Oven-Fried Catfish

Very tasty alternative to fried. We love spicy, so I marinate for several hours and use Frank's Red Hot combined with other quality hot sauce - tobasco is too vinegary. I use good quality beer like Bass or New Castle and had a little cayenne and Old Bay to the cornmeal. Served with a hot & spicy red coleslaw and mashed sweet potatoes. Makes great sandwich the next day on toasted roll with melted cheese, coleslaw & a little tartar.

Very tasty and crisp. Don't be afraid of the hot sauce in the marinade, because it remains more of an echo than a strong presence in the cooked item. Needed a good squirt of fresh lemon, otherwise just perfect. Served with mashed sweet potatoes and steamed summer squash.

I'm a big catfish fan and am always looking for new recipes. This was good, and an easy and healthy alternative to real fried catfish. My only suggestion is that whatever hot sauce you use, make sure you like it because that's the primary flavor. Since it was the first time I made it, I went with Tabasco which is what the recipe calls for. I think next time I'll use a vegetable-based hot sauce instead to add more flavor than just vinegar and peppers. Or maybe use less hot sauce in the marinade and add cajun spices to the breading. Still, I'll definitely make it again.

I love this recipe, I like to marinate it overnight so that the flavors really come out. I use oven spray on top to make it extra crispy!

This fish looks lovely coming out of the oven, and the texture turned out quite nicely. I didn't like my first bite, because it tasted too strongly of the hot sauce. However, as the fish cooled the vinegar taste went away. It was even really good heated up the next day. Tasted exactly like fried catfish to me, only without the mess and calories.