Review: Crisp-Crusted Catfish; Aug '01

[Donna P]

This was the best oven-fried fish recipe I've tried. I didn't have any ranch dressing, so I used buttermilk seasoned with some of Emeri's essence. The crust was crispy and the fish stayed moist and juicy. I served the fish with oven roasted potatoes, also seasoned with essence, and tomato, cucumber, onion and feta cheese salad with the dressing from the tomato salad in the july issue. I halved the recipe but only had enough of the cornmeal mixture for two filets. Next time, I will increase breading mixture.

[andrea]

thanks, donna! i'm excited to try this! currently, my favorite oven-fried fish is chili-seasoned fish sticks from epicurious.com. they are fabulous!!! i've made them with tilapia and halibut. MMM... you should try them, too!

[heatherfeather]

I also tried the catfish from the August issue and it was very good. My husband was very skeptical because he usually only likes his catfish Cajun style, but he loved this recipe anyway. I used all of the ingredients as called for, although I had to use pregrated Romano Parmesan in the green can instead of fresh. I also made the Macaroni & Cheese from the same issue (same page even) and it was delicious. My husband said that both were good enough to serve to company. This one goes in my permanent file.

[Abby]

I made this tonight and was very pleased with it! I couldn't believe how crisp the crust was. However, next time I might add a little more seasoning to the breading mixture - maybe some Tony Chachere's or something. We had this with the turnip greens from the same issue, which were ok, fresh corn on the cob with jalapeno-lime butter, sliced tomatoes from the garden, and cornbread.

[kwormann]

Heather....please enlighten.....reipce for cajun catfish????

[mcraig13]

I'm looking forward to the August issue. The oven-fried catfish recipe in the July issue worked pretty well also.

[judyf]

I was thinking about trying this, but how "fishy" is catfish?
Judy

[mcraig13]

The farm-raised catfish you buy in the store is not fishy at all (my opinion). The problem with catfish is the kind you catch out of yucky lakes--they can sometimes actually taste like mud.

[lorilei]

Hmmm... now I'm supposing this recipe would be good with bleu cheese dressing... maybe?

(Of course, I don't have my AUG issue, so I'll be waiting to try this one :))

[Peggy]

I guess I'm in the minority on this one. We had this for dinner tonight and I was not impressed. I thought the coating was lacking in flavor and it didn't get "crisp". Perhaps it was an error on my part. I will not make this again. This has been my second CL catfish disappointment in the last few months. Better stick to salt water fish in the future...

Peggy

[JennyLiz]

I made this catfish last night, but I didn't want to heat up the kitchen by turning on the oven, so I pan fried it instead of baking it. I used about 2 tsp butter and kept loosening the filets so they wouldn't stick to the pan. They turned out great! The outside was crispy and the inside tender and moist. Yum!

[Terrytx]

We had this last night and thought it was great-my new favorite recipe for catfish. It was crisp and flavorful, but because some reviews felt it was bland, I did add some Cajun seasoning. We has the Creamy 2 Cheese Macroni and purple hull peas with it.

[AndreaU]

I also tried this last night. I should have checked here first and taken Abby's suggestion. The fish cooked well and came out nice and crispy but the flavor was blah. Some cajun kick would have been good. That was the first time I ever tried catfish (strictly a salmon girl 'til then) and I enjoyed the non-fishiness of it. I served it with some sauteed yellow squash fresh from the garden and a spinach salad. I will make this again, with modifications.

[SusanMac]

I loved this recipe, but had problems with the coating sticking to the pan. I sprayed the pan first with Pam, but the coating still stuck. So, when I went to flip the fish, some of hte coating came off. Of course, it still tasted good, but part of it was "naked"!

Any suggestions?

[heatherfeather]

For kwormman - in answer to your question about a cajun catfish recipe:

I don't have a CL recipe for Cajun style catfish - we used to live in Louisiana and DH's favorite way to eat catfish was Blackened Cajun Catfish which is pan-fried in a cast iron skillet and very spicy. I WISH I had a CL version of that! It is sooo yummy.

[athena]

heatherfeather - There is a CL recipie for Creole Catfish Fillets (from Cooking Light Five Star Recipies). Although it's grilled, I bet it would work pan fried as well. It might not be exactly the same thing, but maybe you can tweak it and get close.

2 Tablespoons minced onion
3 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons nonfat mayo
1 1/2 tablespoons Creole or Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon reduced calorie katchup
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (more, if you like the fish really spicy)
4 (4oz) catfish fillets
cooking spray
lemon wedges

Combine first 8 ingrediants; stir well. Cover sauce, and chill.

Combine paprika and next three ingrediants; stir well. Rub mixture over both sides of fish. Arrange fish in a wire grilling basket coated with cooking spray. Place on grill rack over hot coals (400 - 500 degrees). Cook 6 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with sauce and lemon wedges.

[BosunsWife]

Well, I made this tonight and thought it was kind of blah also. No flavor to the coating except for the occasional hint of the fresh parmesan. I put mine on a rack over a jelly roll pan in the oven to avoid sticking to the pan. I also substituted another fish for the catfish since DH won't eat it. I used a local fish - Opah or something like that LOL. It was a firm white fish almost meaty in texture. I would definitely cook the local fish again, but would probably grill it and use a mango salsa.

[SusanL]

I read this thread and added some cayenne pepper. Thanks, for us it is a make again.

Bosunswife Thanks for the baking suggestion, I will do that next time!!

[JennyLiz]

Help- can't find my Aug issue and I wanted to make this for dinner tonight. I couldn't find it in a search. Can one of you Mastercook wonders help me out and post the recipe? Thanks in advance. JennyLiz

[Terrytx]

We loved it!


* Exported from MasterCook *

Crisp-Crusted Catfish**

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Seafood

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 tablespoons light ranch dressing
2 large egg whites
6 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 (6-ounce) farm-raised catfish fillets
cooking spray
4 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine the dressing and egg whites in a small bowl, and stir well with a whisk. Combine the cornmeal, cheese, flour, pepper and salt in a shallow dish. Dip fish in egg white mixture; dredge in cornmeal mixture.

Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; bake at 425 for 12 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with lemon wedges. Yield: 4 servings. 313 cal, 9.1g fat, 87g pro, 14.3g carb, 87mg chol, 348mg sod.

Source:
"Cooking Light-8/01"

[lovemybeetle]

I also had good results with this recipe. My husband loves catfish. I took everyone's advice and added 1 T. of a cajun spice called Cajun Foreplay from a BBQ resturant in Syracuse, NY, the Dinosaur BBQ. It was very tasty. And I have to give a big thumbs up to the Maple-Chipotle Sweet potatoes. Awesome. :D :D :D

[JennyLiz]

Terrytx- Thank you for posting the recipe! I found my Aug issue under my bed (?), but now I can import it into Mastercook without typing! This is definitely a family favorite! JennyLiz

[beckms]

Just wanted to add my thumbs-up to this thread...I made the catfish last night and it was excellent! Best fish I've ever made. I didn't have ground red pepper, so I used flakes, which I'll probably do again because you get little surprise bites of heat every now and then.

I double-dipped the fillet, and the crust was crunchy and stayed intact during the baking, even after I flipped it.

Served with buttermilk-garlic mashed potatoes...great dinner!;)