Need recipe for catfish batter please

[GRAMPS]

Have to say that I though I knew how to cook fried catfish until I started hunting in West Tn. I have eaten at various catfish places in that part of the state and then found what really good catfish tastes like. There is definitely a different in how catfish is cooked in that area and seems to be what ever is in the batter.

Can someone please give me a good recipe for batter for fried catfish?

 

[TX300mag]

Cornmeal
SeasonAll or Canjun seasoning (Tony Cachere's)
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper
MAYBE a little lemon pepper
A little garlic powder

Honestly, I think most of them come from either a Zataran or Chachere's box.

Probably a couple of variations, but that's been my experience with catfish in west TN.

 

[KANATI McD]

I just use white cornmeal. Add salt to cornmeal and taste test with wet finger tip until you get desired salty taste. Fry at 325 until golden brown

 

[wlf89]

roll ur fish in mustard before u roll in cornmeal this makes it taste a whole lot better cant taste the mustard but just better takes the strongess of the fish away

 

[Chaneylake]

I just use white cornmeal. Add salt to cornmeal and taste test with wet finger tip until you get desired salty taste. Fry at 325 until golden brown

thats the only way to cook Hatchie River catfish, I would hate to ruin some good fish with "mustard"

 

[JohnnyBond]

I just use white cornmeal. Add salt to cornmeal and taste test with wet finger tip until you get desired salty taste. Fry at 325 until golden brown

thats the only way to cook Hatchie River catfish, I would hate to ruin some good fish with "mustard"

yup

 

[BigAl]

I like my catfish to be light on the cornmeal breading with more flour, with cajun seasoning mixed it. I guess its all a matter of taste.

 

[catman529]

mix some kind of stout with flour, salt, black pepper and paprika. I think that was the best beer batter I have had yet, but then I haven't tried much.

 

[Dodge Man]

Type of oil you cook in can make a huge difference also!

 

[JohnnyBond]

Type of oil you cook in can make a huge difference also!

Peanut oil is my preference

 

[Unicam]

I prefer a little more corn meal than flour and will season the fish before egg washing it.

 

[TX300mag]

roll ur fish in mustard before u roll in cornmeal this makes it taste a whole lot better cant taste the mustard but just better takes the strongess of the fish away

Roll in mustard? Never heard of that. Bizarre.

Roll in mustard/Tobasco sauce mixture. Pretty common around here.

Then I guess you've never rolled in ranch dressing and fried in pancake batter?

 

[vanleerbuckbuster]

corn meal and flour seasoned to taste with old bay, salt,and a little pepper

 

[elkman]

1/3 flour, 2/3 yellow cornmeal, salt fish both sides the roll in mixture, 325 degrees in hog lard

 

[Trapper John]

A mustard/hot sauce mix for the wet portion of coating fish fillets is pretty common. It was one of the first methods I learned years ago. I still do it sometimes but now I like straight hot sauce more than the mix. The mustard taste is far from prevalent once fried.


I have no standard mix for frying fish of any kind. Nine times out of ten I make it up as I go along. I rarely do a batter on catfish. Usually just a dry dredge. I reserve the batter for beer batters on cod, shrimp and the like.

Considering the mood I'm in at this exact moment, if I had some fresh catfish I'd mix the following:

3 parts yellow corn meal
1 part white flour
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Cayenne
Small hit of paprika
Quick shake of lemon pepper

I can't recall making a dry mix that I didn't enjoy. And I've done some weird, weird stuff.

When I was growing up there was a small catfish shack near the Tennessee River in West TN where we always bought our fish dinners. They used nothing but cornmeal, salt and pepper and each order came with ranch dressing, tartar sauce and lemon wedges. As fancy as I try to get sometimes that was still the best fish I've ever had.

 

[TX300mag]

roll ur fish in mustard before u roll in cornmeal this makes it taste a whole lot better cant taste the mustard but just better takes the strongess of the fish away

Roll in mustard? Never heard of that. Bizarre.

Roll in mustard/Tobasco sauce mixture. Pretty common around here.

Then I guess you've never rolled in ranch dressing and fried in pancake batter?

Uh... No.

I'm surprised you've never heard of either, guess it's just a geographical thing.

I'll admit, crappie fillets worked out better that way. But it was actually a good change of pace.

For a few winters between hunting season and planting the garden, I would catch limits of catfish three or four days a week jugging (out of boredom). I found a lot of differnt ways to cook catfish to keep eating it.

 

[TAFKAP]

It's a Texas thing....you wouldn't understand

 

[TX300mag]

I much prefer TN River catfish, too. I've yet to catch one that was so big it wasn't good.

You're right about the German influece. Another German favorite for catfish is horseradish sauce.

I've even cooked eel from TN river with mustard/Tobasco mix and it was pretty good.

 

[Trapper John]

I've caught one eel from the TN River, but it was way before I began this cooking thing so I just screamed like it was some kind of monster and got it off my line as quickly as possible. I don't even know how to fish for those things. Best I can remember it was an accident while going after channel cats.

 

[wlf89]

try the mustard you wont be dissapointed

 

[TiptonHunter]

I just use white cornmeal. Add salt to cornmeal and taste test with wet finger tip until you get desired salty taste. Fry at 325 until golden brown

thats the only way to cook Hatchie River catfish, I would hate to ruin some good fish with "mustard"

x2

 

[KANATI McD]

Looking for the "LIKE" button,

 

[KANATI McD]

Mustard is good for two things: Pronto pups and bacon and biscuit

 

[Deck78]

roll ur fish in mustard before u roll in cornmeal this makes it taste a whole lot better cant taste the mustard but just better takes the strongess of the fish away

Roll in mustard? Never heard of that. Bizarre.

I don't know about putting mustard on catfish. i rub mustard on my pork shoulders before rubbin them in the secret blend of spices! That's why I got mustard in the fridge

 

[TX300mag]

It's not mustard. I'm not sure that in itself would accomplish much. Like Deck78, I rub mustard on my briskets before rubbing them down. But not for flavor.

It's mustard and LA hotsauce (or Tobasco) mixed and cut with a little water.

 

[Trapper John]

I use Frank's with the mustard, but I'm just partial to the taste of Frank's.

 

[TX300mag]

I use Frank's with the mustard, but I'm just partial to the taste of Frank's.

You put that stuff on everything?

I really like heat, so I've actually switched from Tobasco to Louisiana Habenero. I've got a two bottle a week habit. One at work, one at home.

 

[Trapper John]

I use Frank's with the mustard, but I'm just partial to the taste of Frank's.

You put that stuff on everything?

I really like heat, so I've actually switched from Tobasco to Louisiana Habenero. I've got a two bottle a week habit. One at work, one at home.

Just about. I do like other sauces but for pure flavor it's my favorite. I'm going to have to try that Habanero sauce. Never heard of that.

 

[Crosshairy]

I've never battered catfish at all, always a dry breading.

I generally just use cornmeal and seasoned salt, sometimes with a bit of flour mixed in.

I've also started pan-searing my fish with no breading, only a bit of seasoning. This is great when the fish are fresh and the flavor is at its prime. Once they've been frozen, the flavor steps down a notch or two.

I agree with the comment about what sort of oil you use. I generally enjoy fish cooked in canola oil (most common for me) or peanut oil. I know folks that use olive oil, but my understanding is that it will scorch more easily at high temperatures than some of the others.