This is one of my best fried catfish recipes! It doesn’t have the heat of a Cajun-style fish fry, which I love, instead it’s savory with lemon pepper.
If you’ve never had catfish before, let this be your introduction.
The coating is a fairly straight forward blend of cornmeal and flour that gets extra crunch from the addition of beaten eggs.
If you’re not sure you like lots of heavy spice, adjust the amount of lemon pepper more to your liking, but use the full amount to get the whole impact.
Serve this with wedges of fresh lemon and your favorite tartar sauce and then claim to everybody that it’s one of your best fried catfish recipes.
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- 6 fillets 6 ounces each fresh catfish
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon pepper
- kosher salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil for frying
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Combine the app purpose flour, yellow cornmeal and the lemon pepper in a small bow. (This step can be done days ahead and kept in an airtight container).
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Whisk the eggs until they are well beaten.
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Season the catfish fillets with the kosher salt. One at a time, submerge the fillets in the beaten eggs. Make sure the fish is completely covered.
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Press the egg-coated fillets into the flour mixture, making sure they are completely covered. Place the coated fish on a sheet pan and refrigerate them for at least 15 minutes. This will help keep the breading on the fish.
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Heat the vegetable oil on a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. The temperature should be maintained at about 360F to 375F.
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Fry the fillets without crowding them in the skillet. They should be golden brown – turn once to cook both sides. After about 6 to 8 minutes, check to see if they are flaky inside – this will depend on the thickness of the fillets. Remove the fish to a wire rack or paper towels to drain, then serve hot.
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Good To Know About Fried Catfish Recipes – Many people like the flavor of butter with fried fish, but it is not the best medium for a high temperature recipe.
If you like the flavor, you can also use a half cup of margarine, which is essentially butter-flavored oil, or you can make clarified butter to fry in.
Melt a stick and a half of unsalted butter over low temperature until the solids float to the top. You can carefully skim them off and discard them or strain the melted butter through cheesecloth.
Food For Thought – This is also an excellent seasoning for broiled fish. Omit the coating, just season the fillets with lemon pepper and kosher salt. Broil them about 8 inches from the heat, turning once. They should turn a nice brown and be flaky inside.
Whether fried or broiled, serve with fresh lemon wedges to enhance the lemon pepper and it’s still one of the best fried catfish recipes.
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