Baked catfish nuggets with okra is a healthy and tasty way of presenting catfish for an easy weeknight supper and creating an okra side dish that removes most of the seemingly offensive slime. For this dish we simply cut catfish fillets into fork-sized nuggets, dry them completely, then toss them with a crispy catfish dry rub and simply bake for about 30 minutes. The okra is cut into small circles and doused with an equally specific ingredient blend and baked at its own time for about the same 20 to 30 minutes.
The whole dish comes together in about 45 minutes, including prep, and trhen eat like you’re in the French Quarter of New Orleans with a bottle of Cristal hot sauce and plenty of lemon wedges.
Catfish Prep
3 filets of catfish, cut into fork-sized nuggets
Pre-prepared crunchy dredge which includes corn meal, cajun spice and a dash of cayenne. (I like to have a jar of this handy in the spice cabinet to make this meal in an instant.)
Thoroughly dry each nugget with a paper towel by squeezing out any moisture. Drop each dried nugget into a plastic bag and drizzle with enough dry dredge to cover each piece. Keep massaging the nuggets until all is covered and set aside.
When ready to cook, preheat an over to 450 degrees on convection setting with a flat sheet pan placed in for the pre-heat. When the oven comes to temp, carefully (with hands in mitts), pull out the heated tray and spread each catfish nugget into one layer on the tray, with as much space between each nugget as possible.
Bake at temperature for 15 minutes then flip each nugget and bake for another 12, checking at that point to see if the pieces are crispy. If there still seems like moisture in the piece and there’s not a crispy crust on the outside, put it back in for another three to five minutes.
Okra Prep
Cut young tender okra into small rings about the size of your pinky’s fingernail (toss the tips and butts of the okra). No need to wash the okra as moisture will just make it more mushy than you want it to be.
Dry ingredients
In a small bowl combine the following:
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t coriander seeds
1/2 t fennel seeds
Whisk the ingredients together then liberally sprinkle over all of the cut okra slices.
Place a pan in the oven and set for 325°. When ready, carefully remove the pan. Put a sheet of parchment paper on the heated pan and pour the okra onto the parchment, trying to create as much space between each slice as possible.
Set timer for 15 minutes. Turn/disturb the okra at this point with a spatula again once settled, trying to keep as much space between each piece as possible. And put back in for another 10 to 15 minutes, checking at the 10-minute mark to see if you have the consistency you’re looking for.