Golden Cornmeal Fried Catfish

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Catfish fillets soaked in hot sauce buttermilk, dredged in seasoned cornmeal, and deep-fried at 350°F until the crust shatters and the fish inside stays sweet and flaky. It's a Friday-night fish fry you can pull off in half an hour with a pot, a thermometer, and a bag of cornmeal.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb catfish fillets, cut into 4 portions
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tbsp Louisiana-style hot sauce

• 1.5 cups fine yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 6 cups vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Whisk the buttermilk and hot sauce in a wide bowl, add the catfish, and turn to coat. Let it soak at room temperature for 15 minutes (or up to 2 hours in the fridge) while you set up the fry station.
2. Pour the oil into a heavy 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven or deep pot, filling it no more than halfway and leaving at least 3 inches of clear space above the oil. Clip on a deep-fry thermometer and heat over medium until the oil reads 350°F (175°C), about 10 minutes. Safety note: keep the pot on a back burner with the handles turned in, keep water and wet hands well away from hot oil, never leave the pot unattended, and keep a metal lid within reach to smother flames — never use water on an oil fire.
3. Stir the cornmeal, flour, salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne together in a shallow dish. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet next to the stove for the fried fish.
4. Lift one piece of catfish from the buttermilk, let the excess drip off for a few seconds, then press it firmly into the cornmeal mixture on both sides. Set it on a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces so all four are coated before you start frying.
5. Lower 2 pieces into the 350°F oil, easing them in away from you, and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once at the halfway mark, until the crust is deep golden and the fish reaches 145°F (63°C) at the thickest point. Do not crowd the pot — two pieces at a time keeps the oil temperature up.
6. Lift the fish out with a slotted spoon or spider, drain briefly, and set it on the wire rack. Sprinkle lightly with salt while still glistening. Let the oil climb back to 350°F, about 2 minutes, then fry the remaining 2 pieces the same way.
7. Serve hot with lemon wedges. Cool the oil completely in the pot before straining it through a fine sieve into a jar for reuse, or discarding it.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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