So, what am I planning for our Sunday dinner? Catfish! Truly a Southern delicacy, catfish is now farm raised so the fish is white and flaky after cooking. We love it here so I’ll be fixing it for our dinner before we head out to afternoon church services. I’ll put some rice in the steamer to cook, too, and we’ll get out hot peppers and olives to have alongside.

Catfish isn’t any better than when it’s dredged in seasoned cornmeal and fried. I’ve tried it other ways, but it just cries to be fried, I think. I usually season simply with salt and pepper. It doesn’t need much else.

Of course, if you have catfish you have to have hushpuppies, too. I make my own since the frozen ones just don’t taste that good and they are often not tender enough to suit me. Here’s pretty much how I make them. Like so many things I fix, I go by “feel” so it’s hard to write the recipe down.

Hushpuppies

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup cornmeal (I prefer yellow)
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 egg
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Water, enough to make a stiff batter

METHOD:

Mix all ingredients together very well, but do not overmix as this will cause toughness. Drop by well-rounded teaspoonfuls into hot oil. (You’ll need at least an inch of oil in the pan; more is better.) Fry till golden brown on one side then roll them over until golden brown on the other side. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel.

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,