Cornmeal-Dredged Fried Catfish — Cast Iron Supper While the Baby Learns to Fall and Get Back Up

Luna has decided that walking is the only acceptable form of locomotion and she is doing it everywhere now, with the unsteady urgency of a person who has discovered a new tool and cannot stop using it. She falls constantly. She gets up every time. She does not cry when she falls unless something startled her — otherwise she just puts her hands down, pushes up, and continues toward whatever she was heading for. She is eleven months old and she is already teaching me something about persistence that I should probably have figured out by now at thirty.

Kai is going through a phase where everything is a question. Not "why" questions — he has had those for a year — but more specific questions, the kind that require actual thought. "Do fish know they are fish?" This week. I said probably not. He said "how do you know?" I said I did not. He accepted this and went back to his trucks. He is four in May and he is already running ahead of me on certain tracks. I am going to have to keep moving to stay close enough to be useful.

I made catfish this week — not from the river, from the fish market on Memorial Drive, because the pipeline schedule does not leave time for fishing and compromise is the whole of adult life. Catfish filets, cornmeal-dredged, fried in a cast iron skillet. While I was making it I thought about the channel cat I caught with Kai last summer, about how different store-bought catfish is from river catfish, how the wildness is in the flavor in a way that can't be replicated. I made a mental note to take Kai fishing again before summer gets too old. He is old enough now to last more than eight minutes with a rod.

Danny is going through a respiratory infection. Low-grade, nothing that required a hospital visit, but enough to keep him in bed most of Tuesday and Wednesday. Terry called both days with updates. The doctor says these infections are going to become more common — the chronic lung damage from the 1999 exposure means his lungs can't fight off what a healthy person clears in two days. Danny cleared it by Thursday. But each one takes a little from the reserve. The reserve is not unlimited.

The week was heavy in the way that accumulates quietly—Danny’s lungs, the reserves that don’t replenish, the things you can’t fix by showing up. Fried catfish felt like the right answer to all of it: something solid, something you do with your hands, something that tastes like a summer afternoon with a kid who is finally old enough to hold a rod. Here’s how I made it.

Cornmeal-Dredged Fried Catfish

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs catfish fillets (fresh or thawed), patted dry
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal, fine or medium grind
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• Vegetable oil or lard, enough to fill a 12-inch cast iron skillet about 1/2 inch deep
• Lemon wedges and hot sauce, for serving

Instructions

1. Season the fish. Pat catfish fillets completely dry with paper towels. Season both sides with 1/2 tsp of the kosher salt. Set aside while you prepare the dredge.
2. Make the cornmeal dredge. In a shallow dish or rimmed plate, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, remaining 1 tsp salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne until evenly combined.
3. Make the egg wash. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg until smooth.
4. Heat the skillet. Pour oil into a 12-inch cast iron skillet to about 1/2 inch depth. Heat over medium-high until the oil reaches 350°F, or until a pinch of cornmeal dropped in sizzles immediately.
5. Dredge the fillets. Working one fillet at a time, dip in the buttermilk-egg wash, letting the excess drip off. Press firmly into the cornmeal mixture on both sides, coating evenly. Shake off any loose excess.
6. Fry in batches. Carefully lower fillets into the hot oil without crowding — fry 2 at a time if needed. Cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, turning once, until the crust is deep golden and the fish flakes easily at its thickest point. Internal temperature should reach 145°F.
7. Drain and rest. Transfer fried fillets to a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Do not stack. Let rest 2 to 3 minutes before serving so the crust stays crisp.
8. Serve. Plate with lemon wedges and hot sauce alongside. Cole slaw, hushpuppies, or pickled onions round it out.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 410 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 720mg