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Bear's Catfish Kiev
February 18, 2007 | permalink

This is a variation of a Chicken Kiev recipe that I saw on America's Test Kitchen on PBS, which was in turn a baked variation of traditional Chicken Kiev, which is deep fried. Being baked, it comes out toated and crispy on the outside, while the inside retains the traditional butter-soaked quality that makes it such a tasty dish. I served it with Truffled Red Potatoes and a simple salad. It is super fantastic, and you should make it and eat it. Would I steer you wrong, Gentle Readers? I think not...

Bear's Catfish Kiev

• 1 Stick Butter, Softened
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic, Minced
• 1 Teaspoon Onion, Minced
• 2 Teaspoons Dried Celery, Crushed
• 1 Teaspoon Dried Bell Pepper, Crushed
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Pepper
• 4 Thin Catfish Cutlets
• Coarse Breadcrumbs, Toasted
• 2 Eggs
• Flour

Mix the Garlic, Onion, Bell Pepper, Celery, and Black Pepper into the softened Butter. Once the spices are thoroughly mixed into the butter, spoon it onto a piece of plastic wrap and form a slab of butter that you can later cut into four equal, oblong pieces. Refrigerate until solid again.

Once the Butter is solid, cut it into four rectangular pieces. Take each Catfish Fillet and wrap it around the herbed butter, sort of the way you would wrap a burrito. The idea is to completely envelope the butter with the fish. I had to cut a long, thin strip out of my fillets and wrap the butter with it longways, and then wrap that assembly with the larger piece of fillet in the other direction to achieve this, but you may be luckier with the shape of your fillet than I. Once this is done, wrap your four 'burritos' in plastic wrap and put them back in the refrigerator for a half hour or so- this will make them easier to work with when we get to the next step.

Once everything is nice and cold, roll each of the fish and butter 'burritos' in flour, then egg, and then finally the breadcrumbs. Coarse breadcrumbs will give you the best results- I made my own by throwing some stale bread in a blender and pulsing it a bit on high, and then drying them out in the oven. In any case, once they are breaded, place them in a 13 x 9 dish and bake them at 350 for about half an hour. they should come out crispy and toasted on the outside, while remaining moist and buttery in the middle.

Bear's Truffled Potatoes

• 5 or 6 Red Potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks
• 2 Tablespoons Truffle Oil
• 2 Teaspoons Dried Chives, Crushed
• Salt and Pepper

These potatoes are super simple and very tasty, and compliments the fish very nicely. In a bowl, mix all ingredients until the potatoes are well coated. Transfer to a casserole dish, cover, and bake at 350 for about an hour and a half, or until the potatoes are soft all the way through.