Up next in 10
Printable recipe below! Ever wonder how to get that perfect crispy, crunchy bite from your catfish without any muddy taste? This video shares a simple technique for how to fry catfish, ensuring a delicious outcome every time. We'll show you how to prepare your fish for a truly satisfying fried catfish recipe, perfect for outdoor cooking season!
Used in this video:
Kent's Original Seasoning https://www.kentrollins.com/shop
Propane camp stove https://amzn.to/2MG9vo9
Rode wireless Go 2 mic: https://amzn.to/3seAQ7X
Cowboy Hat: Chazhatz.com
For more suggested products seen in our videos click here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/cowboykentrollins
======================
Printable Recipe: https://kentrollins.com/blogs/fish/fried-catfish
======================
Check out our BEST SELLING cookbooks. Get your copy here: https://www.kentrollins.com/shop
Also available at bookstores nationwide, and Amazon www.amazon.com/shop/cowboykentrollins
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Hey, does your catfish taste muddy?
0:02
I'm going to show you how to get that
0:03
muddy taste out and a crispy crunchy
0:06
bite every time.
0:19
It is time to get in the backyard, get
0:22
the grease hot. It is fish frying season
0:25
for sure. But you know, there's a lot of
0:27
ways that people can mess up a fried
0:30
fish. And a lot of people think, "I'm
0:31
not going to eat catfish, especially
0:33
because it tastes muddy." I'm going to
0:35
walk you through the steps to show you
0:37
what to buy, what it's supposed to look
0:39
like, and the thing that is the star of
0:41
the show, that crispy crunch that you
0:43
need in every [music] bite, and that
0:44
comes from a resting on a wire rack
0:47
before it's fried.
0:51
I just want to show you something.
0:53
That
0:54
is a bad catfish.
0:57
Now, it said on the sack, "Farm-raised
0:59
catfish." I don't think he was raised in
1:01
the water by that color. I think he
1:02
crawled around on the ground for half
1:04
his life. Now, when I was growing up, we
1:07
eat a lot of mud cat or old yellow
1:08
bellies, cuz that's all that was in them
1:10
farm ponds, and they looked a lot like
1:12
that. But look right here. Look at all
1:13
this brown in here. That's what I'd call
1:16
a mud line, and I mean it goes way down
1:18
in there. There's certain fish that have
1:20
a a dark streak in them like a striper,
1:23
and you can cut that out with a fillet
1:25
knife. But you go trying to trim this
1:27
out with a fillet knife, you ain't got
1:29
nothing left to talk. So, stay away from
1:32
the bad catfish.
1:34
Now, next, if you are lucky enough to go
1:37
out and fish and catch your owns, you
1:40
can peel that skin off of them. This is
1:42
a fresh catfish fillet. So, when you're
1:44
buying fish, look for that mud line in
1:47
that package. You can see it in there.
1:48
They're frozen fillets, but they're
1:50
always packaged in a in a water-base
1:53
that's even going to make it worse. They
1:54
get all mushy. Now, I have made a lot of
1:57
fish fries in my life and I have looked
1:58
for a good white fish that I could buy
2:00
in quantity and I'll tell you what it
2:02
is, folks. And if you've never tried it,
2:04
you should. It is swai, s w a i catfish.
2:08
They are clean white fish all the way
2:10
through. Probably some of the best
2:11
eating catfish I ever had, but I do love
2:14
a fresh fillet, I do. But say you caught
2:17
a bigger catfish. I mean, you was lucky
2:19
that day and he's got a little dark
2:21
streak in there. We're just going to
2:23
split this and right down the middle the
2:25
seam and we're going to see what it
2:27
looks like.
2:32
As you turn this over, I want you to
2:34
look. You can see just a little of that
2:37
mud line in there.
2:39
So,
2:40
it's really better to do when they're
2:42
sort of frozen just a tad
2:44
cuz they're easy to trim up.
2:46
But if you take your knife and cut
2:49
and if you got a fillet knife, it's even
2:51
better than that.
2:53
And just peel this out of there.
2:55
That way you get rid of it. Cuz who
2:58
wants to take a bite of something that
3:01
ain't good, crispy, tasty fish. So, what
3:05
you want left is a good white piece of
3:08
fish that you don't see that mud line
3:10
in. That's what we're after. But I got
3:12
one more trick to take that muddy taste
3:14
out of there. Now, I was on a ranch
3:16
couple of weeks ago filming for our new
3:18
series, The Cast Iron Cowboy, and we
3:20
were doing a fish fry and there was a
3:22
fella there said, "Man, we eat a lot of
3:23
catfish, but sometimes it tastes a
3:25
little muddy, but got a trick for you."
3:27
He said, "You spray it soda pop. Let it
3:30
soak in there about 30 minutes
3:32
and it'll take some of the muddy taste
3:34
out." So, we going to try it.
3:37
I do know he told me if you leave it in
3:39
there too long, it will get mushy. So,
3:42
I'm going to look at my watch, make sure
3:44
they're covered.
3:45
30 minutes from now.
