Best Fried Catfish

While lots of Southern fried catfish dishes require a buttermilk soak, this one follows a strategy from Nashville icon Arnold’s, which closed its doors in January 2023. Here you salt water the fillets in a bath of seawater and hot pepper sauce, a vinegar-based dressing soaked with little entire chiles (if you do not have it, your preferred vinegar-based hot sauce will do great). To keep the flavoring in check, salt water the fish for no longer than 3 hours and provide it a fast rinse when done. Pat the fish dry prior to breading it with experienced cornmeal to make sure a crispy crust that sticks to the fillets. If you’ve never ever fried fish prior to, ensure you’re completely established prior to you start. Using an apron and an old t-shirt with long sleeves is a great concept to safeguard yourself from splatters. Fill a cast-iron frying pan with a minimum of 1″ of oil and connect a deep-fry thermometer (or utilize your instant-read thermometer to assess the oil’s temperature level as it varies). Line a baking sheet with paper towels or a cake rack so you belong to rest the catfish fillets when they come out of the hot oil. Serve with Southern side meals like coleslaw from another Nashville legend Hattie B’s, hush young puppies, and collard greens, plus tartar sauce for dipping and lemon wedges for squeezing. Ingredients6 portions 3 Tbsp. plus 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided 3 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce 6 5– 7-ounce U.S.-farmed catfish fillets 1 1/2 cups white cornmeal 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. newly ground black pepper 1 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper 3 cups grease, plus more

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