Catfish Po'Boy with Creole Slaw

Well, today was my lucky day.  I have been hoping to find catfish on sale and today was the day.  For some reason the price of catfish has skyrocketed over the last few years. The fillets we used to pay $2 per pound for are now almost $10 per pound. For catfish!  Catfish is one of my favorite varieties of fish, but when it costs more than salmon?  Well, salmon will win every time.

Many Po'Boy sandwiches have a mayonnaise-based sauce or dressing, and I was hoping to avoid that on this sandwich.  The catfish needed to be crispy-crunchy without drowning in sauce.  I also wanted to try out a Creole-style slaw to go on top of the fish.  A slaw that would add crunch, but not be drippy with dressing, and this recipe came together perfectly.

 

For the slaw I started with a bowl of finely shredded cabbage and one shredded carrot.  Then I added a few basic slaw ingredients like mayo, cider vinegar and a bit of sugar.  But I wanted this to have a Cajun flavor, so I needed to spice it up just a bit.  A little Creole mustard and a pinch of paprika were all it needed.  I prepared the slaw about 3 hours before dinner, so it was still nice and crunchy when we assembled the sandwiches, but the cabbage had absorbed the flavors nicely.

We served the catfish on hoagie rolls and added a few slices of these beautiful orange tomatoes we found at the farmers market.  The tomatoes have a slightly citrusy flavor and they combined nicely with the fish and slaw.  A few squeezes of lime juice on top were the only "sauce" this sandwich needed.  Enjoy!!

To Prepare the Slaw
4 cups  Shredded Cabbage
1  Carrot, shredded
1 TB  Sugar
1/2 cup  Hellman's Light Mayonnaise
1/4 cup  Apple Cider Vinegar
2 TB  Creole Mustard
1/4 tsp  Paprika
1 tsp  Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp  Black Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl and stir to evenly coat all of the cabbage.  Refrigerate at least 2-3 hours.

To Prepare the Fish
3  Large Catfish Fillets (about 1-3/4 lb), cut in half
Canola Oil for Frying
2  Large Eggs
2 TB  Frank's Hot Sauce
2 TB  Heavy Cream  or  Milk
1/2 cup  Cornmeal
1/4 cup  Flour
1 tsp  Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp  Black Pepper
1 tsp  Onion Powder
1/2 tsp  Paprika
1/4 tsp  Cayenne Pepper
Sliced Tomatoes for Garnish

In a medium bowl combine the eggs, hot sauce and cream or milk and stir well.  Set aside.

In a large bowl or dish combine the remaining dry spices and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add a 1/2-inch of canola oil and heat until shimmering.  Dip the fillets one at a time into the egg mixture, then into the cornmeal coating.  Place each piece into the skillet and cook about 5 - 6 minutes, or until browned and crispy.  Turn the fish over and cook for 5 minutes longer.  Transfer to a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain.

Serve the catfish fillets on hoagie rolls with sliced tomatoes and a spoonful of the Creole slaw on top.