Creole Fried Catfish Tacos with Black-Eyed Pea Chutney and Fried Pickled Okra
Catfish Tacos…better yet, Creole Fried Catfish Tacos with Black-Eyed Pea, Corn, and Avocado Chutney with Fried Pickled Okra is one of the best tacos I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. I made them with locally grown and harvested catfish, along with fresh vegetable chutney and delicious pickled okra!
US Catfish is sponsoring this post, but all opinions are truly my own.
One of my favorite things about US Catfish is that they supply their fish with top notch pellets that the fish learn to eat from the top of the pond, making catfish even healthier.
Another advantage of this fish is that it is local!!! That’s a big one to me.
I wanted to get every flavor and texture in these catfish tacos, making it the ultimate comfort food. I get the crunch from using a wet and dry batter method for battering the fish before frying. It is second to none!!
The chutney has fresh corn that gives you that pop of sweetness in your mouth with the creamy peas and avocados, along with a sweet-and-sour vinaigrette.
The okra is the icing on the taco, so to speak. It adds the drama the entire dish needs and is then topped with a simple yogurt dressing that brings all the flavors together. So I am covered – sweet, sour, salty, crunchy, creamy – what more can you ask for in your catfish tacos?
This should be a staple on everyone’s table at least once a week. I know it is in my house!! It’s simple, fresh, and easy to purchase – you can get US Catfish in your local grocery store. If your store doesn’t carry it, ask them to carry it! It will be the best thing they ever do.
Creole Fried Catfish Tacos with Black-Eyed Pea, Corn, and Avocado Chutney and Fried Pickled Okra
Ingredients
Fried Catfish Ingredients
- 5 catfish fillets
- 2 cups corn meal
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (Creole Kick)
- 1/2 cup hot sauce (Franks Red Hot Sauce)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- vegetable oil, for frying
Black-eyed Pea, Corn, and Avocado Chutney Ingredients
- 1 cup black-eyed peas, cooked and drained
- 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
- 1 cup fresh corn
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Pinch of granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Fried Pickled Okra Ingredients
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 cup yellow self-rising cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 12 whole pickled okra (or you can use prepared pickled okra)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
Yogurt Topping Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- freshly ground pepper
Taco Ingredients
- 8 flour tortillas
- lettuce
Instructions
To Prepare the Fried Catfish
- In a large cast iron skillet, add oil halfway up the side. Heat oil to 375 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, add 1 cup of cornmeal and one cup flour.
- In a small bowl, add paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Add 3 tablespoons of the spice mixture to the flour cornmeal mixture.
- To make the wet mixture, in a medium bowl add remaining cornmeal and flour, mustard, eggs, hot sauce, and the remaining spice mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the fish fillets to the wet mixture and completely coat each fillet.
- When oil has reached 350 degrees, coat 2 fillets with flour cornmeal mixture. Place the fillets in the hot oil and cook until fish is golden brown and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Remove fillets to a cooling rack placed on top of a cookie sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining fillets and drain on the cooling rack.
To Prepare the Black-eyed Pea, Corn, and Avocado Chutney
- In a large bowl, combine black-eyed peas, bell pepper, onion, corn and avocado.
- In a medium bowl, add vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar. Continuously whisk ingredients as you drizzle in 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Pour vinaigrette over the black-eyed pea mixture and gently stir until well combined.
To Prepare the Fried Pickled Okra
- In the same skillet you cooked the fish, heat oil to 350 degrees.
- In a shallow dish or plate, combine cornmeal, flour, Cajun seasoning, salt, pepper, and red pepper.
- In a small shallow bowl, whisk eggs and 1 teaspoon of hot sauce.
- Coat okra with the egg mixture, then liberally coat okra with the cornmeal mixture. Once oil reaches 350 degrees, fry in batches until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove okra to a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet.
To Build the Taco
- In a dry hot skillet or grill pan, heat tortillas for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add shredded lettuce to the center of tortilla. Gently break catfish into pieces and place on top of the lettuce. Add scoop of chutney and 3 fried okra pieces, then drizzle yogurt topping over the top.
