Fried Catfish with Pecan Sauce

ONE OF MY EARLIEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES IS catching hideous catfish in the Catawba River outside Charlotte, North Carolina, watching my grandfather and mother clean the fish and fry them in a huge cast iron skillet, and eating them with coleslaw, hush puppies, and, by all means, ketchup. Of course, catfish was considered “common” in those days, and I still snicker today when I read about the sweet fish being so fashionable in restaurants or watch trendy chefs preparing and saucing it as if it were Dover sole. Although pond cultivation of catfish began in Arkansas, the Mississippi Delta is now the major producer, supplying the national markets with no less than 250 million pounds annually and elevating the lowly fish to a lofty status unheard of just twenty years ago.
Fortunately, catfish is one fish that remains as white, firm, and sweet when frozen as when fresh. Fried catfish served with nothing but a few squeezes of lemon or ketchup, or crusted with ground cornmeal and pecans, is still as popular with Southerners as when I was a boy. For a more updated and sophisticated dish, serve the fish with this buttery pecan sauce.

MAKES: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE SAUCE

• 1⁄2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
• 4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1⁄4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Tabasco sauce to taste

FOR THE CATFISH

• 1 cup white cornmeal
• 1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds fresh catfish fillets, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
• Vegetable oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To make the sauce, in a bowl combine the toasted pecans, melted butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce.
2. Stir the ingredients together until well blended.
3. To make the catfish, combine the white cornmeal, all-purpose flour, salt, and black pepper. Mix well.
4. Dredge the catfish fillets in the cornmeal mixture, coating them evenly. Place the coated fillets on another plate.
5. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat about 1⁄4 inch of vegetable oil over moderate heat.
6. Fry the catfish fillets in batches, if necessary, for about 5 minutes on each side or until they are nicely browned.
7. Drain the fried fillets on paper towels to remove excess oil.
8. To serve, spoon a little of the prepared sauce over each catfish fillet.
9. Serve the catfish fillets hot.