Catfish Curry

Southern recipe via a Denver native and texted (back) to me from Boston...

Recipe

1 lb catfish fillets

2 c water

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp curry powder

1 tbsp butter

Cut your catfisth into 2" pieces, and plop in a saucepan with the water, onion, salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil and simmer 8-10 minutes, until the fish is cooked but not falling apart.  Remove the catfish and boil the water down to about a cup.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, curry, and butter.  If it forms a nice paste, great - roll it into tsp-ish balls and add gradually to the water (over low heat)  Otherwise, gradually add your powdery, gooey mix...  Simmer a few more minutes until it thickens into a gravy.

Serve over rice!

Notes

This impromptu recipe came out pretty well!  The fish pieces didn't fall apart while cooking, but they did shed some little morsels that mixed into the gravy very nicely.  It seems healthy enough on its own, contrary to soul food's reputation...  But I added a pour of frozen veggies while boiling down the water, and served with some avocado too:

Fried Catfish

For health and practical reasons, I've generally opted more for pan-frying than deep-frying.  Fried catfish is totally worth a shot in my book, though.  I had to range a little farther than Morton Williams across Second, but Food Emporium had the seafood and Kalustyan's (an incredible place) had other key elements like cornmeal and smoked paprika.  The Internet provided these guidelines.  Note that the recipe is as I did it for just one medium-to-large fillet; multiply out as needed.

Recipe

1 catfish fillet
<1/4 cup fine-ground cornmeal
<1/4 cup flour (you need a bit less than the cornmeal)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1 sprinkle cayenne pepper
milk
salt
oil (they recommend peanut; I used vegetable)
hot sauce (optional/to taste)

• Heat about a half-inch of oil in a skillet - until anything you put in it sizzles.
• Soak the fillet in milk.
• Mix the cornmeal, flour and spices.
• Sprinkle the fillets with salt and dredge through the meal mixture.
• Fry maybe up to 5 minutes a side (flip carefully!).
• If you have a big batch, keep the already-fried catfish warm in the oven at 200 degrees until ready to serve.
• Serve.  (With hot sauce, if desired.)

Notes

Once again, you can't take cooking times at their word.  I got an awesome sizzle when I put my fillet in the fryer, but at 3-4 minutes a side the thick part was still a little underdone.  Next time, I wouldn't worry about overcooking until the coating starts to look it.

I made it with a sandwich in mind, but ended up serving it over spinach-pepper jack mashed potatoes instead:

For once, my version actually looked like the pictures!

Stewed Pepper Catfish

I usually rely on old Morton Williams for my grocery needs, but their seafood selection can be a bit limited unless you want tilapia.  So, on evenings where I try to get some vitamin D or omega-3, I generally take the slightly longer stroll to D'Agostino, who usually have something more interesting in the fish section (although their produce can be pretty unappealing).

One recent evening, the pick of the D'Ag fish cooler was clearly a big catfish filet.  I bought it, and returned to my apartment to see what recipes the Internet could provide that I could fill out with what was in the pantry.  Lacking flour ruled out most recipes I turned up, but this one caught my eye.  I didn't have the right ingredients as written, but who ever heard of Italian catfish anyway?  No, catfish has to be Southern, and while I may have taken it a little too close to or over the border, it worked out nicely.

My Recipe

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 can (4 oz) diced chiles
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
catfish filet(s)

Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute the jalapeno, onion, and garlic for a few minutes.  Add the broth, chiles, cumin and pepper and boil for a few minutes.  Reduce heat and plop the catfish onto the sauce base, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes.  If the catfish is falling apart it's probably pretty fully done...  Serve on its own or over rice.

Outcome

There's just something missing when you don't deep fry catfish...  Even if you prepare it some other way, it really needs some spices - I'd probably add a rub to the mix to make it again.  But the improvised pepper stew sauce was great - I finished off what was left with some Scoops!