Fried Catfish With A Kick Recipes

Steps:

• Pat fish dry; transfer to a pie dish or other wide, shallow dish. Season generously with salt andpepper. Add buttermilk, turning and arranging fish strips to fully submerge. Let stand 2 hours, or refrigerate, loosely covered, up to 8 hours.
• In another pie dish, season cornmeal with salt and pepper. Working one at a time, lift fishstrips from buttermilk, allowing excess to drip off, and dredge in cornmeal mixture, turning toevenly coat. Gently shake off any excess; transfer to a wire rack.
• Pour enough oil into a large, heavy-bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) to come 1/4 inchup sides (about 3/4 cup); heat over medium-high. When oil shimmers and a bit of cornmeal sizzles when dropped in, add fish in a single layer (do not crowd pan; fry in batches if necessary). Cook, undisturbed, until fish is golden brown on bottoms and lifts easily from skillet, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until golden on bottoms and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to a clean wire rack, season with salt, and let cool 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce, or one of the fish sauces.

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.