Fried Catfish

I'm pretty sure this is not what the doctor meant when he said, "Eat more fish."

But is sure is awfully good. I've never had homemade catfish before, and let me just tell you. I burned the roof of my mouth on this stuff. Crunchy on the outside, hot, juicy, and even creamy on the inside. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

I suppose you could say I've been in a fishy mood ever since the weather warmed up. The problem with fish is that you have to skip to the grocery every day you want it to be sure it's fresh. Not so. On a whim, I bought a box of frozen catfish fillets at the Kroger. Every other night I take two fillets out of the freezer and put them in the fridge. Then after about 24-36 hours, they're thawed and ready to go. Can't be much easier than that.

So I've had a good time trying out different ways to cook it. The first time I tried grilling, but I couldn't figure out how to make the grill hot enough with the fish basket on top. Will have to wait for Mike's help on that one. I finished it off in a skillet with some olive oil and fresh mushrooms. Yum.

Then this time I fried it.

1. Take as many catfish fillets as you want. These were pretty big, but you can also buy frozen catfish nuggets that would work just as well, if not better, for frying.
2. Salt and pepper the fillets to taste.
3. Sprinkle them with some paprika.
4. Dredge them in a mixture of 1/2 flour, 1/2 corn meal.
5. Lay them out on a cooling rack to dry for 5 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, heat the oil to 350-375 degrees.
7. Slowly lower the fish in the oil and cook until golden brown. I think it was about 10 minutes.
8. Drain on a cooling rack and dig in.

Tonight? Broiling.