Dan Rodricks: The Year of Eating Chesapeake Catfish has commenced | STAFF COMMENTARY

The U.S. Department of Commerce has ruled that the invasion of blue catfish and snakeheads in the Chesapeake Bay, combined with declines in the commercial harvest of rockfish and blue crabs, do not an official disaster make, denying the state’s request for such a declaration. Maryland’s natural resources secretary said he was disappointed by the decision, but he’s probably not surprised.

The state’s request for federal relief to make up for revenue losses to the regional seafood economy seemed like a longshot. Maryland was the first state to cite invasive species as the cause of an economic disaster, and it was hard to imagine the feds accepting that catfish and snakeheads could have had such an immediate impact on the fishery. The bay has been stressed for decades, for a variety of reasons.

But, clearly, growing populations of voracious catfish and snakeheads have taken a big bite out of the Chesapeake’s stocks of rockfish, yellow perch and blue crabs. If revenue from the commercial fishery continues to fall, the state might again be looking for federal relief.

In the meantime, there is a way for Marylanders to help. I suggested this when Gov. Wes Moore asked the feds for help last March, but it bears repeating:

If you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em.

Or maybe the bumper sticker could be: “Save a waterman, eat catfish.”

If you’re the cook in your household, I invite you to join me for the Year of Eating Chesapeake Catfish. Once a month, we’ll try a new recipe and compare notes. Both those who cook and those who just eat are welcome to send comments.

Last year, I pan-fried catfish filets that had been washed in milk-and-eggs and dredged in Zatarain’s Fish Fri with a dash of Old Bay. Results were surprisingly good.

My bias: I like ocean fish and almost always avoided catfish because they came from muddy, warm-water farm ponds down south. The nice thing about blue catfish from the Chesapeake — if there’s anything nice to be said — is that they swim in a colder natural environment and are wild-caught. As a result, the taste is cleaner, fresher.

Today, I offer three ways to make catfish, plus one from a reader.

Catfish Cakes

Poach a couple of filets in water, white wine and some lemon juice. It should take just a few minutes to cook the filets thoroughly. Drain them and, after they cool, break them into pieces. Meanwhile, boil two or three potatoes, peeled and halved, until they’re soft and ready for mashing. In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed potatoes with the poached catfish and one beaten egg. Mix them thoroughly. Add salt and pepper or your favorite seafood seasoning. You could also add some grated red or yellow onion and parsley. Form the mixture into cakes and cook them as you would a crabcake — pan-fried or broiled, whatever your preference.

Catfish Germano

This topping, from the days of Germano’s Trattoria in Little Italy, is great on just about any fish filet, so why not on catfish? For the sauce, you’ll need olive oil, two cloves of garlic (finely chopped), one small yellow onion (diced), about a dozen black pitted olives (chopped), three tablespoons of capers, a handful of chopped parsley, and one cup of marinara sauce. Heat the oil in a pan, then add the garlic and onions; after the onions soften, add the olives, capers and marinara sauce. Let that simmer for a minute and set aside. In a separate pan, sautee three or four medium catfish filets that you’ve dredged through seasoned flour. Once lightly browned, place the filets in a baking dish, add the sauce and bake for a few minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. (For extra punch, use black cured olives, pits removed; pitted kalamata olives also work well.)

Nick’s Grilled Catfish

The name comes from the best catfish I ever had, at Nick’s Inner Harbor Seafood, of blessed memory, in the pre-redeveloped Cross Street Market. There was a cook there who marinated catfish filets in a spicy concoction, then grilled and blackened them. (The firm catfish held up well on an oiled grill.) I am going to experiment by marinating blue catfish in one of three sauces with Jamaican accents from Irresistible Vegan, a company based in Brooklandville, Baltimore County. I recently sampled three of the brand’s slather sauces — Tomato Turmeric, Mustard Curry and Orange Ginger — and found them quite good, with the Orange Ginger the best of the trio and probably a fine marinade for catfish.

Here’s a recipe I received from Sun reader Louis Linden:

“Dredge your catfish filets in flour, dip them in an egg that’s been beaten with hot sauce and dill, then roll them in panko breadcrumbs and set on a rack for 20 minutes.  Heat a quarter-inch of canola oil in a frying pan to about 350 degrees. (I use an infrared thermometer.) Fry each side for a minute or more depending on the thickness of the filet; just get it to where the panko browns. Place it on a rack with a paper towel to absorb excess oil, then put it in a warm oven while you fry the rest of the fish. It works beautifully. Catfish has to be one of the easiest fishes to cook. It is very tolerant of overcooking, a common mistake with fish.”

The Year of Eating Chesapeake Catfish has commenced. Share your recipes and reviews at drodricks@baltsun.com.