Happy almost Christmas, friends!!
I’m here today to tell you about the cutest, most fun little party appetizer that is certain to please! U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish and I have teamed up to bring you Fried Catfish Caprese Spears! They are Christmassy, tasty, fresh, pretty healthy, and cute as can possibly be! And because I made these using U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, they’re extra special and extra good!
These would be great for your next Christmas party, or for an appetizer to any Christmas lunch or dinner you may be attending in the next week or two! If we’re being honest, these are great all year round! 😉
Now let’s get on to the recipe…
FRIED U.S. FARM-RAISED CATFISH CAPRESE SPEARS
Yields 24 spears
What you need:
6 thawed U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish fingers, each cut into 4 or 5 pieces
1/2 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
2 eggs
24 grape or cherry tomatoes
24 mozzarella pearls (you typically have to buy a bunch, which includes more than enough)
24 fresh basil leaves
Oil enough to cover 1/2 inch of the bottom of a frying pan
24 small skewers
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
What you do:
- Add oil to your frying pan to where there is about a half an inch of oil.
- Turn your eye on medium or low/medium heat and allow it to start getting hot.
- While your oil heats up, crack both eggs in a shallow bowl and whisk until eggs are combined.
- Combine bread crumbs, salt, and Italian seasoning in a separate bowl.
- Dip each catfish nugget into the egg, then quickly dip into the bread crumb mixture and and fully cover with crumbs. Transfer to a separate plate or bowl until it’s time to cook. Repeat until all nuggets are ready to fry.
- The oil should be hot enough now to fry without burning the nugget! Do one tester and make sure your oil is at a good temp. Fry it until it’s golden brown and crispy on the outside. Then carefully pinch it apart to make sure the fish is completely white inside. If it is, keep going with the rest of your nuggets! If it’s not fully cooked, you may need to either cook longer or up the temp on your eye.
- As you remove the fried nuggets from the oil, place them on a paper towel to cool.
- Now for the extra fun part: building each skewer! Add one mozzarella pearl, then a basil leaf, then a tomato, then a catfish nugget!
- Repeat the process until all are put together. Arrange on a tray and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
- ENJOY!
I think these are good even a few hours after they are made, so they’re just as good after they’ve gotten completely back to room temp as they are when they’re fresh. The flavor combo is SO good! And truth be told, my kids can pack away the nuggets a la carte like they’re candy! They are simply DELISH. Same with the mozzarella pearls. Nothing went to waste around here! 😉
I hope you’re having a delightful Christmas season! Thanks so much for being here, and thanks to U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own, as always! 🙂
