If you love a white flakey and tender fish, my Spicy Cornmeal Breaded Catfish Sandwiches With Lemon-Dill Mayonnaise is for you!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 24 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 34 minutes
Yields: 4 servings
Equipment: 1 (12-inch) cast-iron skillet, 2 rimmed baking sheet pans, large spatula, 2 large mixing bowls, 1 small bowl
Ingredients For the Catfish Marinade:
1 quart of buttermilk
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
Ingredients:
4 catfish fillets, boneless
1 quart of buttermilk
3/4 to 1 cup of Canola oil (1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of the cast-iron skillet)
2 cups of yellow cornmeal
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup of Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 cups of arugula
2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
3 lemons, cut into wedges
Ciabatta bread, 8 thick slices
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons of Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper
Ingredients For Lemon-Dill Mayonnaise:
1/2 cup of good mayonnaise
3 tablespoon of fresh dill, chopped fine
1 lemon, zested
1/2 a lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
Directions:
Start with a large mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, Kosher salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, whisk to combine. Drop the catfish fillets into the buttermilk marinade making sure all the fillets are coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
Arrange the 8 slices of bread onto a rimmed baking sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, Kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until a light golden brown.
In a separate large mixing bowl add yellow cornmeal, all-purpose flour, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, Kosher salt, and black pepper, whisk to evenly combine the ingredients.
Set up two sheet pans set up to place the catfish on after they’ve been breaded.
Using a pair of tongs, remove one fillet from the buttermilk marinade allowing the excess drip off before dredging into the cornmeal breading mixture.
Note: If you need to add more oil to the skillet after the first two fillets are finished frying, be sure to allow the oil to heat back up to temperature.
In a preheated cast-iron skillet, heat the Canola oil over medium-high heat. You want to have a 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of the skillet. To know when the oil is hot enough, throw in a pinch of the cornmeal mixture if it bubbles up nicely then the oil is ready. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan and shallow fry the fillets in batches.
Preheat oven to 200-degrees F.
Due to the fact these fillets are large in size, I’m frying them one at a time. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes on the first side then flip them over carefully and cook them another 3 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Immediately take them out when their done frying, set them onto a plate lined with a paper towel. Sprinkle the catfish fillet with a little salt and finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley. Transfer them onto a rimmed baking sheet and into the oven to keep them warm. Repeat the process until all the fillets have been fried.
To serve, spread some of that delicious Lemon-Dill Mayonnaise on each half of the bread, next add the arugula, a thick slice of tomato. Season the tomato with a sprinkling of Kosher salt and pepper to taste. I like to serve this dish with Sautéed Lemon Pepper Asparagus and my Coleslaw With Cumin Dressing. Click on the links below for these recipes.
There you have it, my Spicy Cornmeal Breaded Catfish Sandwiches With Lemon-Dill Mayonnaise.
https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/
https://lindalouhamel.com/2015/07/06/lemon-pepper-asparagus/
https://lindalouhamel.com/2014/05/15/my-cole-slaw-with-a-cumin-dressing/
