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This Southern fried catfish recipe is golden, crispy, and packed with flavor in every bite. The fish is soaked in seasoned buttermilk, coated in a cornmeal crust, and fried to perfection until golden brown and crispy crunchy and the inside is tender and juicy. It’s a comforting, soul-warming recipe that tastes just like home.
For more southern classics, try my buttermilk fried chicken and hush puppies recipe next!
Listen up, if you’ve never had good Southern fried catfish, you haven’t really lived. I’m talking about crispy, golden cornmeal crust that shatters when you bite into it, with tender, juicy fish inside.
This is the kind fried fish that makes you close your eyes and say, “Oh yeah” before you even finish chewing.
Around here, catfish isn’t just dinner, it’s the perfect meal. Serve it hot with hush puppies, coleslaw, and maybe a little hot sauce on the side if that’s how you like it. And don’t even think about calling it “just fried fish,” because this is a whole experience. It’s porch-sitting, sweet tea-sipping, laugh-with-your-mouth-full kind of food.
Whether you’re a first-timer or grew up with it on the table for a Friday fish fry, my recipe will have you licking your fingers and going back for seconds and thirds!
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
(full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card)
Catfish is a white fish with a mild flavor, best known in Southern cooking for its flaky, tender meat. When buying catfish at the grocery store or fishmonger, make sure that the filets are firm and translucent – this means they’re nice and fresh. They should never be mushy nor have a strong fishy smell!
For seasonings, we’re using old bay seasoning, cajun seasoning, parsley, lemon pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and seasoned salt.
Cornstarch helps prevent soggy fish and makes the breading nice and crispy.
Yellow Cornmeal is the foundation of the crispy coating. Use a medium ground cornmeal instead of fine ground like how you do with my honey butter cornbread. Medium ground adds more crunch.
Buttermilk helps to remove the muddy flavor from the fish. It also tenderizes the fish too, giving it that flaky texture we all love.
Vegetable Oil – you can use any oil with a high smoke point. This includes canola oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil etc.
Variations
- Make it spicy by adding some cayenne pepper into the seasoning blend!
- Add panko breadcrumbs to the dredge – this makes for an even crispier crunch!
- Catfish tacos! Slice fried catfish into strips and tuck them into tortillas with slaw and hot sauce or crema.
- Use the nashville hot sauce from my Nashville Hot Chicken and drizzle it onto the fried catfish fillet after it’s done deep frying!
How To Make Fried Catfish
Step 1: Combine buttermilk, hot sauce, lemon juice, and minced garlic in a bowl and submerge the catfish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Remove from the brine, rinse and thoroughly pat dry with a paper towel.
Step 2: Cut the catfish into desired size, then cover with mustard, old bay, lemon pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, seasoned salt, and black pepper. Toss together to ensure everything is coated in the seasoning.
Step 3: Combine ingredients for the dredge in a bowl – cornmeal, all purpose flour, cornstarch, parsley, cajun seasoning, and baking powder.
Step 4: In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.
Step 5: Dip catfish in the seasoned cornmeal mixture. Make sure to pat the dredge into the fish, ensuring the catfish fillets are fully coated.
Step 6: Then the egg mixture, and then back in the cornmeal mixture. Place onto a wire rack to set while the oil is heating. Let the catfish sit undisturbed, this allows the breading to adhere to the fish.
Step 7: Add vegetable oil to a large cast iron skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Heat the oil to 350-375 degrees F. Use a candy thermometer to ensure the temperature of the oil is correct.
Step 8: Add 1-2 fillets to the skillet at a time and cook for 3-5 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place onto a paper towel-lined plate to remove any excess oil.
Pro Cooking Tips
- Don’t let the catfish marinate any longer than 2 hours. The acid in the buttermilk will make the catfish mushy if you let it sit too long.
- After soaking in the buttermilk marinade, Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. Excess moisture will make the coating soggy and will cause the breading to fall off when frying in the hot oil.
- Use a candy thermometer to monitor the oil’s temperature. Frying at the right temperature is key to getting crispy fried fish! The oil temperature should be between 350-375 degrees F.
- Don’t crowd the pan. Fry in batches so the oil temperature stays where we need it to be.
What To Serve With Southern Fried Catfish
Serve this fried catfish recipe with everyone’s favorite southern side dishes! I’m talking soul food classics like collard greens, buttermilk cornbread, baked mac and cheese, potato salad, and candied yams.
