Fried Catfish

Inspired by Eat My Catfish - Little Rock, AR

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I’ve always found Arkansas to be one of the nation’s best keep secrets. You don’t see it pop up on many travel lists but as someone who spent childhood summers with my family in beautiful Hot Springs or times in college visiting friends in Little Rock, I can say with pretty good authority that the whole place is gorgeous and worth visiting. While there you may notice you can find some pretty great fresh water delights. Catfish is definitely the only fish I would eat as a kid and as an adult I still love it’s light and flaky texture paired with that cornmeal crust.

This recipe is inspired by Eat My Catfish in Little Rock, Arkansas. I had the chance to visit them once in college while visiting the family of my personal mentor who split time between New York City and his home in Little Rock for a short while. I loved their Firecracker Sauce that went along with the catfish and did what I could to capture the spirit of this great little spot.

INGREDIENTS

FRIED CATFISH (serves 4):

  • 2 lbs catfish fillets, cut into strips

  • 1 cup buttermilk

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 ½ cups cornmeal

  • 2 TBS corn starch

  • 1 TBS Cajun seasoning

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • Canola oil (for deep frying)

SPICY TARTAR SAUCE (makes almost 1 cup):

  • ½ cup mayo

  • 1 TBS lemon juice

  • 1 TBS Frank’s Red Hot

  • 1 TBS dijon mustard

  • 1 TBS chopped dill

  • 1 dill pickle, finely diced (about 3 TBS)

  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 tsp paprika

  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

  • Salt and pepper to taste

GO FOR IT

FRIED CATFISH:

  1. In a bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, then season with a few pinches of salt and pepper

  2. Marinate catfish fillets in buttermilk mix for at least 30 minutes

  3. As fish marinates, take a bowl and combine cornmeal, corn starch, Cajun seasoning, 1 tsp of salt, and a pinch of pepper, then set aside

  4. In a frying pan or dutch oven, heat enough oil to completely submerge your fish fillets (heat oil to 350°F)

  5. When oil is nearly heated, pull fillets from the buttermilk marinade, letting excess liquid drip off, then toss your fish in the cornmeal mixture

  6. Once coated in cornmeal, carefully place fillets into the fryer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes (until golden - if necessary, work in batches so as to not overcrowd your pan)

  7. Once golden, place fried fish on a cooling rack and allow excess oil to drip off as you prepare to serve

  8. Serve fried fish with tartar sauce, fries, hushpuppies, and lemon wedges

SPICY TARTAR SAUCE:

  1. In a bowl, mix together all ingredients, then try and add salt and pepper to taste

NOTES:

I absolutely love catfish but it can be near impossible to find in Brooklyn grocery stores. If you can’t find any, just use tilapia fillets. The taste will be near identical after it is battered and fried. Also - full disclosure - I looked at a handful of recipes while putting this together and originally opted to mix a little bit of flour into my cornmeal. This is good but it made things a bit doughy compared to what I’m used to from good catfish joints. What you see pictured is that batter but I went back and made another round without the flour and now see that this is the proper technique to use.

I like marinating my fish in a whole milk or buttermilk mixture because it will draw out the fishy odor and taste that is so often associated with lighter fish (such as catfish or tilapia). That with an egg will also help your cornmeal stick.

From what I can gather, the Firecraker Sauce used at Eat My Catfish is some sort of combination between a remoulade and tartar sauce so that’s basically what I went and was quite pleased with the results. Feel free to look up a more traditional tartar sauce recipe if the spice isn’t for you.