Fried catfish for home cooks
Memphis restaurateurs share tips, tricks to perfect the art of preparing this Southern staple at home
Most Southerners love fried food, and other than fried chicken, there may not be a dish more loved than fried catfish.
Raised in ponds in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, this iconic Southern food has been a favorite of Southerners for generations.
These days, you can find catfish on menus blackened, baked or grilled in addition to fried. Despite these new healthier preparations, hands down folks here in Memphis prefer it the good old-fashioned way — fried. In a recent Commercial Appeal Twitter poll, 79 percent of voters said they liked it fried over blackened.
When purchasing and cooking catfish at home, there are several tricks to remember. The “experts” at two of Memphis’ most popular places to enjoy fried catfish were happy to share some of their secrets on cooking this Southern staple.
Raymond Williams, co-owner of Soul Fish Cafe, said he and his partner Tiger Bryant decided to open a catfish restaurant “because we both love it and realized there was nobody in town really doing catfish, or at least not doing it the way we thought it should be done.”
Williams said they do a number of things that make their catfish unique.
“We start by buying the best U.S. farm-raised catfish from one farm in Mississippi,” he said. “Then we use the perfect size fillet that when breaded gives us the perfect ratio of fish and crunchy breading. And, we fry every piece to order; no fish is ever precooked. We don’t even own a heat lamp.”
When cooking catfish at home, Williams said, “The best tips I could give in frying catfish are to start with great, fresh cold fish, lightly bread it and fry it in good clean oil being careful not to overcrowd the fryer.”
Williams prefers to use a corn and canola blend for the oil but said peanut oil also works well.
“The best temperature to cook catfish is around 350 degrees,” he said. “When done right, it’s fried but not greasy.”
One would not necessarily think of catfish as a menu item at a world-famous barbecue restaurant, but Corky’s Ribs & BBQ’s fried catfish has been a customer favorite for almost 10 years.
“We started the catfish about 10 years ago at our Collierville location only as a special on Wednesdays as an ‘all-you-can-eat’ promotion,” said Jimmy Stovall, director of sales and marketing and on-air QVC spokesperson. “This became so popular we added the Cordova location about a year later. Then we had so many requests for Corky’s catfish from customers, we added it to the menu at all locations.”
Stovall says it’s their breading that makes Corky’s fried catfish stand out.
“We have seasonings and spices in the cornmeal,” he said. “Most catfish batter doesn’t have much flavor, and we wanted a bolder flavor and added seasonings to the mix.”
As for making the perfect fried catfish, Stovall said you must cook it right before serving.
“To me, the crispier the better. I can’t stand soggy fried fish,” he said. “We cook all of our fish to order. It takes a little longer, but it’s worth it.”
Like Soul Fish Cafe, Corky’s also uses only Delta farm-raised catfish fillets.
And here is a fact that might surprise you. Neither establishment marinates its fish before breading. If using farm-raised Mississippi catfish, you can skip the step of marinating the fish in buttermilk. This preparation step removes what some call a “muddy” flavor that can show up in some commercial catfish, in particular fish raised in farms in China. Fresh Delta-raised fish don’t have that aftertaste.
Corky’s serves its catfish the classic way with coleslaw on the side. Soul Fish Cafe allows you to choose from its selection of more than 15 home-style Southern veggie options offered daily.
“And, yes, mac ’n’ cheese is a veggie here in the South,” Williams said with a grin.
And one aspect of fried catfish that neither Williams nor Stovall could dispute: Hushpuppies are a must on the side.