When my parents were down here to help us move into our new home, my mom bought two big bags of catfish nuggets. We had planned to do a fish fry one night, but all of the work we had to do on the house bogged us down so we never got around to it.
Flash forward to this weekend when I pulled out the meat drawer in my freezer looking for chicken. Thos bags of catfish and eye locked eyes and I knew I had to fry them up.
I didn’t just want to fry the catfish like normal. I wanted something else. I thought about making po’boys, the quintessential Cajun sandwich. No crusty baguette in sight, though.
Oh! How about po’boy tacos??
Just replace the baguette with a tortilla and keep the normal po’boy toppings (lettuce, tomato, mayo and hot sauce) and you’ve got yourself a po’boy taco.
I changed up the mayo to make it more like a tartar sauce/remoulade sauce. You mix mayonnaise with a little bit of lemon juice, hot sauce, capers, and sweet relish for the perfect po’boy taco topping.
I managed to get my hands on a bunch of fresh tomatoes at the farmer’s market this weekend, too, since something keeps eating my tomatoes when they go ripe. Boy, am I glad I did. These tomatoes taste better than any I’ve had before! I’m eating them like candy at this point.
I hope you enjoy this recipe with a twist. It was quite enjoyable and satisfied a craving I had for fish.
Enjoy!
Catfish Po'Boy Tacos
Crispy fried catfish stuffed into a tortilla with classic po'boy toppings.
Ingredients
For the catfish:
- 1 lb. catfish nuggets, picked through to remove any bones
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 TBS. hot sauce
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 TBS. lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 TBS. season salt
- Vegetable oil, for frying
For the remoulade:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 TBS. lemon juice
- 3 TBS. hot sauce
- 1/4 cup sweet relish (you could use dill relish if you don’t like the sweet)
- 3 TBS. capers
- salt & pepper to taste
For the tacos:
- Fresh chopped iceberg lettuce
- 2-3 fresh tomatoes, diced
- 12-20 flour tortillas, warmed
Directions
- Heat oil in a large, shallow pan (about 1-2″ up from the bottom…we’re not deep-frying here, technically). Meanwhile, set up a dredging station for the fish. Whisk eggs with hot sauce in one bowl. Mix together cornmeal, flour, lemon pepper and season salt in another bowl.
- Pat fish dry and then dip in egg wash and roll around in cornmeal mixture. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, crispy and fish is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Drain cooked fish on a wire rack with paper towels below.
- Meanwhile, make the remoulade: whisk together mayo, lemon juice, hot sauce, relish, capers, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Make the tacos: place 1-2 fish pieces on a warm tortilla. Top with chopped lettuce and tomatoes. Drizzle remoulade on top and serve.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Heat oil in a large, shallow pan (about 1-2″ up from the bottom…we’re not deep-frying here, technically). Meanwhile, set up a dredging station for the fish. Whisk eggs with hot sauce in one bowl. Mix together cornmeal, flour, lemon pepper and season salt in another bowl.
Pat fish dry and then dip in egg wash and roll around in cornmeal mixture. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, crispy and fish is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.
Drain cooked fish on a wire rack with paper towels below.
Meanwhile, make the remoulade: whisk together mayo, lemon juice, hot sauce, relish, capers, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Make the tacos: place 1-2 fish pieces on a warm tortilla. Top with chopped lettuce and tomatoes. Drizzle remoulade on top and serve.
leencuisine.com 
It’s hard to find good catfish, in my neck of the woods. Now, in Memphis, it’s phenomenal. 😋🍂
It’s hard for my parents as well (Montana). And I have to say—this catfish from Walmart tasted very “lakey”! I’ve found Swai filets are a good substitute for catfish…they’re Asian catfish raised in rice paddies and are super clean tasting.
I actually have an international market I can go to about 45 miles from me. I think I’ll add this item to my list. Thanks very much. 🙏🏻🍂