What's a good batter for shrimp and catfish

I use straight seasoned cornmeal only for fried fish and oysters. For some fish, I put a little mustard on it first. I don't like thick batters on seafood. They bury the fresh seafood taste to me. A light thin crispy crust is what I'm after.

So just straight mustard then the cornmeal? I guess what confuses me is some have milk, eggs, mustard, flour, cornmeal, and on and on. I don't like a thick batter either, but I do like it to be coated evenly. I don't like when the batter is falling off in places.

You can't put a ton of mustard on fish. I just brush it on, drop it in cornmeal usually in a ziplock or paper bag, shake it up and fry it. Crust doesn't separate. The heavier batters can separate. I'm sure there are some light batters with milk and eggs, but I'm fine with cornmeal only. Thin and crispy.

Thanks! That sounds exactly how I'd like it. It clicked when you said crust. I always refer to it as a batter, but a simple crust is more what I'm after.

Soak your shrimp in a can of evaporated milk. Then dredge in seasoned flour and fry in small batches at 350 until golden and floating. It'll be quick.

Soak your fish in buttermilk. Then dredge in seasoned cornmeal , and fry the same way.

No, Zatarain's has corn flour. I use straight cornmeal. I like it fine, but sometimes I mix it with the coarse from some crunch variety. I'll use any cornmeal as long as it's straight cornmeal. Just buy it next to the flour.

You can go from raw fish in a bowl to the corn meal mix (Zatarain's Fish Fry, for example) and then fry.

You can go from soaking the fish in milk, then straight to the corn meal mix . Shake off excess milk. You want it moist but not dripping wet.

You can add a little mustard to the fish, as mentioned above, and then straight to the corn meal mix.

You can use the 3 stage method.
1. Flour
2. Egg Wash
3. Breading (corn meal mix)

1. Put a few pieces of fish in a bowl of flour. Shake off excess flour.
2. Dip the fish in a bowl of egg wash. Allow it to drip off a little.
3. Add the fish to your bowl of breading. Shake off excess.
4. Fry.

If you want a thicker batter you can repeat steps 1 and 2 and then do step 3. So it would be 1,2,1,2 and 3.

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As soon as you take them out the grease, drain them on a cooling rack sprinkle them with creole seasoning.

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I'm a pretty good cook, but frying hasn't always been my best skill - and I fry stuff a lot. I have been kicking myself in the arse for the past few years for not learning this sooner. Putting them on a cooling rack makes ALL the difference compared to sitting them on paper towels. They stay so much more crispy.
I put mustard (sometimes yellow, sometimes spicy, usually both) in a little milk but keep it on the thick side (not too much milk).
Batter it in about 50% flour, 35% Zatarain's fish fry, 15% bread crumbs. I like floury batters more than corn mealy batters.
Lately I've been playing with Parmesan crusted though.

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Yep. Wire rack is a must.

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Intresting. I guess the paper towels traps moisture on one side of the fish and ruins the fried batter.

I akways use a wire rack. Paper bags work okay, but better than paper towels

I use peanut oil most often.