Southern stew made with potatoes, tomatoes, and catfish.
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbs worcestershire sauce
- 2 1/2 lbs boiling potatoes peeled
- 2 cups fresh or canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 lb yellow onions cut into chunks
- 1/4 lb thickly sliced bacon cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tbs plus 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 lbs catfish fillets each cut into halves or thirds
- Carbohydrate 61.582844990553 g
- Cholesterol 79.9456552125 mg
- Fat 13.34344663175 g
- Fiber 8.4345503509701 g
- Protein 33.537341514375 g
- Saturated Fat 3.143705872075 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (601g)
- Sodium 153.761121197001 mg
- Sugar 53.1482946395829 g
- Trans Fat 1.2294694466875 g
- Calories 499 calories
Step-by-step
- Put the potatoes, tomatoes, and onions in a food processor and process until mushy, but with miniscule chunks. Do this in batches if you must.
- In a large cast-iron stew pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp, stirring about 5 minutes. Add the vegetable mixture and water, and heat to a point where the broth begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, using a heat diffuser if necessary, until the potato chunks are very soft, about 3 hours, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the ketchup, Worcestershire, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Add the catfish and continue to simmer until the fish is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Correct the seasonings and serve.
Dense, reddish-brown broth coats a spoon thickly while carrying the sharp warmth of cayenne and the deep, earthy richness of rendered pork fat. This traditional Southern preparation relies on a specific sequence of starchy transformations that demands close attention to heat management. Processing the potatoes, tomatoes, and onions until they reach a semi-mushy state releases heavy amounts of free starch into the pot, which acts as the primary thickening agent for the broth. Because this high starch content settles rapidly at the bottom of heavy vessels, continuous stirring during the three-hour simmer prevents scorching.
Starch Mechanics and Heat Management
Rendering bacon over medium-high heat for approximately five minutes creates a crucial lipid barrier that prevents the subsequent vegetable puree from immediately sticking to cast-iron pores. Maintaining a gentle simmer requires a low flame, and utilizing a heat diffuser protects the bottom of the pot from direct, intense thermal transfer when dealing with such a heavy, viscous liquid. Adding the catfish fillets during the final thirty minutes ensures the delicate proteins do not overcook and disintegrate into the thick base. Refrigerating leftovers for up to two days allows the starches to fully set, yielding an even richer consistency upon gentle reheating.
- Stir frequently during the three-hour potato simmer to prevent scorching from settled starches.
- Process vegetables in batches if necessary to ensure uniform miniscule chunks rather than a completely smooth liquid.
- Add the catfish only in the final thirty minutes to prevent the fish from dissolving.
