Blackened Whole Catfish

I had never made a whole catfish before and, since they were on sale recently I thought I would give it a try. I found that it isn’t really much different than making fillets. It just looks more intriguing with the tail still intact.

These along with home grown red potatoes New Orleans style are pretty amazing!

I made one catfish per person and, since we are three, I made three.

I actually think these are quite lovely fresh from the seafood counter.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

I mixed together seasonings for a Cajun flare. The recipe is below, but you can use whatever Cajun or Creole seasoning you like best.

Coat the fish lightly with a little olive oil and then use 1 Tbsp seasoning per catfish rubbing it on to coat all sides.

Stuffed a lemon slice inside the cavity of each fish.

Place the fish on a wire rack, to keep the fish off the bottom of the baking dish, place in a baking dish, and dot with a little butter.

Bake at 400F on lowest rack for 35 to 45 minutes or till fish flakes easily with a fork.

You can serve tartar sauce on the side for those who can’t have fish without out the sauce. Just for the record . . . I don’t need no sauce! Just a little lemon please!

It was delicious!

This is how much we liked it . . .

Whole Catfish (1 per person)
1 Tbsp Cajun or Creole Seasoning per Catfish (see recipe below or buy premade seasoning)
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Butter
Lemon slices
? Tarter Sauce? (For those who feel they can’t have fish without the sauce)

Rinse and dry the fish.

Coat the fish lightly with the olive oil.

Rub each potion with about 1 Tbsp seasoning making sure to coat both sides.

Insert 1 slice of lemon into the fish cavity.

Place a wire rack into the baking dish to keep fish lifted off the bottom.

Bake at 400 degrees placing baking dish on lowest rack of the oven for about 35 to 45 minutes or till fish flakes easily with a fork.

Cajun Seasoning

2 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Salt
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp dried leaf oregano
1 Tbsp dried thyme

Mix together. Store extra seasoning in a jar, ziplock bag, or airtight plastic container for future use.

On the side, since we were going with the Cajun theme, we had Louisiana Boiled Potatoes and Garlicky Asparagus.

When my daughter and I were in New Orleans, they served these potatoes in some restaurants as an appetizer. This is how the waiter said they were made:

Scrub up as many red potatoes as you need. Homegrown? All the better. My homegrown potatoes will last through most of the winter if stored in a cool dark place.

Add the seafood boil to the cooking water.

Yep, that’s really what it looks like.

Boil till tender.

Serve with butter and Louisiana Hot Sauce sprinkled on top. Just be careful . . . they don’t call it hot sauce for nothin’.

Louisiana Boiled Potatoes

Small red potatoes
Seafood boil
Louisiana hot sauce
Butter

Boil desired amount of potatoes in a saucepan with water and seafood boil seasoning.

When cooked, top with butter and Louisiana hot sauce (just remember, a little goes a long way).

Garlicky Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus
Salt and pepper to taste
Minced garlic to taste
1 pat of butter

Steam Asparagus with salt, pepper, and garlic till tender crisp. Top with pat of butter to serve.

Loved it! Cheers!
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