Best Saucy Catfish Recipes

SAUCY CATFISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a 9 by 13 by 2-inch casserole dish with aluminum foil. Sprinkle the bass with salt and arrange the fillets in the casserole dish.
• Make the basting sauce by mixing the ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, butter, and onion. Pour the sauce over the catfish and bake until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 20 to 25 minutes. Baste the fish, with the sauce in the pan, every 10 minutes as it bakes. Remove the fish from the oven and using pancake turners, carefully transfer the fish to a serving platter. Garnish with lemon slices and serve.

THIN-CUT CATFISH WITH SPILLWAY SAUCE

Steps:

• Fill a large Dutch oven fitted with a deep-frying thermometer halfway with oil and heat to 360 degrees F. Line a sheet tray with paper towels and fit with a wire rack.
• Unwrap the catfish and place on a parchment-lined quarter sheet tray. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill and firm up.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the cornmeal, corn flour and Cajun seasoning in a pie plate or casserole dish. In a second pie plate, beat together the eggs, hot sauce, some salt and pepper and 1/2 cup water.
• Remove the fish from the freezer and use a boning knife to very carefully cut each fillet into thin pieces. (You should be able to get 4 to 5 pieces from each fillet.)
• In batches, dredge the fish through the egg mixture and then through the cornmeal mixture, then add to the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd. Fry, turning as needed, until crisp and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to the prepared wire rack. Repeat with the remaining catfish.
• Serve the catfish with the Spillway Sauce on the side.
• Mix together the mayonnaise, ketchup, Cajun seasoning and Worcestershire in a small bowl.

SWEET ONION AND CATFISH HUSH PUPPIES WITH COMEBACK SAUCE

Steps:

• For the comeback sauce: Combine mayonnaise, sambal, ketchup, lemon juice, hot sauce, smoked paprika, Worcestershire, garlic powder, mustard, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk together until the mixture is smooth and everything is well incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• For the whipped sorghum butter: Add the butter, molasses and salt to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or to a medium bowl if you're using a hand mixer or whisk. Mix on medium speed until well-combined and the butter is lightened and fluffy.
• For the catfish: Combine the catfish with salt and sugar in a bowl. Refrigerate.
• For the hush puppies: Combine cornmeal with sugar, salt, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, black pepper and cayenne in a medium bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine these dry ingredients. Whisk together the buttermilk and egg in a separate bowl until there are no specks of egg and it becomes a smooth and homogenous mixture.
• Retrieve the quick-cured catfish from the fridge, and add the catfish and diced onion to the dry ingredient mixture. Quickly stir together to coat the onion and catfish bits with cornmeal and spices. Add the buttermilk and egg and mix quickly with a spatula or wooden spoon until everything is well combined and the batter stiffens up pretty quickly as the cornmeal soaks up the buttermilk. Cover your batter and refrigerate for a few minutes while you prepare your pot for frying.
• Add vegetable oil to a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven no larger than 8 inches across-it's necessary for deep frying to have at least 2 inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium heat, bringing it up to 350 degrees F, using a thermometer to check the temperature. (If you don't have a thermometer, you can tell that the oil is ready when you add a small pinch of flour and it immediately sizzles and fries. You can fry without a thermometer if you're feeling bold, but just be careful that your oil doesn't get too hot or cold-you could either burn your hush puppies or end up with greasy ones-and no one wants that!)
• Once the oil is up to 350 degrees F, pull your batter from the fridge and begin to scoop it into the hot oil. We like to use a 3/4-ounce cookie scoop, but you could also use two spoons to scoop and drop roughly tablespoon-sized dollops into the hot oil. Fry as many hush puppies as comfortably fit into the pot at once-they should definitely have some room to expand and get crispy. It's okay to fry in several batches.
• Fry the hush puppies for 2 minutes, then turn them over and fry until golden brown and fluffy on the inside, another 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider, moving them to a plate or tray lined with paper towels to help drain any excess oil. Sprinkle the hush puppies with a little salt while they're still hot. Repeat this process until all your hush puppies are cooked and seasoned.
• Pile the hushpuppies into a dish for serving and garnish with a nice sprinkle of the chives. Serve them nice and hot with 1 cup comeback sauce and 1/4 cup whipped sorghum butter, or your favorite sauces.

