Smoked Catfish Dip

When you get an invite to cook at the James Beard House, you make plans to go to NYC!  I was recently honored with an invitation, and I immediately accepted it.  This recipe for Smoked Catfish Dip is one of the recipes I cooked and served there.  It was part of the “passed appetizers” portion of the dinner, basically, a mingling time with wine and hors d’oeuvres.

The Theme of the Dinner

The fine folks at the James Beard house named my dinner “BBQ Legend.” I did not want to serve typical BBQ items only, however.  I’ve been playing around with items for my new cookbook (if I ever get it finished,) and I’ve been concentrating on world BBQ and grilling flavors.  Specifically, I’ve been using a lot of different ingredients in conjunction with Memphis BBQ flavors.  But, I also didn’t want to just do all fusion food, and I wanted to cook some items that are whole-heartedly Mississippi.  The smoked catfish dip was one of those items.

catfish dip
photo credit to ericvitalephotagraphy.comm

 

Why is Catfish so Mississippi

For years, people in the South have loved fishing for catfish and cooking them up.  Catfish are generally fried.  Small catfish can be fried whole, larger ones are cut into filets.  Unless you’re out there with a fishing pole, catfish are generally farmed now, and Mississippi leads the nation in the production of farm-raised catfish.  With all the issues in seafood and concerns about sustainability, farm-raised catfish is a perfect solution.  The fish, when properly raised, doesn’t have the “muddy” flavor that gave it a poor reputation in the past.

More about Catfish

No, I’m not sponsored by a catfish marketing group, but I love my Mississippi farmers.  If you aren’t a fan of catfish, you should try it.  The white filets have a clean, mild taste that accepts flavors readily.  Catfish are raised in clean, aerated ponds, and therefore are not hard on the environment as well as having low levels of contaminants.  Catfish is good in any number of preparations.  Obviously fried is delicious, but blackened, grilled, smoked or sauteed can be great as well.

Always look for “US Farm-Raised Catfish” as low-quality producers in China and Vietnam are farming catfish with little-to-no oversight.   Trust American catfish and you will help out the oceans from overfishing, as well as some hard-working farmers.

catfish in smoker

Now, tell me about the recipe

I like smoked fish.  Salmon, trout, catfish, or mackerel are all among my favorites to smoke.  When I talk about smoking fish, I’m not trying to “smoke cure” the fish for preservation.  I hot smoke the fish to add a layer of flavor and a different texture to the fish.  I smoke extra catfish filets for this recipe and have that for a meal.  The filets need to cool down for the dip, so I usually do them the day before I need them.

After making the dip, you can serve it in a bowl, or you can pipe it on crostini as I did for the James Beard House dinner.  I topped each piece with a bit of my red pepper relish, and it was really good.  I think you’ll love this recipe for your next gathering.

smoked catfish dip

As always, I hope you enjoy!

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catfish dip

Smoked Catfish Dip


  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Description

This easy recipe uses smoked catfish filets as a flavorful key to this dip. Pipe it on crostini or serve it in a bowl with crostini, cheeses, nuts and dried fruit


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 lbs boneless catfish filets
  • 2 TBS BBQ Seasoning
  • 8 oz cream cheese (at room temp)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 TBS minced garlic
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 TBS diced red bell peppers
  • 2 TBS diced green onion
  • 2 TBS cajun seasoning`
  • 1 TBS Lemon juice
  • 1 TBS Hungarian Paprika
  • 1/2 TBS Ancho chili powder

Instructions

  1. Prepare a smoker to run at 250 degrees with apple or cherry wood
  2. Season catfish with BBQ seasoning, oil grates and place catfish in smoker. Cook until it reaches 145 degrees, then remove and cool.
  3. In the bowl of a mixer, add cream cheese, sour cream, and all other ingredients except for catfish. Turn mixer on medium and mix 4 minutes, scraping sides occasionally.
  4. Add catfish and mix for 2 minutes or until catfish is well incorporated. Remove from mixer, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer

Keywords: bbq recipe, catfish, smoked fish dip

One Response

  1. 5 stars
    This was the bomb! Been catching catfish in the Potomac River for years and never thought to smoke them. Have shared this with several friends already, and will definitely prepare this again. There’s more catfish in the Potomac than you can shake a stick at, happy fishing and eating folks. Thanks Melissa!

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