Friday, May 22, 2009

Catfish Fingers and Catfish Poy Boy with Remoulade

Ingredients for Catfish Fingers
- 1/2 cup coarse-ground mustard
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 2/3 pound Catfish Fillets, cut into strips
- 1/4 cup Yellow Cornmeal
- 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- Cumin powder, to taste
- Cayenne Pepper, to taste
- Fresh ground Black Pepper
- Vegetable Oil (for frying

Ingredients for Remoulade Sauce
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Sweet Relish
- 1 tablespoon Capers
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha Chili Sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh Lemon Juice, plus zest of whole Lemon
- 1 tablespoon Chives, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Italian Parsley, chopped
- Splash Tabasco, to taste

Directions for Catfish:
- In a bowl, stir together the mustard, egg white, and tabasco sauce. Add the fish, and toss to coat well. Cover and and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- In a shallow dish, mix together the cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne.
- Pour the oil into a heavy saucepan or deep-fryer, filling it about 1/3 full, but no more.
- Heat oil to 350 degrees.
- Dredge the fish in the cornmeal mixture and shake off excess. Add the fish to the oil a few pieces at a time. Cook for a couple minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- Drain on paper towels.
- The fish can be served as fingers dipped in remoulade sauce. Or you can make a Po Boy out of it, buy making a sandwich of french bread, fish, lettuce, tomato, and remoulade sauce.

Directions for Remoulade Sauce:
- Whisk all the ingredients to blend. Season with salt/pepper as needed.
- The dip can be made in advance and refrigerated up to 3 days.