Week #23: Mississippi - Po Boy Catfish and Shrimp Pizza

Gluten & Corn Free Crust and Batter

State:  Mississippi

From what I researched about Mississippi, the state has Cajun roots just like Louisiana.  I didn't want to do a dish that was too close to what I did before, so I did a little more research on what dishes are popular.  From what I gathered, fried catfish Po Boy sandwich is a big food staple in this state.  So, I decided to take on the challenge of doing a fried catfish and shrimp Po Boy.  Experimenting with catfish is not my expertise, but I was very surprise at how good it turned out.  

Ingredients:

Fried Catfish & Shrimp:

 1/2 lb. of catfish or 1 fillet cut in half or 3 pieces depending on size.

 1/4 cup milk or half & half or light cream

 1 egg

 1/8 cup Rice flour for Gluten-Free recipe or all-purpose flour

 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper

 1/2 tsp of ground mustard

 1/2 tablespoon of Creole Seasoning (see below) or Cajun seasoning

 1-2 dashes of Tabasco pepper sauce

 1/8 cup canola oil for frying, or as needed

Creole Seasoning Mix:

1 tbsp. paprika

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. garlic powder

½ tbsp. black pepper

½ tbsp. cayenne pepper

½ tbsp. dried leaf oregano

½ tbsp. dried thyme

Sauce:

1 can of tomato sauce

2 tbsp. of Creole seasoning

1 tsp. of onion powder

1 tsp. of cumin

Salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup of cheddar cheese
1 pizza crust (Saved money on 1 pizza) - Gluten Free 

Sauce:

The sauce was very easy.  Open can of tomato sauce and add seasonings.  Heat until sauce is warm.  Turn off and set to the side.

Gluten-Free Shrimp Batter

Gluten-Free Catfish Batter

Meat:

First, soak the fish and shrimp separately in milk or cream for at least 30 minutes.  You can do this by placing the meat and milk in a Ziploc freezer bag.  You can add back into the fridge for 15 minutes or so.  Next, in a small bowl, whisk the egg and Tabasco sauce together until mixed thoroughly.  In another a medium bowl or pie pan, mix the flour and spices together.  Dip the fish pieces into the dry mixture, then into the egg, and then back into the dry mixture again.  I repeated the process one more time to get a double coat. Do the same process with the shrimp.  By doing this process to the meat, the batter will stay intact and will fry beautifully.  

Heat enough oil in the pan to cover the bottom and cook over medium heat.  Fry each piece of meat on its side for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.  Sprinkle additional creole seasoning on the top to add additional flavor for the fish and shrimp.  Place cooked pieces of meat unto a plate with paper towels to absorb excess oil.  Once meat is cooled down, cut fish into small bite sized pieces and set aside.  

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and cook crust for 5-7 minutes or until slightly browned.  Next, add a nice coat of sauce to the crust of the pizza.  Place pieces of fish and shrimp along the pizza crust.  Make sure that the meat ingredients are spread out evenly along the pizza.  Next, add a small layer of cheddar cheese across the top of the pizza.  Remember, the cheese is designed to enhance the flavor of the pizza, but not over power it.  If you put on too much cheese, you will lose the taste of the fish and shrimp.  

Place into oven for 5-7 minutes or just enough to melt the cheese down.  Pull out of oven and set aside.  Wait till pizza is cool before eating. 

Pairing:

So when making the pizza, I wasn't able to find a Mississippi beer.  I know a store that sells them, but I didn't have time to drive all the way across the town for 1 beer.  Yes, of course it is a great excuse to find one beer, but maybe next time.  When it comes to pairing a beer with a pizza, I would go with Lazy Magnolia's IPA or Timber Beast, which is a rye pale ale.  The pizza will give a spicy tomato or acidic edge, so a beer with a lot of hops will pair well.  If you are unable to find Lazy Magnolia, just try an IPA or Pale Ale.  For wine, I would go with a dry white wine like a chardonnay.  

Learning Moments:

After cooking the pizza, I got too excited about eating it, I forgot to take a photo of the whole pizza.  You figure after 23 weeks of making pizzas, I would have gotten this down to a science.  Either way, this challenge expanded my horizons in cooking. This was the first time I ever fried shrimp without Old Bay seasoning and the first time I ever cooked catfish before.  Being that I am from Maryland, it is almost sacrilegious to not use old bay on seafood.  This challenge has taken my cooking to newer depths and has challenged me to try new recipes in a shorter time frame.  I didn't know if I was going to like catfish, because I am not a big fish eater.  After cooking this dish, I may have to do it again soon!  I would highly recommend making this pizza, as it was very delicious!!