Saturday, December 17, 2011

Pan Fried Coconut Catfish

I'm taking a break from composing and kettlebell training to deliver a very special recipe; one that is near and dear to my Southern heart.

PAN FRIED COCONUT CATFISH!

Despite the word COCONUT in the title of the recipe, this preparation is not particularly sweet - at least not like coconut shrimp. In fact, the sweetness is subtle and juxtaposed with the spicier paprika and black pepper. I intend to do some product placement in this post, so be forewarned.

Ingredients:
Coconut oil - unrefined or refined will do. Refined is less sweet than unrefined.
Three large catfish fillets, about 1.25-1.50lbs
.5 cup of coconut flour - even the notoriously mediocre Bob's Red Mill CF works well in this case.
One lightly whipped egg white
Himalayan sea salt, about .25 teaspoon
Black pepper, a lot
Paprika, approximately .5 teaspoon - more if you're adventurous




This is where the "product placement" part comes in. The Tellicherry black pepper on the left and the pretty wood salt mill are from my new friends at the Oaktown Spice Shop on Grand Ave.


Heat coconut oil over medium heat in sauce pan or cast iron skillet.














Lightly whip the egg white with a fork so that it's foamy. Pour onto a flat plate. (There was supposed to be a picture of this, but it didn't take.)


Combine coconut flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Pour onto a flat plate.













Not enough pepper. Add more.















Place fish fillet in egg wash. Flip to cover other side.

Place the egg-y fish in the coconut flour mixture. Make sure fish is COMPLETELY covered in the delicious flour mixture.












Let the browning beginning. Depending on the size of the fillet, you'll need to cook 5-8 minutes on each side. I had larger fillets, so I needed closer to 8 minutes.











Repeat the process of dredging and browning.














 More pepper.



















CONGRATULATIONS! You have just made the world's finest coconut flour fried catfish! I highly recommend serving alongside sweet potato home fries, recipe courtesy of Adrienne Harvey of GiryaGirl.com.

Don't forget about a wedge of lemon and tar tar sauce! This isn't the midwest!




















I was just joking about the midwest. I'm pretty sure no one eats fish in the midwest. Haha!

4 comments:

  1. Well I spent my childhood in South Dakota, which is at least the edge of the midwest, and I can tell you that TONS of locally sourced freshwater fish got eaten. Cows too. And deer! They ALL taste better proportionate to the time between their sacrifice and our plate.

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  2. I'm going to have to try this - your coconut flour "batter" looks better than the one I tried - THANK YOU for sharing and I love how you paired it with the home fries! :)

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  3. I'll have to give this a try. I've never made catfish but my husband loves it! And, yes, we do eat fish here in the Midwest ;) But I mostly stick to salmon, flounder, and halibut.

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