Catfish Nuggets And Recipes

Steps:

• In a bowl, add the 2 cups milk and a heavy pinch of salt. Whisk to dissolve and add the fish chunks. Allow to soak at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Set up the dredging station: In the first bowl, add 1 cup flour. In the second bowl, whisk the eggs and add the remaining 2 tablespoons milk. In the third bowl, add the remaining 1 cup flour, the cornmeal, sugar and a pinch of salt followed by a few grinds of pepper.
• In a frying pan with straight sides, add enough oil to fill 1-inch deep. Heat until the oil begins to swirl and the handle of a wooden spoon begins to sizzle as soon as it hits the oil. The oil will be about 350 degrees F.
• Remove the fish from the milk in batches of 6 to 8 chunks. Shake the excess milk off the fish. Dredge in the flour, then the egg wash and then in the flour and cornmeal mixture. Add the batch to the oil, making sure to not overcrowd the pan and bring down the temperature. Fry, flipping once if needed, until a light golden brown and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and season with a sprinkle of salt. Repeat until all the fish chunks are done.
• In a small bowl, add the hot sauce and sift the sugar on top. Gently stir together. Drizzle over the nuggets or dunk them in the sauce.

Steps:

• Place the catfish pieces into a mixing bowl and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Toss until the catfish is evenly coated with the thyme. Mix in the mustard with your hands. Cover, and refrigerate overnight, up to 24 hours.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk the flour, salt, black pepper, and baking soda together in a mixing bowl.
• Dip the catfish pieces one at a time into the flour mixture and shake off the excess. Fry the catfish nuggets in batches until they are no longer translucent in the center and are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Let the oil come back up to temperature between batches. Drain the nuggets on a paper towel-lined plate before serving.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix dry bread crumbs and lemon pepper. Place egg substitute in a separate small bowl. Dip catfish pieces in the egg substitute, then into the bread crumb mixture to coat.
• Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Place coated catfish pieces in the hot oil. Fry on both sides until lightly browned and fish is easily flaked with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Steps:

• Preheat an air fryer to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place seasoned breading mix in a gallon-size plastic resealable bag. Drop catfish pieces inside, close, and shake to coat fish with breading on all sides.
• Spread out nuggets on a baking sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place nuggets in an even layer in the air fryer basket, sprayed side down. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your air fryer. Spray the tops with non-stick cooking spray.
• Air fry for 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip nuggets over and cook for 4 minutes more.