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Prep time
15 minutes
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Cook time
15 minutes
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Serves
many as an appetizer
Author Notes
Catfish nuggets are extremely popular around these parts.When we had our small fish and seafood retail business, we would sell hundreds of pounds of these morsels to our customers weekly who would take them home and fry them up. They're a staple at church fish frys, family reunions and festivals. But you don't need to limit yourself to catfish for these...any fish you like to fry will work...I used Canadian Whitefish for mine and if you can get hold of alligator meat, you'll have a real Cajun treat! —inpatskitchen
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Ingredients
- Spicy tartar sauce
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3/4 cup
good quality mayo
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2 tablespoons
dried onions which have been re-hydrated with 3 tablespoons hot water
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1 teaspoon
dried dill weed
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3 tablespoons
finely chopped kosher dill pickle
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2 teaspoons
chopped capers
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1 tablespoon
caper brine
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1/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( we do about 3/4)
- For the nuggets
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1 1/2 pounds
catfish nuggets or you favorite frying fish cut into 2 x 2 inch pieces ( or alligator meat which has been marinated in something like Italian dressing overnight)
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1 cup
AP flour
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1 teaspoon
baking soda
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1 teaspoon
salt
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1 teaspoon
black pepper
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2 teaspoons
cayenne pepper
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1
egg, beaten
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3/4 to 1 cup water
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Juice of a lemon
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Enough vegetable or peanut oil for pan frying
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Your favorite hot sauce for serving ( we like Cholula)
Directions
- Spicy tartar sauce
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Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
- For the nuggets
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Whisk together the flour ,baking soda, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a medium size mixing bowl.
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Whisk 3/4 cup water and the lemon juice with the beaten egg and then slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry. If the batter seems too thick, whisk in the extra 1/4 cup water ( or even more if needed)
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Dip the nuggets into the batter and then fry in batches in the hot oil. This should only take a few minutes per side. Drain on paper toweling.
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Serve the nuggets with the tarter sauce. Drizzle with the hot sauce if you like.
I think I get my love for food and cooking from my mom, who was an amazing cook. She would start baking and freezing a month before Christmas in order to host our huge open house on Christmas afternoon. I watched and I learned...to this day I try not to procrastinate when it comes to entertaining.
My cooking style is pretty much all over the place, although I'm definitely partial to Greek and Italian cuisine. Oh yes, throw a little Cajun in there too!
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