catfish courtbouillon

How To Make catfish courtbouillon

• 1

  In a thick-bottomed 5-quart (or larger) dutch oven, place flour and oil. Brown, stirring constantly, until a light brown roux forms, about five minutes. Note: Slow cooking is the key to the best flavor for this. A heavy (and preferably cast iron) dutch oven with a nonstick surface *really* makes a difference here. In my experience, lighter dutch ovens do not maintain the heat as evenly, and you have to work harder to keep the dish from sticking and burning. I recommend using a sauté tool or spatula, *not* a spoon, because you need to both stir this dish *and*, critically, scrape the bottom frequently. This both thickens the sauce and keeps any part of it from sticking and burning. I now use a Le Creuset cast iron dutch oven with a nonstick surface and an Epicurean silicone sauté tool, and those work perfectly. [No product promotion intended.]
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  2

  Add onions and celery, then sauté over medium heat until brown, stirring and scraping the bottom frequently. Note: This takes about an hour and fifteen minutes, because the onions and celery have to cook down before they can begin to brown. You may wonder whether things are going as they should, but just be patient. There's a lot of water to sweat out of all the onions and celery before it gets to the point of browning. If anything is charring around the edges, the heat is too high. When ready for the next step, the onions and celery will look similar to caramelized onions.
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  3

  This image shows what the onions and celery should look like when you're ready for the next step. Add tomato paste and cook until brown, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the dutch oven. This is an ESSENTIAL step for flavor, so don't try to hurry it! It's ready for the next step when all liquid has evaporated (you might see a little residue bubbling around the edges; that's fine) and the mixture has begun to sizzle and fry. You don't want to let it fry long enough for any kind of crust to form, though. Note: This step takes anywhere from 15-30 minutes, depending upon how much onion and celery you started out with.
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  4

  Add tomato sauce, Italian dressing and water. Stir thoroughly to combine, scrape the bottom once more, then simmer 1-3 hours as time allows. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom. Note: I generally go for one hour and stir/scrape every five minutes; that works just fine. If you've got three hours to spare, go for it, but I never do and I've never noticed a difference in taste.
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  5

  Add green onions and bell peppers. Cover and simmer 15 -20 minutes, or until bell peppers are softened. Uncover, stir and scrape the bottom about every five minutes. Note: The sauce will benefit from a little water at this point; just pour off any that has condensed on the inside of the lid into the sauce before you stir, and that will take care of it.
• 6

  Add creole seasoning and stir. You can now add more seasoning or hot sauce to taste, if desired. Be sure to season the base *before* you add the fish. Note: Unlike a lot of Cajun dishes, this is not at all spicy. The flavor comes from the long cooking and the roux. Too much spice will overpower the delicate flavor of the catfish. However, if you have some people who want a very spicy dish and others who can't tolerate that sort of thing (which is the case in my house) I recommend using the teaspoon of Creole seasoning here, and putting a bottle of Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce on the table when the dish is served, so diners can add their own level of preferred heat.
• 7

  Add catfish and stir carefully to combine, making sure not to break up the fish. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes until catfish is cooked. Stir once during cooking, carefully, scraping the bottom to ensure that nothing sticks or burns.
• 8

  Serve over fresh cooked rice. Enjoy!
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