FRIED CATFISH TOPPED WITH CRAWFISH AU GRATIN SAUCE

Steps:

• For the sauce: In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the onions, peppers and garlic until wilted. Add the flour and stir until a blond roux is achieved, about 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar, chicken base, crab base, granulated garlic, basil, black pepper, cayenne pepper and thyme. Add the milk and wine and cook over medium heat until the milk thickens, stirring constantly, about 6 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese melts and fully incorporates into the sauce. Add the crawfish tails and cook until heated through, about 4 minutes. Add the green onions just before serving.
• For the catfish: Sprinkle the catfish with Creole seasoning. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk. Coat the catfish in flour and dip in the milk/egg mixture, then coat with cornmeal. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a large skillet. Fry the catfish until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Serve the catfish with the crawfish au gratin sauce.

OVEN-FRIED CATFISH WITH RéMOULADE SAUCE

Steps:

• Make fish:
• Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle.
• Brush a baking pan with 2 tablespoons oil.
• Combine bread crumbs, cornmeal, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large sealable plastic bag and shake to mix.
• Season fish with salt and pepper on both sides. Working with 1 piece at a time, dip fish in eggs, letting excess drip off, then put in bag and shake to coat well with crumbs.
• Transfer fish to baking pan and bake until undersides are golden, about 6 minutes. Drizzle fish with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then carefully turn over and cook until golden and just cooked thourough, about 6 minutes more.
• Make rémoulade while fish bakes:
• Whisk together all rémoulade ingredients and salt to taste. Serve fish with sauce on the side.

DIJON MUSTARD BAKED CATFISH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Season catfish fillets with seasoned salt. Mix orange juice, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce in a bowl.
• Heat olive oil in large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat; fry catfish in hot oil until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Spread mustard sauce on both sides of each fillet; drizzle remaining sauce over fish. Arrange bell pepper, onion, and garlic over fish.
• Bake in preheated oven until fish is easily flaked with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes.

CATFISH WITH LEMON/BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook mushrooms and garlic, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add broth or wine, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add catfish, simmer, uncovered, for 6 to 8 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. (Butter sauce will be thin.) Serve over spaghetti. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Garnish with lemon and parsley if desired.

CARRIE'S CATFISH LARUE

Steps:

• Place 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, green pepper, and carrot until golden brown; remove from the pan. Using the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, sear all of the fillets on both sides. Lay all of the fillets into the skillet, sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Top with the sauteed vegetables, and pour on the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and white wine.
• Bring to a simmer, and cook gently until the sauce has thickened slightly, and fish flakes easily with a fork, about 10 minutes.

TODD RICHARDS'S FRIED CATFISH WITH HOT SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the buttermilk, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, granulated garlic, granulated onion and 1 teaspoon each of the salt and black pepper in a large bowl or large resealable plastic freezer bag. Add catfish pieces; cover or seal and refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours.
• Whisk together the cornmeal, cayenne and remaining 3 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in a shallow dish or pie pan.
• Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet to 350 degrees over medium heat.
• Remove the catfish from the buttermilk mixture and dredge in the cornmeal. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Fry the catfish (large pieces first), in batches, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Serve with additional hot sauce.

CATFISH IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Purée tomatoes with their juice in a blender. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook garlic, spices, and 3/4 teaspoon salt, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 1 minute. Add tomato purée and sugar and briskly simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Pour sauce into a 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Pat fish dry and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Arrange fillets in 1 layer on sauce, tucking each tail end under if necessary to fit, and bake until fish is just cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.