Fried Catfish Fillet Recipe - Catfish Bites

[allingeneral]

Fried Catfish Fillets - Catfish Bites

Preparation: Catch several nice sized catfish and take them home to skin and fillet them. Place the fillets in a bowl of salted water. When all fish are cleaned, rinse the fillets thoroughly, then fill the bowl with enough water to cover the fillets. Salt the fillets liberally and mix them around in the water to evenly distribute the salt. Let the fillets sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Ingredients:
- 6 medium catfish fillets
- 2 packs of saltine crackers
- 1 TBSP Old Bay Spice
- 1 TBSP Lemon & Pepper Seasoning
- 1/2 TSP Salt
- 2 Eggs
- Fry Daddy or similar fryer and vegetable oil

Directions:

- Preheat the fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
- Put the crackers in a one gallon Zip-loc bag and use a rolling pin to grind them into a fine powder. Add the Old Bay, Lemon/Pepper Seasoning and Salt to the bag. Close the bag and shake the mixture to mix the seasonings and cracker crumbs together.
- Put the eggs in a bowl and beat them with a fork.
- Drain the water from the fillets, lay them out and pat them dry.
*Note: Thin fillets can be cooked whole, but larger fillets should be cut into smaller "Catfish strips" so that they cook all the way through.
- Dip the catfish into the eggs, being sure to coat both sides of the fillet.
- Place the egg-dipped fillets into the Zip-loc bag and shake to coat the fillets with breading. In order to get the breading to stick to the fillets a little better, lay the bag on the counter and apply light pressure with your hand to push the cracker crumbs into the fillets.
- Place the breaded fillets into the deep fryer and let them cook until they are golden brown. When they are done, take them out of the oil and lay them on a paper-towel covered plate to soak up excess oil.

Put the first batch on the table and watch them disappear while you put the next batch into the fryer!


**Tips:
If using very large catfish, you may want to cut out the dark meat that is down the middle of the fillet. This meat, on older fish, tends to carry a very fishy taste. If you like it, by all means leave it there!

If leaving the dark meat on the fillets, you will probably at least want to remove the "Mud vein" from each fillet, which also introduces a very fishy taste. To do this, locate a small, white piece of flesh (it almost looks like a piece of dental floss) protruding from the thick end of the fillet right in the middle between the dark meat and the rest of the fillet. With gentle, even pressure, pull it out of the fillet.

I hope you enjoy my catfish recipe. I know that I and everyone that has tried it has absolutely loved it!