Wow, these are good. I mean, like, “want to eat them every night of the week but we really shouldn’t eat fried foods on such a regular basis” good. These simple catfish sliders just scream gourmet food, but were so easy to assemble that I really must insist you put them on your dinner menu for this week!
Catfish is one of my favorite fishes. It might be because it reminds me of a super fun time that the fiancé and I had a couple of summers ago. I had a half day off from school, and when I got home, he had surprised me by also taking a half day from work! Why, you say? To take me fishing using the best travel fishing rod of course!
He took me to a nearby fish farm where we spent the afternoon gathering catfish for dinner, and I spent the afternoon trying to garner the courage to skewer a worm on a hook. (Luckily I have the world’s best fiancé and did the task for me!)
By far the best way to enjoy catfish is fried! Amiright? I used the same batter as I did for my recent crispy asparagus with tangy dijon dipping sauce, and fried the fillets in canola oil. I’m really loving this batter because it makes for a nice crisp coating on the fish (or whatever it is you coat in the batter) but it is still light at the same time.
I paired the catfish with a simple mayonnaise made from mayo, capers and black pepper. I love the tangy and salty taste the capers give to the mayo! Also on top is a beautifully fresh kale and carrot coleslaw. I finished off the toppings for these sliders with everyone’s favorite: bacon!
Crispy catfish sliders... WHAT?! http://wp.me/p61F7n-Mv Click To TweetNow it’s your turn! What is your favorite type of slider sandwich? Share with me by commenting below! Be sure to subscribe to the email list for more tasty sandwich recipes!
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- 3 slices bacon, halved
- 2 cups kale, finely shredded
- 1 cup carrot, grated
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 3 tbsp. water
- 1 tsp. white wine vinegar
- ½ tsp. ground mustard
- 1 tbsp. poppy seeds
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp capers, finely chopped
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 egg, separated
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- ⅔ cup cold water
- ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp. white flour
- Canola oil
- 2 catfish fillets, broken down into 6 "mini-fillets"
- 6 slider rollls
- Cook bacon strips in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, flipping once, until as crispy as desired.
- While bacon is cooking, prepare coleslaw and mayonnaise. In a large mixing bowl, combine kale and grated carrot. In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, water, white wine vinegar, ground mustard and poppy seeds until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste and whisk to combine. Add desired amount of sauce to the kale and carrot and stir until coated. I used about ⅔ of my sauce, but you can adjust this to use more or less based on how creamy you like your coleslaw.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, capers, and black pepper until combined. Set aside.
- Fill a large skillet with a 1 inch layer of canola oil. Heat over medium-high heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While oil is heating, prepare the batter. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk egg yolk, lemon juice, and cold water until combined. Stir in the flour until combined. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk egg yolk until firm. Fold into the rest of the batter and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Once oil is heated, coat each piece of fish in the batter and add directly to hot oil. Fry for about 3 minutes per side, until golden brown and crispy. Remove from oil to a paper towel-lined plate.
- To assemble sandwiches, place one piece of fish on the bottom of a slider roll. Top with coleslaw, caper mayonnaise, and bacon. Enjoy!
