Southern Fried Catfish

The catfish I bought for our Dutch Oven Fried Catfish came in a package of 8 filets. I could just keep making that recipe a few more times, but we also have some milk that’s gone sour, and this meal will help use that up before it totally goes bad.

After looking at several recipes, I discovered it’s really just a process, so feel free to adapt to what you have at home. Basically, marinate the fish in some buttermilk (or soured milk) for 30-60 minutes. Remove the filets and dredge in some seasoned cornmeal. (I used jerk seasoning, but either Cajun or Creole or just salt and pepper would work. I also mixed in some flour, just because we’re not fond of an overbearing cornmeal crust.) Then fry or sauté until done.

To use even more of the soured milk, I tried our Great Smokies Cornbread recipe again. This time, we’re actually using the Great Smokies cornmeal! I adjusted it a bit (with double the sugar and making the cornmeal/flour ratio even), to make it fit our preferences better.

Finally, since many of the recipes I looked at for the catfish suggested serving it with coleslaw, I tried a new “wilted” coleslaw recipe. (Our regular one was on last week’s menu, and I felt it was too soon to have that version again.) Pour boiling, salted water over your shredded coleslaw and let it sit for 15 minutes; then drain. Make a simple vinaigrette with 1:1 ratio of vegetable oil and vinegar, season with a bit of sugar, salt and pepper. Stir into the drained cabbage and chill for several hours.

If we weren’t counting calories, I’d probably add some french fries, but we are, so I won’t. Even in spite of that, we’re feeling pretty Southern right now!