Crispy oven-fried catfish nuggets

A quick and easy way to prepare your catch

Darby Doyle
Communications Team Coordinator

While deep frying catfish is one of the most popular ways to prepare it, the process itself can be messy. By using your oven or air fryer, you can get similarly tasty results without the grease splatters and lingering aromas of traditional frying methods.

Crispy oven-fried catfish nuggets

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound cleaned catfish fillets, cut into 1 ½-inch nuggets or strips
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (mixed use)
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• Non-stick canola (or other neutral flavor) cooking spray
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus additional kosher or flaky sea salt to finish)
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder

Directions

Step 1

In a large non-reactive bowl, dust catfish pieces with 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning and toss to coat them evenly in the spices. Pour buttermilk over the catfish and stir to make sure all fish surfaces are covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to 8 hours).

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Add a sheet of parchment paper to a rimmed baking sheet and lightly spray the parchment with non-stick cooking spray.

Step 3

In a large bowl or plastic zip-top bag, combine the cornmeal, flour, remaining 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, salt, and garlic and onion powders. Toss to combine ingredients of this breading mixture.

Step 4

Drain and discard most of the buttermilk from the catfish, leaving the pieces lightly coated in buttermilk. (Transferring the catfish to a cooling rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet works great for this step.)

Step 5

A few pieces at a time, toss the buttermilk-coated catfish in the breading mixture and make sure all sides are covered evenly in breading. Place the catfish on the parchment-lined baking sheet, making sure that there is space between the catfish pieces. Repeat with remaining catfish nuggets. Lightly spray the tops of the breaded nuggets with cooking spray. (This will help with browning and crisping.)

Step 6

Bake the catfish nuggets in the oven until golden brown and cooked through, about 20–25 minutes. Catfish is done when it flakes with a fork but is still juicy. While hot, sprinkle with some flaky sea salt or kosher salt. Serve immediately, accompanied by tartar or remoulade sauce for dipping.

Using an air fryer

Catfish nuggets also turn out great using an air fryer! Following the manufacturer's directions, air fry coated catfish nuggets at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Flip the nuggets and continue air frying until golden brown (about another 10–12 minutes).

Darby Doyle

A communications coordinator with the Salt Lake office outreach team, Darby Doyle joined the DWR in 2021. She's an editor for the DWR wildlife blog and annual guidebooks, and chips in as a backup public information officer when needed. An avid fly angler and self-admittedly mediocre hunter, Darby enjoys gardening, harvesting and butchering game from her family's hunts all over the Western U.S. and spending time outdoors with the family's goofy Labradors.