Light and Crispy Pan-Fried Catfish

Name: Light and Crispy Pan-Fried Catfish
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 13 min
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 (6-ounce catfish fillets; ⅓ cup yellow cornmeal; 1 tablespoon paprika

3 Ratings
3 Reviews

Enjoy the crispy, delicious taste of fried catfish without the all the fat.

Recipe by Southern Living August 2005

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Recipe Summary

prep:

5 mins

cook:

8 mins

total:

13 mins

Yield:

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

4 (6-ounce catfish fillets
⅓ cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon paprika

Directions

Step 1
Sprinkle 4 (6-ounce) catfish fillets evenly with salt and pepper to taste (or use a spicy seasoning blend, such as Creole or Caribbean jerk). Stir together 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal and 1 tablespoon paprika in a shallow dish. Dredge fillets in cornmeal mixture; coat lightly with vegetable cooking spray. Cook in a hot, nonstick skillet over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until fish begins to flake and is opaque throughout.

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Chef's Notes

Lightly coating the fillets, rather than the skillet, with vegetable cooking spray allows the oil to evenly cover the surface of the fish. The natural sugars found in paprika caramelize with the yellow cornmeal, producing a beautiful brown color. We used catfish fillets, but any mild-flavored fish will work equally well.

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MyRecipes Member

06/19/2022

I love deep fried catfish but I hate to deep fry. Thought I would try this recipe - dredged the catfish in cornmeal-black pepper mixture, sprayed the filet in olive oil and fried in the nonstick pan. Served with a lemon wedge, some oven-baked fries and coleslaw, it was delicious. Will be doing it again soon!

MyRecipes Member

08/15/2021

This recipe was very good. The fish was moist after it was defrosted which helped the corn meal to adhere. In the future I may use lemon juice for more moisture. I sprayed it with the cooking spray, but also added a small amount of olive oil to the pan which added flavor and kept the fish moist.

Chad McDougall

03/27/2021

HORRIBLE recipe, Me and my mom tried this, it was disgusting, it tasted like dirty pond, it was so bad we couldn't even finish it, Would not recommend this recipe.

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