Catfish Cakes

Being from Maryland, I grew up around crabs and everybody raving about the unique flavors Marylanders use to season them. I can't eat crab, so we decided to try a crabcake but with catfish instead. Here's the original recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound catfish
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp yellow mustard, or 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 1/2 tsp mayonnaise
  
• 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 1/4 cup crushed Ritz crackers
• 1 egg
• vegetable oil for frying

Ingredient Modifications

• 1 Tbsp Mayo -- with 1 1/2 tsp the cakes didn't hold together and were really dry.
• 2 Tbsp Old Bay -- we like things spicy! The 2 tsp was hardly noticeable.
• 1 tsp cayenne -- again, we felt like the cakes needed more spice
• 1 cup crushed Ritz -- any more, and these would've been even more dry.
  

Directions

1. Place catfish in a pan with enough water to cover it about halfway. Bring to a boil and cook until the fish is flakey. Drain the excess water.

2. Cut fish into chunks, basically making it into a mash. Mix in rest of ingredients until well blended, and the consistency of a chunky meatloaf.

3. Heat oil in large heavy skillet (we used a cast iron) over medium-high. Form fish mixture into patties and fry in hot oil. Drain on paper towels, and serve warm.

We served ours with a big salad and fresh corn on the cob. With the modifications, these were really tasty. The 2nd batch we did had the additional mayo and spices, and they were really moist and spicy. I've never had a traditional crab cake, but Justin has, and he said these tasted just as good as the ones he had in Maryland.