Southern Fried Catfish

Another basic, fast, yet delicious recipe. I rarely serve fried foods because of the fat, but there's nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence. And with light, flaky catfish and a crunchy cornmeal crust, this is definitely indulging.

Ingredients:
2 lbs catfish nuggets. You can often find them in the freezer section of the grocery store.
1 c. flour.
1 c. cornmeal.
2 tsp. seasoned salt or Old Bay seasoning.
3 eggs.
1 c. milk.
Vegetable or canola oil for frying.

Sprinkle the catfish nuggets with 1 tsp. of the seasoning, and toss well to mix. Let this sit for 20-30 minutes for the flavors to sink in.

In the meantime, prepare your dredging stations. Mix the cornmeal, flour, and the remaining teaspoon of seasoning in a plate. In a shallow baking dish or casserole pan, whisk together the eggs and milk until blended.

When your ready to fry, put the oil on medium-high heat and let it warm up for a few minutes. There's no need to break out the deep fryer for this one. You don't need the oil to be super hot, and you also don't need a lot of it. One-half to one inch of oil in a large, everyday frying pan is plenty.

While the oil is heating, dredge your catfish. You don't want to dredge them all at once! Dredge about 1/3 of the catfish at a time. First, toss the nuggets in the cornmeal/flour mixture until they're thoroughly coated. Then, dip them in the egg mixture to coat both sides. Finally, put it in the cornmeal mixture and toss one more time. From there, put the pieces straight into the frying pan. Be sure to try and space them out so they don't touch or crowd too closely.

One common mistake is to overcook the fish. Fish is very delicate and cooks quickly. Overcooked fish turns pasty, dry and flat-tasting, no fun at all. Catfish nuggets, being small and thin, cook in no time. Fry for about 30 seconds on one side, then flip the nuggets over and fry for another 30 seconds. That should be all it takes. When the batter is crispy and lightly brown, it's ready. Put the fish on paper towels to drain. And while one batch is frying, you can dredge and prepare the next.

Serve it nice and hot. I love it with some sauteed green beans, black-eyed peas and white rice on the side.