Do you crave southern comfort food? Few people in the world can cook it as well as my wife Marilyn. Here's one of her recipes that embodies the spirit of food for the soul. Serve it with mashed potatoes and pan gravy. Heck, I even like pan gravy over my green beans. If I could talk Marilyn into opening a restaurant, we'd get rich. Until then, try her recipe and enjoy!
Marilyn’s Chicken-Fried Catfish with Pan Gravy
Ingredients
• 4 catfish fillets
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole milk
Directions
Combine salt, pepper, and flour in a large zip-top plastic bag. Mix well. Pour milk into a large bowl. Dip fillets in milk and shake off excess. Enclose in the bag and shake to coat. Shake off excess. Set a cast-iron skillet over medium flame and add shortening. Lay each filet in hot fat. Repeat until skillet is full, but not crowded. The shortening should be no deeper than ¼ inch. Heat only until it's hot enough to set the breading on the catfish after it's dropped into the skillet. When the bottom crust starts sizzling, turn filets and set the other side.
Pan Gravy
Ingredients
• 3 cups milk
• Catfish drippings
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
Directions
In a heavy, 2-quart saucepan, heat 3 cups milk but don't let it boil. Using the skillet in which you cooked the catfish, pour off excess grease, leaving about 4 or 5 tablespoons in the pan. Over a medium flame, heat the drippings and add 3 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue stirring to brown flour. When brown, hot and bubbling, add hot milk. Stir constantly until thick and creamy. Add 1 ½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
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Born near Black Bayou in the little Louisiana town of Vivian, Eric Wilder grew up listening to his grandmother’s tales of politics, corruption, and ghosts that haunt the night. He now lives in Oklahoma where he continues to pen mysteries and short stories with a southern accent. He is the author of the French Quarter Mystery Series set in New Orleans and the Paranormal Cowboy Series. Please check him out on his Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBook author pages. You might also like to visit his website.
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