Make Ovenfried Catfish

Crispy fried catfish with creamy, tangy tartar sauce is a favorite food of many people, but these things are rarely made at home because of the trouble, mess, and higher fat content of deep frying. This recipe tells you make a delicious oven-fried catfish dinner with homemade tartar sauce that your family and guests will love.

Instructions

Catfish

1. Get the freshest catfish fillets you can or flash frozen ones if you can't find any fresh near your home. Rinse fillets well and completely thaw them out before you begin.

2. Make the fish bath. In a shallow bowl or pie pan, mix together 3/4 to 1 cup of milk, 2 tsp. of melted butter and seasonings to taste. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and a bit of Old Bay seasoning. Blend all this together with a fork, and place your fish fillets in the mixture.

3. Prepare your oven and pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, and get a broiler pan with the slotted rack. Spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray.

4. Mix the coating. In another shallow bowl or pie pan, mix together 1/2 cup flour (white, wheat or unbleached) and 3/4 cup plain cornmeal. Again, season to taste. Use enough seasoning so that you can see and smell it after you mix it all together. Use liberal amounts of Old Bay Seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika and parsley. Mix well with a fork until it is all blended.

5. Coat the fish. One fillet at a time, remove it from the milk bath and coat in the cornmeal mixture. Press down gently to make sure the coating adheres to the underside of the fillet. Flip it over and repeat. When you are sure you have the fillet well coated, place it on the broiler rack of your pan.

6. Spray catfish with non stick cooking spray on the top sides of the fillets to aid in the browning and crisping of that coating. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

7. Serve the catfish with a drizzle of fresh lemon juice and a tablespoon or so of the homemade tartar sauce. Enjoy.

Tartar Sauce

8. Gather your ingredients. This is easier if you have everything out when you first start. You can put the sauce together while the fish cooks, but it's even better if you can make it a couple hours earlier and let it chill together in the refrigerator.

9. Chop the onion. Red onion tastes best in this, but you can use other onions if you have them on hand. Dice the onion quite small until you have about two to three Tbsp.

10. Mix the sauce. In a small bowl or plastic food container, mix approximately 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, the diced onion, two to three tbsp. of dill pickle relish--well drained (or diced dill pickles if you prefer), fresh ground pepper and dried dill weed to taste. Blend well with a fork and check consistency. If it seems thin, you may want to add more pickle and onion. If it's too thick and chunky, add more mayonnaise. This is entirely up to your preferences.

Tags: with fork, catfish with, bowl together, cooking spray, garlic powder, homemade tartar