Texas Fried Catfish Recipes

RESTAURANT-QUALITY FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Pat fillets with paper towel
• Place fish in a large baking dish or plastic storage bag, pour in buttermilk; coat well; allow to sit for 10-minutes in refrigerator
• Meanwhile, make tartar sauce; After the tartar sauce is made, coat and cook the fish
• In a large bowl, add cornmeal, salt, pepper and cayenne; stir with fork till blended
• Using a cast-iron, or heavy bottom skillet, pour oil into skillet and heat to medium;
• While oil is heating, take a fillet directly from the buttermilk and place it in the cornmeal; pat the cornmeal on the fillet; coat it all over, twice; repeat with remaining fillets
• Check your skillet; the oil needs to be around 312 - 350ºF; you can sprinkle a few pieces of cornmeal in the oil to see if it sizzles; if it does sizzle, the oil is ready
• Cooking in batches of two fillets, place them in the hot oil; DO NOT MOVE THE FILLETS until they've cooked for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes on one side
• After 2 1/2 -3 minutes, use tongs and flip the fish over and cook for an additional 3 minutes
• Use a thermometer to measure internal temperature; it should be 145ºF
• Remove fillets from oil and place on a paper towel
• Repeat until all fillets are cooked and drained
• Plate fillets and serve with lemon and tartar sauce
• In a small bowl, combine all ingredients; refrigerate until ready to serve

CLASSIC FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Whisk together buttermilk and hot sauce.
• Place catfish in a single layer in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish; pour buttermilk mixture over fish. Cover and chill 8 hours, turning once.
• Combine cornmeal and next 6 ingredients in a shallow dish.
• Let fish stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Remove from buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Dredge fish in cornmeal mixture, shaking off excess.
• Pour oil to depth of 2 inches into a large, deep cast-iron or heavy-duty skillet; heat to 360°F.
• Fry fish, in batches, 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack on a paper towel-lined jelly-roll pan. Keep warm in a 225°F oven until ready to serve.

TEXAS FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Thaw frozen fish.
• Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
• Beat eggs slightly and blend in the milk.
• Dip fish in eggs and roll in cornmeal.
• Place fish in a heavy fry pan which contains about 1/8" melted fat, hot but not smoking.
• Fry at a moderate heat.
• When fish is brown on one side, turn carefully and brown on the other side.
• Drain on absorbent paper.
• Serve immediately on a hot platter, plain or with a sauce.

TYLER'S TASTE OF TEXAS STYLE CATFISH

Steps:

• Mix the eggs, hot sauce and water to make the egg wash. In a shallow dish, place the catfish fillets in the egg wash and refrigerate the fillets for at least 1 hour and up to several hours. Combine the cornmeal, flour, paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a shallow pan. Pour enough oil into a cast iron skillet to reach halfway up your fillets. Heat the oil to 300 degrees. While the oil is heating dredge the fillets, in the cornmeal mixture one at a time, coating both sides well. Gently place a few pieces of fish in the skillet, frying them in batches. Fry the fillets a total of about 5 minutes per 1/2-inch of thickness, turning them once. Adjust the heat as necessary to get a deep golden brown crust and a flaky interior. Drain the fillets. Serve the fish immediately, with lemon wedges, pink tartar sauce, Texas Champagne sauce, hushpuppies, cole slaw, corn on the cob and a green onion and you have a tasty Tyler's Taste of Texas plate.

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.

TEXAS ROADHOUSE FRIED CATFISH RECIPE

Steps:

• 1. Thaw catfish fillets in the refrigerator. Skip this step if the catfish is fresh.
• 2. Pour oil into a Dutch oven or fryer. The oil should be two inches deep. Bring to a boil. It should be approximately 325 degrees.
• 3. Combine pepper, salt and cornmeal in a bowl large enough for dredging catfish fillets.
• 4. Pour buttermilk in a separate bow.
• 5. Dip catfish into buttermilk, making certain each side is covered. Press catfish into seasoned cornmeal mixture. then flip and coat the second side. Place catfish on a plate. Repeat dredging process with the remaining catfish fillets. Lower a breaded catfish fillet into hot oil with tongs.
• 6. Cook each fillet for about 8 minutes, or until the catfish flats to the top and features a golden hue.