Blackened Catfish | Keto, Low-Carb

A keto-friendly take on a beloved comfort favorite: catfish. The breading is replaced with a delicious blackened seasoning that’s so good, you won’t even care that it’s low-carb! This tender, flaky, spicy, and delicious blackened catfish will soon be one of your favorites! If you like this, then you’ll love one of my most popular recipes – blackened chicken tenders.

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Peace family,

I’m updating this post and recipe in collaboration with a team of talented Black food bloggers; we’re sharing our food stories and recipes in an industry where we’re often overlooked, and bringing you a list of recipes that are perfect for a Juneteenth cookout. A comprehensive list of participants will be listed below, so be sure to check them out. Your life will be tastier and more flavorful for doing so. Promise.

 In my family, we held fish fries for all types of occasions; birthdays, graduations, family reunions, cookouts, long weekends, and especially holidays, such as Juneteenth. For the uninitiated, Juneteenth – celebrated annually on June 19 – commemorates the date when Union soldiers reached Texas – where I currently reside- to inform enslaved Black people that the Emancipation Proclamation had been passed (over two years prior).  The celebration of Juneteenth is a living testament to the adage that “until all of us are free, none of us are free.” It is the date when all of us were finally free.

As some of my readers already know, I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa is the home of the original Black Wall Street; the Greenwood District that was once the home to a thriving neighborhood of Black-owned businesses and homes, the wealthiest in the nation at the time. Black Wall Street was destroyed during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, an event that’s rarely taught in schools or spoken about in mainstream media.

Growing up, we would often gather in the historic Greenwood neighborhood for various events, but my absolute favorite event was our annual Juneteenth festival. Family, friends, jazz and hip-hop, art, culture, and of course food. Some of the delicious foods we’d eat to celebrate included barbecue, turkey legs, collard greens, fried chicken, and – you guessed it- catfish.

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This blackened catfish recipe is near and dear to my heart for a multitude of reasons. Everything about it reminds me of home, family, and comfort. It’s tender, flaky, spicy, and absolutely delicious.

This may be an obvious point to make, but most of the catfish I experienced growing up was breaded in cornmeal and then deep-fried to golden brown perfection. It was often served alongside coleslaw, French fries, hush puppies, etc. The usual suspects. Since then, I’ve adopted a mostly low-carb/ketogenic lifestyle. I still wanted to be able to enjoy the occasional catfish, but in a way that more closely aligns with how I eat now.

Enter this blackened catfish. It marries my southern roots with my low-carb way of eating. It’s perfectly spicy, flaky, flavorful, filling, and damn good. You don’t even need to be low-carb to enjoy it. It can be served atop cauliflower (or regular) rice, a bed of fresh greens, or with your favorite side dish. Let’s get into the details.

How to Make Blackened Catfish | Keto, Low-Carb

The first step is to make a small spice blend; the “blackened” seasoning. To do so, combine:

• Sea Salt
• Smoked Paprika
• Cayenne Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Dried Celery
• Garlic Powder
• Black Pepper

Combine these seasonings, in a small bowl or shallow dish and whisk until one cohesive spice blend forms.

Next, take your catfish fillets, and hit them with a quick squeeze of fresh lime juice before seasoning them with the blackened seasoning blend.

Then, in a cast iron skillet, heat your extra virgin olive oil for 2-3 minutes over medium high heat.

Finally, cook the fillets for 5 minutes per side. The fish is done when slightly flaky to the touch.

If you’re looking to make a super quick, super easy, and super delicious salsa to accompany this catfish, then mix some:

• Diced Tomato
• Chopped Cilantro
• Chopped Jalapeno
• Diced Cucumber
• Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
• Sea Salt

Combine in a small dish and use as a garnish for the blackened catfish. Easy as that!

As usual, try it out and let me know what you think.

