Pan Seared Catfish Scallops with Asparagus
These restaurant-quality Pan Seared Catfish Scallops is the most original and innovative of all the catfish recipes I have every developed and is a great way to elevate a big channel catfish into something of a delicacy.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds catfish fillets, 1-inch thick
- 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 5 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoon jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
- 2 teaspoon yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- First of all, as soon as I catch any fish, I always use my favorite fillet knife and cut them under the gills and bleed them out. This will help remove blood from your fillets and give you a cleaner product to work with. Next, you should cool the fish off by putting them in a cooler full of ice.
- When you are ready to cook them, remove skin from catfish fillets. Using a sharp knife, cut “scallop” shape round pieces out of the fillet that are 2-inch wide and 1-inch thick. Trim any fat off of fillets. Soak in brine of 2 cups of cold water and 1 Tablespoon salt for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 Tablespoons olive oil with rice wine vinegar, honey, diced jalapeno and onion. Set aside.
- Trim your asparagus, put them on a rimmed baking sheet, and toss with one tablespoon each of olive oil and soy sauce. Place them in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 10 minutes while you cook your scallops.
- Pat “scallops” dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter to nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Think of the frying pan as a clock face and add the catfish “scallops”, one by one, in a clockwise order starting at 12 o’clock, then 1:00, etc. Fry for 90 seconds, then flip them over in the same order you placed the in the pan and fry for another 90 seconds. When he scallops are cooked, remove them from the pan onto a paper lined plate.
- Divide your cooked catfish “scallops” between your serving plates, add your cooked asparagus, and spoon your rice wine vinegar dressing over the top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
