Our crispy and delicious Southern fried catfish recipe is made using our popular fish fry seasoning. It goes great with soul food spaghetti, coleslaw, hot sauce, and a slice of white bread for a good ol' Southern soul food fish fry!
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Southern fried fish is a classic recipe you should always have in your repertoire. It's a staple dish in soul food cuisine and learning how to cook it is basically a rite of passage in the Black community!
We used catfish for this recipe, but you can also use crappie, bream, whiting, or any other type of freshwater fish for your fish fry.
What makes our recipe unique is that it is made with no eggs, dairy or flour. Our two secret ingredients are cornmeal and mustard. This combination makes the crust feel light and crispy, while keeping the fish flaky and delicious.
What we love about this recipe
- It's perfectly seasoned: The combination of seasonings gives this fried fish perfect flavor.
- It's uses simple ingredients: All you need are a few pantry staples that you likely already have on hand.
- It's versatile: Catfish is most popular for Southern fried fish, but you can adapt this recipe for whatever you've got on your hook.
Ingredients
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Catfish: We live in Maryland, so we can typically find blue catfish. It has a less muddy taste than channel catfish. It's also still very flaky and has a mild flavor. If using wild-caught catfish or channel catfish, you may want to consider soaking the fish in milk or buttermilk beforehand.
- Yellow cornmeal: Creates a light a crispy crust for Southern fried fish.
- Seasonings: Our fish fry seasoning is made with Old Bay, lemon pepper, salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic. Diamond Crystal kosher salt is the only brand we use. You can also use table salt, but use half the amount.
- Yellow mustard: Mustard acts as a glue or binder for the catfish seasoning.
- Hot sauce: Crystal or Louisiana hot sauce is preferred.
- Cooking oil: Neutral cooking oil like canola oil, peanut oil, or vegetable oil is best for frying fish.
How to Make Southern Fried Catfish
Step 1: Trim and clean
The first step to making Southern fried fish is trimming and cleaning the fish. For catfish, you will want to take a sharp knife and remove the fat strip (the dark, fatty ridges down the back). Also, trim any of the red flesh that remains. This will leave you with nice, white catfish filets. After trimming off the fat, slice each piece lengthwise into strips, then cut those strips in half. Rinse under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
Step 2: Make cornmeal and seasoning mixture
Combine the cornmeal and seasonings in a shallow bowl. This will be the dredge for your catfish filets. Set the bowl aside until you're ready to use.
Step 3: Lather in mustard and hot sauce
Spread mustard and hot sauce all over the catfish filets, making sure that they're evenly coated.
Step 4: Dredge and fry
Heat oil in a dutch oven, a large cast iron skillet, or deep fryer. While the oil is heating, coat the catfish filets in the seasoned cornmeal mixture. Fry fish in the hot oil until the coating is golden brown, light, and crispy. Transfer fried fish to a wire rack set over paper towels or a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess oil.
Recipe Tips
- Preheat oil before frying: Make sure to preheat the oil and use an instant-read thermometer for accuracy. Keep an eye on the oil temperature and adjust as needed to maintain a consistent temp.
- Fry fish in batches: This helps to avoid overcrowding the pan, which can lead to uneven cooking and soggy fish.
What to Serve at a Fish Fry
Coleslaw, white bread, and hot sauce go great with Southern fried fish. Another popular option is to pair fried catfish and spaghetti. For a classic Sunday dinner, make our soul food collard greens and Southern mac and cheese to go with it. French fries, hush puppies, the options are endless!
Commonly Asked Questions
We don’t soak our catfish in milk before frying—it's not necessary for our recipe. That said, soaking catfish in milk (or buttermilk) is an optional step if you're worried about a "muddy" or overly fishy taste—it can help mellow that out. But with fresh filets and bold seasoning, we’ve found it’s not needed.
Our go-to fish fry seasoning is Old Bay, lemon pepper, kosher salt (we like Diamond Crystal for its light, flaky texture), black pepper, and granulated garlic.
Our fried catfish recipe is already gluten-free! We skip the flour and use yellow cornmeal as the only breading, which gives you that signature crispy crust without any wheat. Just double-check your seasonings to make sure there’s no hidden gluten, and you’re good to go.
Yes, Southern fried catfish is a type of soul food. It’s often served with sides like hushpuppies, collard greens, and cornbread, which are also staples of soul food.
📖 Recipe
Southern Fried Catfish Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds catfish filets
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- oil for deep frying (preferably vegetable oil or canola oil)
- ¾ cup yellow mustard
Fish Fry Seasoning:
- 1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
- ⅓ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ⅓ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ teaspoon granulated garlic
Instructions
- Clean and trim catfish filets.
- Combine cornmeal, Old Bay, lemon pepper, kosher salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic in a shallow bowl; set aside until ready to use.
- Place catfish in a separate large bowl and add mustard and hot sauce—toss filets in mustard mixture to coat evenly on all sides.
- In a large fry pan or deep-fryer, heat oil to 350° F.
- While the oil is coming to temperature, dredge the catfish filets in the cornmeal seasoning mixture.
- Once the oil is heated to the correct temperature, fry filets in batches for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until the fish flakes easily with a fork and the internal temperature reads 145° F.
- Carefully remove fried fish from hot oil with a slotted spoon or spatula, set it on a wire rack over a paper towel, and cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Michelle says
This is wonderful fish recipe. The mustard hot sauce as a base makes it so crispy
Jazz says
The fish is wonderfully crisp and pairs perfectly with a side of fries!
Katrina Adams says
I adding this to my recipe Rolodex!! Looks so good!!
Christy Hoover says
I am a Louisiana girl and am an official STAN.. I love your site and this wonderful catfish recipe! Reminds me of home.
Marta says
This is great! I usually mix dijon mustard into my egg mixture, so this is a recipe I know I'll like.
Desirée says
omg. My husband LOVED this recipe! Thanks for sharing!