3:48
9:26, we'll take them out of there at
3:51
See what happens. So, he did tell me,
3:54
"Do not leave that in there longer than
3:55
30 minutes. It [music] will get mushy."
3:57
Now, this trick is not going to take all
3:59
of that mud taste out, but you're going
4:01
to get a lot of it out of there. And I
4:03
know y'all been cooking fish a lot
4:04
longer than me, some of you. What is
4:06
your tip? What is your trick to [music]
4:08
take that muddy flavor out of fish?
4:10
Leave me a comment. Let me know.
4:14
>> [music]
4:20
>> Now, you've seen me cut those fillets
4:23
up. Try to keep them in even
4:25
proportions. That way they're going to
4:26
fry up about [music] the same time. Now,
4:28
if you're thinking, "I want to fry the
4:30
whole fillet." But you got to remember,
4:32
it's thinner on one end, thicker on the
4:33
other. So, always cut it. You're going
4:35
to get a better fry time. But it's time
4:37
to mix up the dry because the coating on
4:40
the fish is nearly as important as
4:42
catching that fish. It is.
4:44
We got about a half a cup of flour.
4:46
We're going to get us some cornmeal.
4:48
And they make all kinds of fish fry
4:50
batter mixes that you can buy at the
4:53
store. If you got a favorite one, you
4:55
just use it. That's fine with me. I
4:57
ain't got no complaints.
4:59
We want this crust to have a little pop,
5:01
so it's going to get a little sprinkling
5:03
of baking powder. Next, cornstarch. Not
5:06
only is it good for galling and diaper
5:08
rash for babies, but it helps the batter
5:11
and the coating adhere to what you're
5:13
frying. So, we'll give it a little
5:15
sprinkle.
5:17
About that much.
5:19
Original low sodium seasoning. It is
5:22
new, and you folks need to try it.
5:24
This has got the same great flavor, but
5:26
less the sodium. Now, if you ain't got
5:28
it and you just want to use salt and
5:30
pepper, that's fine with me. I don't
5:32
care.
5:35
All right, time to mix that up, the dry.
5:42
I always just taste and see can I get
5:45
the the taste of the seasoning?
5:49
I'm going to add a little more. You just
5:51
taste it and find out.
5:53
Cuz you don't want it over salty or
5:55
anything, and that's why I like to use
5:56
this low sodium on fish, but I want it
5:59
to have that flavor. Time to mix up the
6:01
wet.
6:02
And it's about a cup and a half of
6:04
buttermilk.
6:05
You can use milk and egg, but I really
6:07
prefer buttermilk. I think it just gives
6:09
it so much more flavor.
6:11
To that, two hen fruit, tackle berry
6:14
rooster bullets, whatever you got.
6:18
These good eggs here, they got a good
6:20
shell.
6:23
Real good. What's your favorite thing
6:25
about a fish fry?
6:26
I think my favorite thing about a fish
6:28
fry when I was growing up, we had them
6:29
big old black kettle pots, big old
6:31
30-gallon pots.
6:33
And they would fire it up with a weed
6:34
burner.
6:36
Get that lard, just pure hog lard, dump
6:38
it in there, and they didn't check it
6:40
with a thermometer. When that grease was
6:42
hot enough, they'd throw a match in
6:43
there. When the match struck, it was
6:45
ready to go. But people come for a fish
6:47
fry, we'd have 40, 50 people in the
6:50
backyard because somebody had been down
6:52
there to Lake Texoma and we'd went jug
6:53
fishing, catch all kinds of catfish and
6:56
fry them up when we got back. Let's get
6:58
this mixed.
7:04
I love to add me a little smoked paprika
7:07
cuz I think it just brings out some
7:08
really good flavor.
7:12
Make sure you got this stirred up
7:13
smooth. It's really nice and smooth and
7:16
creamy cuz that's what we're after.
7:20
It is fish frying time. Now, about 10
7:23
minutes ago, I think you would have
7:24
started your oil in a deep fryer. Y'all
7:27
hear that sound?
7:30
Duker, do you have to be so loud while
7:33
we're filming? Get you some good high
7:35
temp oil. Today I'm using peanut oil. We
7:38
used to fry them in lard so many years
7:39
ago, pure hog lard, but you want that
7:42
temperature to run 350 and you don't
7:44
want to smoke it. You don't want to burn
7:45
it, but you want something that's going
7:47
to withstand that temperature for a
7:48
while.
7:49
One tip that is very important,
7:52
dry your fillets off a little. Okay?
7:55
You're thinking, "Why are we going to
7:56
dry them off when we're going to stick
7:58
them in a wet solution?" Well, it's sort
8:01
of like water and oil. They don't mix.
8:04
The water that's on here, I don't want
8:06
on there. I want it to let that wet
8:10
adhere to it. So, make sure you pat them
8:12
dry.
8:14
We're going to just
8:16
place them in the wet.
8:18
Get them good and covered right over in
8:22
the dry.
8:24
Now, how thick do you want your crust?
