Catfish Jourdain
Li'l Dizzy's Café's Friday special in Tremé: cornmeal-fried catfish topped with sautéed shrimp and lump crabmeat in a rich lemon butter sauce. Fried fish crunch with a buttery, briny topping spooned over at the last second.
Notes
Starter recipe based on Li'l Dizzy's description of the dish; adjust to taste. Spoon the sauce on at the table, not before, so the crust stays crisp. Use Louisiana lump crab if you can find it.
References
Friday special at Li'l Dizzy's Café, 1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans: "Fried catfish topped with shrimp & crabmeat in a lemon butter sauce." Video: @lildizzyscafe504 on TikTok
RECIPE CARD
Catfish Jourdain
Yield: 4 servings | Time: 45 minutes
────────────────────────
Ingredients
Catfish
- 4 catfish fillets (6–8 oz each)
- 1 cup buttermilk with a dash of hot sauce
- 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp Creole seasoning, plus more to finish
- Vegetable or peanut oil for frying
Shrimp and crab lemon butter
- 6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, divided
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced (whites and greens separated)
- 12 oz medium shrimp, peeled with tails removed, cut in half lengthwise and vein cleaned out
- ½ tsp Creole seasoning
- ¼ cup Sauternes wine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 whole lemon, zested and juiced (all of the zest and all of the juice)
- Dash of Worcestershire and hot sauce
- 8 oz lump crabmeat, picked over
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
- Lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- Soak the fish. Soak the catfish in the buttermilk for 15–30 minutes.
- Dredge. Mix the cornmeal, flour and Creole seasoning. Let excess buttermilk drip off each fillet and press it firmly into the coating on both sides.
- Fry. Heat 1½ inches of oil to 350°F. Fry the fillets 5–6 minutes, turning once, until golden and flaky. Drain on a rack, season with a pinch more Creole seasoning, and keep warm in a low oven.
- Prep the shrimp. Peel the shrimp and pull off the tails. Slice each shrimp in half lengthwise down the back, and rinse out the vein. Pat the shrimp very dry with paper towels; dry shrimp sear instead of steaming.
- Sauté the shrimp. In a skillet over medium-high, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Add garlic and the green onion whites for 30 seconds. Season the shrimp with the Creole seasoning right before they go into the pan (not ahead of time, or the salt draws out moisture), then add them. Cook about 1 minute, tossing, until just pink; the halved shrimp cook fast and curl into little spirals.
- Make the sauce. Add the Sauternes and let it reduce by half. Pour in the heavy cream and simmer 2–3 minutes until it lightly coats a spoon. Lower the heat and stir in all the lemon zest and lemon juice, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Swirl in the remaining 4 Tbsp cold butter a piece at a time until glossy. Taste: it should be rich but clearly lemony; add more lemon juice if needed.
- Add the crab. Gently fold in the crabmeat just to warm through. Don't break up the lumps.
- Serve. Set each fillet on a plate, spoon the shrimp, crab and lemon butter over the top, sprinkle generously with the green onion tops, and squeeze fresh lemon over everything, the way Li'l Dizzy's finishes it. Serve right away with two sides, Li'l Dizzy's style, like potato salad and green beans.
────────────────────────
Schossow Kitchen · schossowkitchen.com
