Fried Catfish with Hush Puppies — The Friday Night Fish Fry That Made Justin Ask for Seconds in Grand Island, Nebraska

Back on the road this week after the intensity of last week with Justin. Sometimes driving is the break I need, which sounds backwards because driving an eighteen-wheeler is work, but it is a different kind of work. It is physical, repetitive, solitary. My hands are on the wheel and my mind can breathe, and the highway does not ask me questions I cannot answer.

I hauled to Kansas City and back, two days, and the slow cooker came out again now that the heat has broken slightly. I loaded it with a beef and bean soup: ground beef, pinto beans, diced tomatoes, corn, onion, beef broth, cumin, chili powder. Not quite chili, not quite soup, somewhere in between. I call it trucker soup because it is what I make when I do not want to think about what to make. It is the default setting, the meal that cooks itself while I drive and feeds me without fuss.

The drive to Kansas City is one I know by heart. I-80 to Lincoln, then south on 77, then I-29. The landscape changes slowly: flat Nebraska cornfields give way to the rolling hills of southeast Nebraska, then Missouri River bluffs, then Kansas City sprawl. I have driven this route a hundred times and I notice something new every time, or maybe I notice the same things and they are just different because I am different. The same field of sunflowers outside Beatrice. The same water tower in Falls City. The same truck stop in St. Joseph where the coffee is bad and the pie is worse and I stop every single time anyway because habit is its own kind of home.

Got home Thursday. Dave had managed dinner two nights running: Tuesday was frozen pizza, which he successfully operated without incident, and Wednesday was his famous spaghetti again. Amber said the spaghetti was better this time. I suspect she was being kind, but kindness is a form of cooking too.

Friday I made fried catfish. We do not eat fish often because Grand Island is about as far from an ocean as you can get, but the Hy-Vee had catfish fillets on sale and I cannot resist a sale. Cornmeal crust, fried in vegetable oil until golden, served with tartar sauce and hush puppies made from the same cornmeal batter with a little onion added. The kids were skeptical. Tyler ate it. Josie ate a hush puppy and declared fish weird. Justin surprised everyone and asked for seconds. Amber ate hers with a fork and knife like she was at a restaurant. Sometimes dinner is an adventure. This was one of those times.

Justin asking for seconds on fish in this house is practically a headline—and honestly, that little surprise made the whole Friday feel like a win after a week of airport terminals and frozen pizza diplomacy. Sometimes you need a meal that shakes everyone out of their routine, and a sale on catfish fillets was apparently all it took. If your family needs a little adventure too, here’s exactly how I made it.

Fried Catfish with Hush Puppies

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs catfish fillets (about 4 fillets)
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Vegetable oil, for frying (about 2 inches in pan)
• For the Hush Puppies:
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal (reserved from above mix)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup finely diced yellow onion
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• Tartar sauce, for serving

Instructions

1. Soak the fish. Pat catfish fillets dry and place in a shallow dish. Pour buttermilk over them and let soak for 10 minutes at room temperature while you heat the oil and mix your dry coating.
2. Make the cornmeal coating. In a shallow bowl, combine 1 cup cornmeal, 1/4 cup flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne. Stir to combine.
3. Heat the oil. Pour vegetable oil into a large heavy skillet or cast iron pan to a depth of about 2 inches. Heat over medium-high until it reaches 350°F, or until a pinch of cornmeal sizzles immediately on contact.
4. Coat and fry the fish. Lift each fillet from the buttermilk, letting excess drip off, then dredge firmly in the cornmeal mixture, pressing so it adheres on both sides. Fry 2 fillets at a time for 3–4 minutes per side until deep golden and cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Keep warm in a 200°F oven while you finish the rest.
5. Make the hush puppy batter. In a bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup cornmeal, 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the diced onion, then add the beaten egg and buttermilk. Mix until just combined — batter will be thick.
6. Fry the hush puppies. Using the same oil (it will still be hot from the fish), drop heaping tablespoons of batter into the oil. Fry in batches for 2–3 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate.
7. Serve. Plate the catfish alongside the hush puppies with tartar sauce for dipping. Serve immediately while everything is hot and crispy.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 720mg