Catfish Smothered In Étouffée

Catfish Smothered in Étouffée

Whenever I think about cooking fish, I always think of my father’s friend Jerry. Jerry was the best fish cook I ever met. He could clean fish faster than anyone and his fried fish was the best I ever tasted. Up in Canada, or in Michigan, you didn’t care if it was walleye, northern pike or bluegill, it was all good when Jerry was behind the spatula.

I am sure Jerry never fixed this dish, he never really did Cajun. I'm just reminded of Jerry whenever I think about cooking fish. It brings back all the great memories of the times I spent fishing with Jerry both in Canada and in Michigan. I was deeply saddened when I heard he passed away. Time can be really cruel.

Jerry,  working his magic on walleyes in Canada,  1986

I had something similar to this recipe down in Donaldsonville, LA. They served broiled drum smothered in crawfish étouffée. In the Chicago area, catfish and shrimp are more readily available than crawfish and drum, so that’s what I use here. I don't think the cajuns would complain about this dish. I bet they'd say "Ooh, dat good!"

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup flour

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 medium bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

1/2 cup of white wine

1 can Ro*Tel tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth (more if needed)

1/2 lb. shrimp

4 slices of bacon

6 catfish fillets 

Ground Cayenne

Cajun seasoning

Preparation: Étouffée

Use about equal portions of canola oil and flour (about a half cup of each) to make a coffee-with-cream colored roux. Just stir over medium heat until you have the right color. Don’t burn yourself by splashing it.

Once the roux is the right color, add a heaping bowl of roughly equal portions of celery, bell pepper, onion along with a couple cloves of garlic, all chopped fine with food processor. Let that cook a few minutes while stirring.

Splash in a 1/2 cup of white wine, throw in one can of Ro-Tel and then add 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring to boil, adjust for thickness using an additional cup of broth and simmer for 20 minutes. You want it to be about the same thickness as gravy.  Taste it for salt and pepper and add a good sprinkling of cajun seasoning. Add the shrimp and simmer until cooked. Set aside and keep warm.

Preparation: catfish

Sprinkle both sides of the filets with cajun seasoning and a little Cayenne. 

Render the bacon in a skillet until crisp, drain it on a paper towel, chop it and reserve. Add the catfish to the bacon fat in the skillet and place under a hot broiler. Broil a couple minutes on both sides until just cooked thru.

Serving

Place a little of the étouffée on the plate and place the filet on the étouffée. Crumble a little bacon on each filet. Place a serving of jambalaya next to the filet. Generously top the fish with étouffée. If you want, sprinkle on some finely chopped green onion. Serve with green beans which have been simmered with bacon and chicken broth. I like ice cold beer with this dish and Abita would be my choice.