Best 7 Crispy Southern Fried Catfish Recipes

CRISPY SOUTHERN FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Combine cornmeal, seasoned salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a shallow dish.
• Pour milk into a separate dish.
• Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Dip a catfish fillet in the milk, and shake off any excess.
• Transfer milk-soaked fish to the cornmeal mixture and gently roll to coat on both sides.
• Repeat with remaining fillets.
• Place fish in the hot skillet and cook until golden brown on each side (about 5-7 minutes per side). The fish will flake easily with a fork when it's done.
• Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to cook the fish in batches. Don't overcrowd the skillet! Feel free to wipe out the pan and use additional butter/oil, as necessary, for subsequent batches.
• Drain fish on paper towels.
• Serve warm, garnished with chopped fresh parsley and a lemon wedge, if desired.

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.

SOUTHERN FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, mayonnaise, scallions and relish to make a tartar sauce. Refrigerate until needed.
• Heat oil in deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
• Combine cornmeal, Blackfish Spice and salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge catfish fillets in seasoned cornmeal. Deep-fry coated pieces in batches until they are cooked through, about 10 minutes. (For basic reference, use the manufacturer's instructions for your deep fryer for similar foods, then test the fish see that it is fork tender.) Allow to drain on paper towels and serve with tartar sauce and fresh lemon wedges (to squeeze lemon juice over the fish).

SOUTHERN FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

EASY CRISPY FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• In a large skillet, fill pan with 1/2 inch of vegetable oil. Turn on heat to medium or medium high heat.
• Dip catfish in milk, then in cornmeal. Shake off excess cornmeal.
• Once oil is hot, begin frying fish in batches until they are golden brown. Flip fish so each side is cooked evenly.
• (On the 2nd or3rd batch of fish, you may want to reduce the pan heat because it will be extra hot). Add extra oil if needed.
• Drain fish on paper towels and sprinkle with salt or seasoning salt.
• Serve hot with tartar sauce.

SOUTHERN-STYLE OVEN-FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a 13x9 glass baking dish with the oil, and set aside.
• Rinse the catfish fillets, and pat dry. In a shallow bowl, combine the cornmeal, creole seasoning, paprika, sugar, and black pepper. Combine the eggs and hot sauce or water in a another bowl. Dip the fillets in the egg mixture, dredge in the cornmeal mixture, and arrange in the baking pan.
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown. Turn once during cooking. Place catfish on a paper-towel lined plate, and serve immediately with additional hot sauce.

SOUTHERN FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Combine buttermilk and beer in a nonreactive bowl.
• Add the catfish fillets and refrigerate for 2 hours, BUT NO LONGER.
• Combine cornmeal, all-purpose flour, rice flour, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and mix well.
• Drain fillets and toss them lightly in the breading mixture to coat them.
• Place the breaded fillets in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and don't let the fillets touch. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• On the stove, pour enough oil into a heavy skillet so that it is 2 inches deep and heat it so that it is 355 degrees F. on a frying thermometer.
• Carefully drop fillets in, 2 at a time and fry them for about 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until they are just golden.
• Remove the fillets with a slotted spoon and place them on paper towels to drain.
• Transfer the fillets to a platter and keep warm in the preheated oven until they are all fried.
• Work quickly so that they don't get overdone and serve immediately.