Fried catfish for 8: catfish strips coated in a yellow mustard and hot sauce wash, dredged in seasoned cornmeal and fried golden, with comeback sauce, the tangy chili-sauce mayo from Mississippi, for dipping. Grills are banned on campus at Ole Miss, so this is a fry-at-home recipe. Carry it hot and eat it within 2 hours, or chill it and serve it cold like picnic chicken.
Feeds: 8 · Hands-on: about 40 min · Total: about 55 min
Home gear: a heavy Dutch oven, a frying thermometer, a wire rack set over a sheet pan and a foil pan with a lid
Pack for the lot
- Foil pan of hot catfish, towel-wrapped in an empty cooler
- Jar of comeback sauce, on ice
- Lemon wedges
- Platter, tongs, napkins and a trash bag
Lot notes
- Vaught-Hemingway Stadium: Ole Miss's grill rule reads "None. Electric, gas, charcoal and wood grills are all banned on campus, and so are heaters." That's why this one is fried at home.
- The 2-hour clock: with no way to reheat in the Grove, hot fish gets eaten within 2 hours of leaving the pot, or 1 hour over 90°F. Fry as close to leaving as you can, and toss what's left.
- Cold option: fried catfish is good cold. Cool it on the rack, refrigerate it within 2 hours and pack it at 40°F or below. It loses some crunch.
- Comeback sauce on ice: it's mayo-based, so it stays cold and comes back off the table within 2 hours.
- Peanut oil: check for allergies. Canola works the same at 350°F.
- A flameless carrier: the Revo Dubler HEAT keeps covered pans warm with microwave heat packs instead of a flame or fuel, per Revo, but the 2-hour clock above still applies.
Can you make fried catfish ahead?
Partly. The comeback sauce keeps about a week in the fridge. Fry the fish the morning of the game, right before you leave. Fried the day before and kept cold, it's safe to eat cold but less crisp.
How do you keep fried fish crisp at a tailgate?
Drain it on a rack so the bottom doesn't steam, and pack it in a foil pan with the lid cracked. A sealed container traps steam and turns the crust soft.
How much fried catfish do you need for 20 people?
Make 2½ batches: about 6¼ lb of catfish, 2½ batches of the mustard wash (about ¾ cup of mustard), 3¾ cups of cornmeal, 1¼ cups of flour and 2½ batches of comeback sauce (about 2 cups of mayo). Scale the spices the same way. The oil stays the same; you just fry more batches.
Can you fry at the Grove?
Plan on frying at home. The rule reads "None. Electric, gas, charcoal and wood grills are all banned on campus, and so are heaters." Bring the fish cooked.