Fish fillets, tossed in a mix of yellow and Creole mustard with hot sauce, dredged in a highly seasoned blend of cornmeal and flour, then deep fried.

Mustard Fried Fish

In case you didn't know, we're pretty big on fresh fish here along the Gulf Coast!

Local Gulf favorites include speckled trout (my personal favorite), flounder, snapper, grouper, redfish, drum and lots of others in the deeper waters. Give me any one of them!

The Cajun goes fishing with his brother on occasion and the fish they come home with most often are two very popular fish found in the Mississippi Sound - white trout and ground mullet - also known more officially as southern kingfish.

 

Catfish fillets, breaded with seasoned flour and panko breadcrumbs and pan fried - fast and easy and the perfect fish for sandwiches or tacos.

Crispy Pan-Fried Catfish

Fresh catfish is as common around here as ground beef is everywhere else, so we tend to eat a lot of it all year round and especially during Lent. Cut into strips and deep fried is the most popular way of course, though it's also excellent baked and even stewed, but whenever I prepare it as a whole fillet I like to prepare it pan-fried.

Deep fried, crispy strips of catfish, coated in a mixture of corn meal and flour, are a true deep south favorite.

Southern Fried Catfish

Fried catfish is a common dinner in the south, especially during Lent, but we southerners love it anytime, really.

There are catfish houses everywhere down south, where catfish is often all you can eat, coleslaw, hush puppies, and homemade buttermilk biscuits with jelly or honey are served family style, and sweet tea comes most often in Mason jars or icy tin cups, alongside local favorites like fried dill pickles, turnip greens, fried okra, squash casserole, and fried green tomatoes.