Quarantine Cuties: Frying catfish NOLA-Style with Kortlynn Jenae
In Full Color's skillshare and chat series, Quarantine Cuties, went down south!
The weekly IG Live show hosted by Summer Dawn Reyes features women artists, entrepreneurs and hustlers sharing knowledge and skills. Each episode gives viewers a chance to support these women through #COVID19 or raise money for causes they support.
On May 7, we got cookin' with That One Comedy Night alumna Kortlynn Jenae, who is also a media personality and model!
Kortlynn Jenae’ is an emerging multi-media personality, full figured model, and entrepreneur. This New Orleans native recently relocated to Brooklyn, NY in search of a stage as big as her personality. When she is not working, interning or volunteering, Kortlynn spends her free time napping, dropping gems on her IGTV, and trying to get her knees as strong as Meg the Stallion’s. She made her stand-up comedy debut with In Full Color's That One Comedy Night.
As a New Orleans native, Kortlynn decided to share her traditional NOLA-style catfish recipe.
Shopping List:
Catfish fillets Louisiana Fish Fry (or plain Corn Meal) Flour 2 to 3 eggs Crisco or other frying grease Evaporated Milk Lemon (or lemon juice) Seasonings List: Tony’s (or Seasoned Salt) Garlic powder Onion powder Black pepper Kitchen Utensils: Deep skillet Paper Towels Large plate or container (to put fried fish on when taking it out the grease) Tongs or spatula
Prep:
1. Defrost your catfish by running fillets under cold water or soaking in cold water, changing every 30 minutes. Make sure you wash your catfish to get rid of some of the sliminess. There are many methods; Summer used lemon juice and hot water to prep her catfish nuggets. Pat catfish dry before seasoning.
2. Prepare two plates or large flat vessels -- one to season your catfish, and another lined with paper towel for fried catfish. You can also prepare an optional third plate for breaded catfish fillets waiting to be fried.
3. Prepare two deeper dishes -- one for the egg wash mixture and another for breading.
Directions:
1. Pour Crisco grease or oil into skillet and heat. Grease level should be high enough to cover the fish fillets.
2. Beat two to three eggs in a bowl, add a splash of evaporated milk.
3. Pour Louisiana Fish Fry mix into breading dish. Add a tablespoon of flour and mix.
4. Season your catfish fillets with Tony's seasoned salt, black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Make sure to coat both sides!
5. Dip seasoned catfish fillets into egg mixture. The breading process will likely be easiest if you move directly to Step Six for each individual fillet instead of dipping all fillets in egg before proceeding.
6. Allow excess egg mixture to drip off your fillet, then place the fillet in the fish fry mixture. Coat both sides of the fillet with breading, flipping if necessary. Use a spoon to evenly distribute the breading.
7. You're just about ready to fry! Make sure your grease is hot. You can check by flicking a bit of flour into the oil -- if it sizzles, you're ready to go!
8. Carefully place catfish fillets into the oil and allow each side to cook for 1 to 2 minutes before flipping. Fillets should be golden brown when done.
9. Remove fillets from oil using tongs and place on paper towel-lined plate to dry.
10. Continue the process until all your fillets are fried.
11. Squeeze lemon over the fillets or sprinkle lemon juice on top to add a nice pop of citrus.
12. Enjoy while hot!
If you loved this recipe, compliment the cook by making a donation to Kortlynn's CashApp $KortlynnJ
Tune in for the next Quarantine Cuties on Thursday, May 14 at 7 pm EST on IG Live on @infullcolorus_
The next episode will feature Crystal Davis an Abstract Paint and Sip! You can play along with whatever art supplies you have at home. See all upcoming episodes here.