Peace,

Adri

Can’t make this right now? Save the recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

2020 Juneteenth Virtual Cookout Menu

• Beautiful Eats & Things | Spiced Grilled Peaches
• Black Girls Who Brunch | Brown Butter Sweet Potato Cake
• Brazilian Kitchen Abroad | Brazilian Collard Greens with Bacon 
• Britney Breaks Bread | Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Sour Cream and Honey Sauce 
• Brownbelle | Watermelon Hibiscus Whiskey Smash
• Butter Be Ready | Chicken and Waffles
• Chef and Steward | Watermelon and Feta Salad
• Chef Curl Ardee | Honey and Butter Cornbread
• Chenée Today | Lemon Icebox Pie
• Christy Irene | Crawfish Etoufee 
• Collards Are The Old Kale | Guaymas Shrimp
• Confessions of a clean foodie | Mint Peach Spritzer 
• Cooking to a T Jamaican | Beef Patties
• Cooks with Soul | BBQ in Jar
• Dash of Jazz | Golden Pineapple Pound Cake
• Dish It With Tisha | Honey Jerk Shrimp
• DMR Fine Foods | Blackberry Ginger Soda
• Dom N’ The City | Pound Cake
• Domestic Dee | Easy Berry Fruit Salad
• Dude That Cookz | Cajun White Beans
• Erique Berry Co | Three Green Summer Salad
• Ethically Living | Vegan Jackfruit Jamaican Patties

• Food Fidelity | Nigerian Beef Suya Skewers
• Food Is Love Made Edible | Smothered Okra with Chicken & Sausage
• FoodLoveTog | Braised Cabbage & Johnny cakes 
• Forks and Straws | Cassava Corn Waffles with Shrimp Creole
• Geo’s Table | Curried Potato Salad
• Gristle & Gossip | Sweet Potato Honey Cornbread Cake 
• Heal Me Delicious | Trinidadian Callaloo
• Immaculate Ruému | Chin-Chin
• Jamieson Diaries | Crockpot Smoked Red Beans
• Kenneth Temple | Red Velvet Biscuit with BBQ Brisket 
• Kenya Rae | Pork free baked beans
• Lenox Bakery | Sweet Potato Cheesecake 
• Maple Points | Peas & Rice – Guyanese Style
• Marisa Moore Nutrition | Fresh Peach Iced Tea
• Meiko and the Dish | Strawberry Cornbread Skillet Cobbler
• Murielle Banackissa | Vegan Saka Saka (Congolese Cassava Leaf & Spinach Stew)
• My Fabulous Food | Black eye peas with smoked turkey 
• Nik Snacks | Easy BBQ Pork Ribs
• On Ty’s Plate | Watermelon Limeade
• Open Invitation Entertainment | Coconut Collard Greens
• Orchids + Sweet Tea | The Ultimate Vegan Mac + Cheese
• Our Perfect Palette | Jollof Rice
• Peaches 2 Peaches | Vanilla Cake With Caramel Poached Pears
• Pink Owl Kitchen | Strawberry Buttermilk Biscuits
• Razzle Dazzle Life | Southern Peach Cobbler
• Rosalynn Daniels | Southern Tomato Pie
• Savor and Sage | Black-Eyed Pea Salad
• Savory Thoughts | Jus Citron (Haitian Lemonade)
• Seasoned To Taste | Cajun Shrimp Deviled Eggs
• Sense & Edibility | Blackberry Cobbler
• Simply LaKita | Candied Yams
• Slice & Torte | Fried Softshell Crab
• Slight Kitchen Werk | Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

• Sweet & Sorrel | Baked Jerk Chicken
• Sweet Savant | Black Eyed Peas and Sweet Potato Salad
• That Green Lyfe | Vegan Red Red Stew (Spicy Ghanaian Black-Eyed Peas) and Plantain
• The Dana Renee Way | Sweet Potato Cornbread
• The Hangry Woman | Jamaican Jerk Wings
• The Hungry Hutch | Southern-Style Sweet Tea
• The Kitchenista Diaries | Grilled Lemon Pepper Wings
• The Vgn Way | Juneteenth Hibiscus Strawberry Vegan Ice Cream 
• This Worthey Life | Strawberry Soda
• This African Cooks | Ghanaian kebabs Whole30 style 
• Vegan With Curves | Slow Cooker Black Eyed Pea Sweet Potato Soup
• Whisk it Real Gud | Southern Sweet Potato Pie