pete’s catfish
My eighty-eight-year-old cousin Pete Yearwood is an experienced fisherman and catches large catfish. My daddy, Jack, was an only child, so his few remaining relatives are very special to me. Pete reminds me a lot of my daddy, from the sparkle in his eyes to his great sense of humor. When my dad built our house in 1970, he found a fresh spring down in the woods. He built a pond out of that spring, and he would often take Beth and me fishing. He baited our hooks for us and removed them from our catches long after we were old enough to do it ourselves. We never caught a fish as big as Pete’s, though!
Servings
6
Servings
6
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Put the catfish in enough water to fully cover. Add a tablespoon of salt, cover with plastic wrap, and soak overnight in the refrigerator.
  2. Mix the cornmeal, flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a plastic bag. Drain the water from the catfish and transfer the fish to the bag with the cornmeal. Shake the bag to coat the fish.
  3. Heat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 300°F. Drop a few pieces of fish into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd. Cook the fish until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the pieces with a slotted spoon and keep warm in an oven while frying the remaining pieces.
Recipe Notes

A steak from one of these fish is more than a serving. Pete says the key to a good piece of fish is in the way it’s cut. He cuts 1-inch slices, crosswise, from the largest part of the fish, then fillets one side of the remaining tail portion and leaves the bone in the other side.
Serve this fish with a side of Jalapeño Hushpuppies.