Catfish etouffee, basically Cajun smothered catfish, is a wonderful way to celebrate this fish, which is beloved in the South, often scorned in the North. Haters, give this a try and it may change your mind. But yes, you can use many other species of fish for this etouffee.

I’ve loved Cajun and Creole etouffee for decades, but I’ve never put a recipe down for it here on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook because I had my master recipe for etouffee over on Simply Recipes, where I used to write recipes. That one has been on the site for more than a decade.

This is a modification of the original, meant to be used as a sauce over fish.

I normally fry my fish simply for catfish etouffee, because a basic cornmeal crust keeps the fish moist and adds crunch to the dish while you’re eating it. That extra texture keeps the plate from being entirely soft.

That said, you can of course grill, broil or I suppose even bake your fish. One fun alternative is to make blackened catfish, then serve the etouffee over it. It’s not traditional, but it’s good.

I make this as a catfish etouffee largely because it’s a thing in Louisiana and Mississippi. There is no reason you can’t use walleye, perch, bass, crappie, snapper, black seabass, Pacific rockfish, etc. You’re looking for a skinless fillet where one or two fillets is a portion.

My coating is simply fine cornmeal, which is sold as “fish fry” all over the country. I season the fish with Cajun seasoning, then let it sit: The seasoning has a lot of salt in it, so that draws out moisture. Once the fillets are damp from this, I coat with the cornmeal, pressing it in.

That’s the fish prep.

Making the Etouffee

I normally get the fish coated, then make the catfish etouffee and some white rice. When they’re done, fry the fish real quick and you’re good to go.

Making the etouffee is the longest step in this recipe. You need to start with a “peanut butter” roux, which means flour and fat (butter is my preferred here, although peanut oil is great, too) cooked to the color of peanut butter. You can go a little darker, but you don’t want a dark chocolate roux, like the one I use in my seafood gumbo.

Once the roux is the correct color, you toss in the “Holy Trinity” of chopped onion, green pepper and celery and let this cook until the vegetables are soft. Then you add stock.

I prefer low-sodium chicken stock unless I’ve made some fish stock, crab stock or shrimp stock recently. Those are all better, but if you’re limited to store-bought, go with the chicken because the manufactured broths are very fishy.

Also try to find a low-sodium seasoning blend. For whatever reason, all the various Creole and Cajun seasoning blends are ultra salty. It can throw off the whole dish. If that happens, and you catch it in time, make your rice with no salt — that’ll balance things out a bit.

Green onions are the normal garnish, but I prefer chives because I’m fancy. You do you.

That’s really it. Catfish etouffee is rich, zippy from the Cajun seasoning but not too spicy, and deeply savory. It really shines with the white rice.

The sauce will keep a few days in the fridge, but it does not freeze well.