You can also keep it simple and serve with french fries, coleslaw, and remoulade sauce or a homemade tartar sauce – kinda like fish and chips. Don’t forge to serve with a few lemon wedges, too!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can use frozen catfish, just make sure it’s completely thawed and patted very dry before seasoning. Excess moisture can make the coating soggy and prevent it from crisping up properly.
Soaking the catfish in buttermilk for at least 30 minutes helps tenderize the fish and reduce any “fishy” taste. It also helps the coating stick better for a crispier crust.
Cornmeal gives Southern-style fried catfish its signature crunchy texture and golden color. You can use flour only, but the crust will be softer and less crunchy.
The oil should be between 350°F and 375°F for perfectly fried catfish. This temperature ensures a crispy crust without overcooking the inside.
Yes, you can make fried catfish without deep frying, and it’ll still be delicious. Shallow frying in about ½ inch of oil will give you a crisp crust while using less oil overall. You can also bake the catfish on a wire rack at a high temperature (around 425°F) or use an air fryer for a lighter version. While the texture won’t be quite as crispy as traditional deep frying, the flavor will still shine through.
More Southern Recipes
Main Course
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Main Course
Seafood Boil Recipe with Garlic Butter Sauce
Main Course
Crawfish Boil Recipe
Main Course
Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe
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Fried Catfish
Equipment
- Dutch Oven or Large Skillet
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Catfish Fillets
Buttermilk Brine
- 1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
- 1/4 cup Hot Sauce
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 cloves Garlic, (minced)
Catfish Seasoning
- 3 tbsp Yellow Mustard
- 2 tsp Old Bay
- 2 tsp Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Seasoning Salt
Dry Batter/Dredge
- 2 cup Cornmeal
- 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup Cornstarch
- 2 tsp Dried Parsley
- 1 1/2 tbsp Cajun Seasoning
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
Wet Batter
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 2 tbsp Hot Sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Eggs
- 4-5 cups Vegetable Oil
Instructions
- Combine buttermilk, hot sauce, lemon juice, and minced garlic in a bowl and submerge the catfish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Remove from the brine, rinse and thoroughly pat dry with a paper towel.
- Cut the catfish into desired size, then cover with mustard, old bay, lemon pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, seasoned salt, and black pepper. Toss together to ensure everything is coated in the seasoning.
- Combine ingredients for the dredge in a bowl – cornmeal, all purpose flour, cornstarch, parsley, cajun seasoning, and baking powder.
- In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the wet batter – whisk together eggs, buttermilk, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Dip catfish in the seasoned cornmeal mixture, then the egg mixture, and then back in the dredge. Make sure to pat the dredge into the fish, ensuring the catfish fillets are fully coated. Place onto a wire rack to set while the oil is heating.
- Add vegetable oil to a large cast iron skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Heat the oil to 350-375 degrees F. Use a candy thermometer to ensure the temperature of the oil is correct.
- Add 1-2 fillets to the skillet at a time and cook for 3-5 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place onto a paper towel-lined plate to remove any excess oil.
Notes
- Don’t let the catfish marinate any longer than 2 hours. The acid in the buttermilk will make the catfish mushy if you let it sit too long.
- After soaking in the buttermilk marinade, Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. Excess moisture will make the coating soggy and will cause the breading to fall off when frying in the hot oil.
- Use a candy thermometer to monitor the oil’s temperature. Frying at the right temperature is key to getting crispy fried fish! The oil temperature should be between 350-375 degrees F.
- Don’t crowd the pan. Fry in batches so the oil temperature stays where we need it to be.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love Catfish fried or baked. This is a great recipe. What sides would you recommend?
Hi Patrick! I would recommend the soul food classics – collard greens, buttermilk cornbread, baked mac and cheese, potato salad, and candied yams. You can also keep it simple and serve with french fries, coleslaw, and remoulade sauce or a homemade tartar sauce – kinda like fish and chips. Don’t forge to serve with a few lemon wedges, too!
Awesome, very crunchy.
Thanks, Shawn!
I’d give this recipe a million stars if I could! They were so crunchy and juicy just like you said! This is my new go to recipe for fried catfish, I’d like to try it out with other fish too!
My goodness, thank you so much!