You really need to try some baked catfish recipes like this Crab-Stuffed Catfish from my collection! If you haven’t convinced your family to eat more fish, this may just be the recipe that makes them beg for more.
The wonderful thing about catfish is its availability in so many parts of the country and the fact that it’s so good!
Now I’m from the Southeastern U.S and fried catfish is the norm. But I’ll have to admit baked catfish is really, really good!
Because the catfish is baked and not fried, you can spend your saved calories on a fabulous dessert.
Try this today – use your imagination to customize the dish for your family’s preferences.
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Baked Catfish Recipes – Crab Stuffed Catfish
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
55 mins
Fresh catfish fillets are stuffed with crab, Monterey Jack cheese and just enough cayenne pepper to give it some spicy interest.
Course:Main Course
Cuisine:American
Servings: 4
Calories: 280 kcal
Ingredients
- 4fillets6 ounces each fresh catfish
- 6ouncescrabmeat – fresh is best. Use frozenthawed and drained or canned, rinsed and drained
- 4tablespoonsMonterey Jack cheeseshredded
- 3tablespoonsdried bread crumbsplain or seasoned
- 1tablespoonmayonnaiseregular or reduced calorie
- ¼teaspoongranulated garlic or garlic powder
- ½teaspoondried onion
- ¼teaspooncelery salt
- ¼teaspooncayenne pepper
- ½teaspoonkosher salt
- ¼teaspoonground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375F. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray or a little olive oil.
Butterfly each fillet: Using the tip of a sharp knife, make a shallow slit down the center of each fillet lengthwise, from top to bottom. Insert the tip of the knife under the flesh of the fillet, first on the left side, and slide it down the length of the fillet to make a pocket. If you start with your knife about an inch from the top of the opening cut, and stop about an inch before the cut ends at the bottom of the fillet, you should have enough of a pocket to put the stuffing in. Reverse the fillet on your cutting board and repeat the pocket procedure on the other side. Your fillet is now ready for stuffing.
Make the stuffing:
In a small bowl, combine the drained crabmeat with the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, garlic, onion, celery salt, cayenne, kosher salt and black pepper. Mix gently but thoroughly.
Stuff each fillet with the crab mixture. Gently press the stuffing into each side of the butterflied fillet. Sprinkle the shredded Monterey Jack on the top of each fillet and place them in the prepared baking dish.
Bake the catfish in the hot oven for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. The cooking time will depend somewhat on the thickness of the fillets – if the fish needs more cooking time, cover the pan with foil and bake a little longer.
Food For Thought – To extend the volume of stuffing, you can add more cheese, breadcrumbs or crab. Parmesan cheese is an excellent substitute for the Monterey Jack – add about ¼ cup of shredded Parmesan.
Spice lovers, knock yourselves out! Catfish and crab both have mild, delicate flavors. If you need more heat, add a minced jalapeno, crushed red chili flakes and as much Tabasco as you like.
Diced celery and red bell peppers add some crunch, and a sprinkling of Old Bay seasoning and Worcestershire sauce add some depth.
Whatever your family likes would probably work well in baked catfish recipes!
Good To Know – If you don’t feel like attempting the butterfly technique, simply mound the stuffing on top of each fillet and gently press it down. A couple of tablespoons of melted butter or olive oil over the top will help it develop a nice crust.
On Your Own – Other fish filets would work just as well in baked catfish recipes – try whitefish or sole fillets. A salmon fillet would be perfect with this stuffing – ask at the fish counter if the butcher could butterfly the fillet for you if you don’t want to try it yourself.
Is Eating Catfish Healthy?
In addition to the benefits of baking rather than frying this catfish dish has the added benefit of the fact that catfish contains omega-3 fatty acids.
The American Heart Association says that we should eat two servings of fish weekly to take advantage of it’s omega-3 content!
Not only does catfish contain omega-3’s but it also contains omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are essential to brain function and they are not produced in the body. They can only be obtained from the foods we eat!
So the answer to the question “is it healthy to eat catfish” is a definite YES!!!
Try this recipe and then start your own Baked Catfish Recipes collection!
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Tex-Mex Pork Chops – Delicious and Easy!
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