This recipe is super-easy – I made it in less than half an hour along with the rest of my dinner and kids’ meals. Catfish is a nice meaty kind of fish – it’s small but packs great flavor, basically absorbing the spices you feed it without masking them. Fried catfish and cornmeal dusted catfish is probably the most popular kind of preparation. However, I tried to go lighter and use the spices, not the fat, to carry the dish. Soaking the fish in milk is a great way to get rid of the fishy taste (in case you didn’t buy the freshest catch), but it’s also a nice way to add volume. With Labor Day around the corner, grilling is in order and this recipe will easily turn well on the grill. Just place it on the tinfoil or grilling planks instead of the pan and use extra lemon.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 4 catfish filets
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1/2 cup liquid egg whites
- 1/4 lemon
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp olive oil
Directions
1. Mix 1 cup milk and egg whites in a bowl (or regular milk and eggs if you wish, though I like the lightness of my recommended ingredients with this fish). Place catfish filets in the mixture and soak for 10-20 minutes.
2. Heat up the pan. Mix the spices on a plate – cumin, paprika, salt, garlic powder and brown sugar. Use the proportions listed above and make extra if needed.
3. Add olive oil to the pan. Dip each catfish filet in the spice mixture on both sides and place in the pan.
4. Squeeze the juice of a quarter lemon over the fish and sprinkle the capers over the top. Cook covered until fish starts to flake, then turn over.
5. Squeeze more lemon juice over the fish once turned and cook until ready. Fish will go from transparent to white once ready.
