WV Fish Finder - pan fried catfish Recipe for Catfish

Title:	pan fried catfish by drewski
Type:	Entree
Servings:	4
Difficulty:	Intermediate
Prep Time:	20min
Cook Time:	10min-15min
Ingredients:	Vegetable Oil, Olive Oil, or Butter (your choice) 4 medium freshwater catfish fillets* 1 cup cold milk 1 cup yellow cornmeal 2 to 3 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper Lemon wedges
Directions:	Rinse the fillets under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels. In a pie place, lay fillets and pour milk over the top. In another pie plate, combine cornmeal, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Remove the fillets one at a time from the milk and roll in the cornmeal mixture to coat evenly; place on a large platter to dry. leaving space between them. Let dry at least 5 minutes. Heat the oil or butter in a large skillet (I like to use my cast-iron frying pan). Add the coated catfish filets and cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, sprinkling additional salt on the catfish after each turn. Cook until golden brown and fish flakes easily with a fork. Drain on paper towels. After draining, place the fillets on another platter covered with paper towels; place in preheated oven to keep warm while frying the remaining fillets. The fillets will remain hot and crisp for as long as 35 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.
Other Notes:	To clean a whole catfish, remove skin from the catfish, then slice the fillet across to a thickness of no more than 1/4 inch. The secret to frying catfish is using thin fillets less than 1/4-inch thick. An hour-long soak in buttermilk washes away the muddy flavor from freshwater fish such as catfish and tilapia.
Date Added:	04/08/10 06:17 PM
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