8:26
You want a double dip, double baptize? I
8:29
think we just as well. Back over in here
8:31
it goes. Back over in the dry.
8:35
Most important thing about this before
8:37
you fry fish
8:39
is they need to sit on a wire rack for
8:42
at least 5 minutes to let everything
8:44
[music] adhere to what's going on.
8:56
>> [music]
8:57
>> You notice when I put this over here in
8:58
the dry, I really tamp it on there good.
9:01
Pat it good and hard.
9:03
>> [music]
9:03
>> I want that to stay on there and get a
9:05
good coating.
9:07
So, make sure when you get them out of
9:08
the wet [music] and you put them in here
9:09
the first time,
9:11
don't just give them a little
9:12
sprinkling.
9:13
Give them a pat, pat, pat, but use a
9:14
little force on them.
9:16
>> [music]
9:25
[music]
9:29
[music]
9:30
>> Fish frying time it is. I'm so ready for
9:33
some fish fry.
9:35
Guess what? Oil temperature is at 355. I
9:38
like to start a little over cuz when
9:40
this cold fish goes in, it's going to
9:41
drop that temperature a little.
9:43
Remember, they have to dry it on the
9:45
wire rack. They are ready to be
9:47
baptized.
9:49
That is a beautiful sound. I just love
9:51
it. I do.
9:53
Catfish fried up.
9:55
>> [clears throat]
9:56
>> Don't overcrowd the boat when you're
9:58
doing this.
10:00
We just going to put about three in
10:01
there.
10:03
All right, when you first put them fish
10:04
in there,
10:05
just let them sit there and just do
10:07
their stuff, okay?
10:09
You can move them just a little if you
10:11
think one of them is over there trying
10:13
to hug up to the other and you're afraid
10:15
they're going to stick together and be
10:16
conjoined twins, but don't be turning
10:18
them too soon because you'll knock some
10:21
of that batter and that fry off there. I
10:23
like to let them go probably two to
10:25
three minutes till I can see a golden
10:28
crust begin to form and then we'll go
10:30
flipping them back and forth and back
10:32
and forth doing the fish fry yoga, doing
10:34
the fish fry yoga.
10:37
See how that's already started? Oh my
10:39
gosh, [clears throat] pure goodness it
10:41
is.
10:42
But I'm feeling a little generous today.
10:44
I might even throw in a few hush puppies
10:46
and some fried okra.
10:50
>> [music]
10:59
[music]
11:25
>> Ooh,
11:26
>> [music]
11:26
>> that is a plate that brings back a lot
11:28
of memories, it does. One thing missing
11:31
and I ain't got no garden.
11:32
Give me a big old green onion set up
11:35
right there because you couldn't have a
11:36
fish fry unless you had some green onion
11:38
to go along with it. Now, I'm going to
11:41
break this [clears throat] one in half
11:42
because I just know there's going to be
11:44
some goodness in there. I just want to
11:46
see in here what's going on.
11:48
Here is some fish.
11:51
Here is some more fish, clean and white
11:53
in every bite. That rhymed right there.
11:56
And I am going to have me some.
12:00
Mhm. Can you hear that crunch?
12:03
I can hear that crunch.
12:05
Mhm.
12:06
Mhm.
12:09
Mhm.
12:10
Set the hook.
12:15
I got him. He's coming to the boat.
12:20
You throw me on some okra right there.
12:22
And I love these hushpuppies, I do. We
12:24
got videos on both that you can tie this
12:26
into to go with your fish fry. Get in
12:28
the backyard. Get the grease hot. Get
12:30
the fish in there and go to frying.
12:32
Invite all the neighbors over because
12:34
remember
12:35
Jesus even said it.
12:37
Be fishers of men. And he wanted you to
12:39
catch some fish, but he also wanted you
12:41
to feed all those around you. That's
12:43
what it is to be a good neighbor.
12:45
But it is with great pride, honor, and
12:48
privilege that I tip my hat to all our
12:49
servicemen and women and all the
12:51
veterans that have kept that old flag a
12:52
flying over camp. We commend you all. We
12:55
lift you in prayer daily. Rest of you, I
12:57
need you to get up on [music] in here
12:59
real close. And for some of you new
13:01
viewers that's just joining us, what's
13:02
fixing to happen is called a group hug.
13:05
I'm going to give y'all a hug, and
13:07
you're going to hug everywhere around
13:08
you.
13:09
Mhm.
13:10
God bless you each and every one, and
13:12
I'll see you down [music] the crispy
13:14
fried fish trail.
13:18
>> [music]
13:18
>> Now, y'all remember when we told you
13:20
about that trick soaking them catfish in
13:21
that Sprite to get a little of that
13:23
muddy taste out. So, let's just break in
13:25
here, and I can still see a little of
13:27
the color in there that's a darker
13:29
color, but it don't look as bad as it
13:31
did. Let's see what's happening here.
13:37
I am surprised. It's very faint [music]
13:39
right there at the end that you get a
13:41
little bit of that oh muddy water taste,
13:43
but not near like it was [music] if you
13:45
hadn't have done it.
#People & Society