Southern Fried Catfish

Deep-fried catfish is a favorite at our house.  Brush catfish with prepared mustard.  For two pounds catfish, I put one cup cornmeal, one and a half teaspoons of CajunSeasoning, and one-half teaspoon onion powder in a quart bag and shake till well-coated.  Best fried in a deep cast-iron skillet.  (I am extremely partial to cast-iron.)

There is an easy trick to getting the oil to just the right temperature.  As the oil gets hot, drop a wooden, strike anywhere match in the heating oil.  It will ignite at exactly 375 degrees, the perfect temperate for deep-frying.  The corn-meal battered catfish sear over when dropped in the hot oil and absorb much less oil.  In a matter of minutes the will be crisp and golden brown.  Put them on a rack to drain for maximum crispness.

Tonight, instead of the French-fries we so admire, I served the fish with oven fried okra,  I just bought the frozen breaded type,  sprayed it with cooking spray, and baked it at four hundred degrees til crisp.  I opened a jar of home-canned bean soup to go along with it.

For dessert, we had a very simple peach crumble.  To four cups frozen peaches, I stirred in three-quarters cup Splenda Brown Sugar, two tablespoons corn starch, and half a teaspoon cinnamon.  I poured in a bowl and topped with a crumb mixture of one-half cup oatmeal.a dash of cinnamon, one-fourth cup Splenda Brown Sugar mixed with three teaspoons butter.  I baked at 350 degrees till top is brown and crumbly.

This was an easy, delicious meal.

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Homemade Liverwurst Recipe

1.25 lbs liver frozen and cut into 1″ cubes.  (Can be pork, beef, chicken or any combination)

1/2 lb beef tongue or pork shoulder frozen and cut into 1″cubes

3/4 lb fat(I added butter or margarine to make enough fat)

3 tsps table salt

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 onion +1 TBS oil, grated and cooked till soft and golden

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground mace

2 tsps dried marjoram

1/4 tsp ground coriander, optional

1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 TBS crushed garlic

I TBS ground sage

Grind chilled, raw meats together.

Mix in sauteed onion, garlic and spices.

Grind again.

If you want to use as spread, cook mixture until 160 degrees and store in covered container for up to 5 days.  Will be dark brownish, gray mix.

Or

Can stuff into casings(may have to add 1/2 cup ice water to get proper consistency to press into casings)  Can smoke 1 1/2 hours to get temp to 160 degrees interior.  To have fresh, grill or pan cook.  Unsmoked sausages will keep up to 5 days.

Or

Bake in loaf pan at 350 degrees till internal temp of 160.  Slice when cooled and use within 5 days.

I double or triple amounts depending on amount of meat I have.  Works great.

We started making all our own sausage to avoid nitrites.  It is much cheaper and more delicious.