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Delicious spicy southern fried catfish! Coated with flour & cornmeal, then deep fried to golden perfection… It’s love at first bite!
Every time that I fry up some southern soul food style catfish filets or nuggets, I always think of Louisiana. I know, I know… I always talk about my Baton Rouge family reunions ( when I was a child), but that is truly the time that I feel in love southern food. Sure, my mom cooked soul food all the time. However, it wasn’t until we visited our family down south when I was around 8 or so, that I feel in love with catfish.
I don’t know what it is about catfish, but I can never have enough of it. ESPECIALLY if it’s spicy deep fried catfish. I love it! My spicy catfish recipe is really easy. I drench the fish in a egg & hot sauce mixture, then I coat it with self rising flour and yellow cornmeal. The outcome is always amazing.
If you’re not a fan of spicy food you can replace the hot sauce with water. It will get the job done,you just won’t have the spicy flavor.
Watch how I made my spicy fried catfish

Spicy Southern Fried Catfish
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Catfish Nuggets
- 1 cup self rising flour
- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 2 medium sized eggs
- 2 tsp your favorite cajun seasoning
- 2- 2 1/2 cup oil to fry with
Instructions
- Make sure that the fish is nice and clean before anything else, then set to the side.
- In a large bowl add the self rising flour, cornmeal, and cajun seasoning. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl beat the two eggs, then add in the hot sauce, and mix.
- Next add the fish into the bowl with the hot sauce & egg mixture.
- Make sure that the fish is nicely coated with the wet mixture, then coat with the flour mixture.
- Once all of the fish is coated, let it set for about 5 minutes so that the cornmeal & flour mixture can stick well.
- Heat the oil between 350 - 375 F.
- Once the oil is nice and hot, carefully add the fish into the skillet or deep fryer, but do not overcrowd.
- Fry the fish until golden brown, then remove from the oil, and set on a paper towel lined plate or cookie sheet.
- Let sit until it's cool enough to eat.
- Serve & Enjoy.
What cajun seasoning do you recommend or what did you use?
I’m not married to a brand, so you can use whatever you’d like.
Hi Rosie, I love your blog. What kind of hot sauce would you recommend for this recipe?
I like Red Hot & Louisiana Hot Sauce.
I don’t like spicy food. Can I skip the hot sauce?
I went over that in the post.
You can’t have too many catfish recipes….love this one! Video was perfect. Peanut oil is great for frying, and the spice level in this recipe sounds perfect. Pinned. Thanks for sharing. Have a good week. xoxo
Thanks for coming by Mary.
Do think this recipe would work well on salmon?
Possibly. I never tried it with salmon.
Im new to your site and LOVE IT. Im new to cooking as well. Can this fish recipe be used for Perch and Whiting and fried in the deep fryer?
Welcome to my blog! Yes, you can use this recipe for perch & whiting .
I love catfish, just not too crazy about it fried. Can you bake the fish in this recipe instead of frying?
Hey Shay. It would be a completely different recipe. I may share it in the future 🙂
I need this recipe to give my Whitings a boost. Thank you.
Thank you so much
totally satisfied with this recipe
Fried perfectly not greasy batter is a perfect complement to the fish
I made it with homemade tarter sauce coleslaw cornbread and collard greens
Very happy
I’m going to look for more of your recipes
You know what your doing
its look so delicious. Thank you for sharing
Came out delicious!
This was sooooo tasty! We did shrimp and catfish and it will now be our go-to! Thank you so much for sharing!
Going to try this recipe tonight. Thanks.
I’ve made a few of the recipes on your site so far (This Spicy Catfish, the Smothered Oxtails, Collard Greens, Banana Pudding – I actually currently have your slow cooker Smothered Beef Roast in the crockpot). I’m not usually one to leave reviews but my husband was getting tired of my cooking – even though he loves how I cook – he was getting bored with the same dozen or so entrees on repeat. I searched for months to find a recipe that looked like something he would enjoy. He has a pretty specific taste when it comes to seasonings. He has loved everything I’ve made from your site. I plan to cycle through each of your recipes until he starts requesting a repeat of something made before. Thanks for the awesome site and I hope to see more posts and videos from you – specifically crock pot recipes are my favorite.
Damn Woman, I followed your recipe to the letter but I used Catfish filets. I should have followed your lead and use the nuggets. My eyes were bigger than my stomach, so they say. I got a rather large filet and did not know how it would taste reheated, so I ate the entire filet. Either way, it was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C. I added a little more Cajun spice as I am a huge fan of spicy food. I will definitely be making this more often.
Yayyyyy!! So glad that you liked the recipe darlin’!
Miss Rosie; recipies are incredible. I am stunning my family with your treasures
Last tour in USAF was in Biloxi MS. Oh do I miss the cooking.
This is my favorite!! Thank you, Rosie.
You are so amazing and I am so happy that I found you and your fabulous family recipes ❤ ♥. I can just feel the family love and traditions that are in each dish that you prepare. I have been cooking myself for many years for my family. I am a southern country girl. I search for new ways to cook all the time. Thank you for your wonderful recipes . Please keep on sharing your love of cooking.
You are the best!
Thank you Rosie. I had an idea how to do this and your recipe/video solidified my thoughts. Thank you!
This recipe is very good to my likeness