
• Air fry for 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip nuggets over and cook for 4 minutes more.