Welcome back to The Lost Cookbooks Show! If you’ve been following along on our YouTube community page, you know we recently had a poll to decide which recipe I should test out of our latest vintage find, How to Enjoy Speed Cooking (1950s).

Steve actually selected the recipe choices for this round, and he had his fingers crossed for the Skillet Fried Fish. Ultimately, the Butterscotch Slices ran away with the victory at 40% of the vote! Don’t worry—I will absolutely be making those winning Butterscotch Slices for my next video. But since Steve has been my dedicated recipe taste tester for almost 18 years now, (7 years on YouTube) I decided to go ahead and make this fish recipe just for him to try first.

Modernizing a 1950s Classic

You can check out the original vintage text below.

The instructions are delightfully retro, complete with heat settings like “THIRD” and “HI” for older electric ranges. Naturally, I fired up my trusty cast-iron skillet for this one, because there is just no better way to get a perfect golden crust on fried fish.

The preparation was incredibly simple. It was my first time frying fish using only dry bread crumbs as the breading, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by how wonderfully crispy it turned out!

I did make two crucial modifications to better suit our tastes. First, the original recipe calls for haddock, but I swapped that out for 4 large catfish fillets instead. Second, the original text calls for just 1 teaspoon of salt added to the milk wash. I often find that vintage mid-century recipes lean a little too bland, and we personally like our food well-seasoned! I completely omitted the salt and swapped in a full tablespoon of a hearty seafood seasoning blend instead. It made all the difference. I also did not do the last part of the recipe. It states to switch to Lo and cook about 15 minutes. I have never fried fish where you turn the temperature down and fry it for that long. Fish does not take long to fry. Lower temperatures generally make oily, soggy fish. So I ignored that part of the recipe.

Here is the updated recipe so you can try it in your own kitchen!

Cast-Iron Skillet Fried Catfish (Adapted from 1950s)

Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 18 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 4 large catfish fillets
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 Tablespoon seafood seasoning (Replacing the original 1 tsp salt)
• ¾ cup fine dry bread crumbs
• ⅓ cup shortening, fat, or cooking oil (I recommend frying in a cast-iron skillet)

Instructions:

1. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the milk and the seafood seasoning.
2. Place your fine dry bread crumbs in a separate shallow dish.
3. Dip each catfish fillet into the seasoned milk mixture, letting the excess drip off, then roll it generously in the bread crumbs until fully coated.
4. Place your shortening or oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
5. Once the oil is hot (around 350 degrees), add the fish fillets. Fry until a light golden brown on the first side (about 3 – 5 minutes depending on the thickness).
6. Carefully turn the fish over and brown the second side (about 3 – 5 minutes).
7. Remove and drain on paper toweled lined plate.

Catfish does not take long to fry. If using a different type of fish be sure to look up typical cook times to make sure you cook it long enough.

Nutritional Information (Per Serving / 1 Large Fillet)

Please note that nutritional values are estimates based on large catfish fillets and a standard absorption rate for the frying oil.

• Calories: ~370 kcal
• Protein: 29g
• Carbohydrates: 15g
• Fat: 21g
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 1g

Steve absolutely loved this one, and I’m calling it a massive success for The Lost Cookbooks Show. Make sure you stay tuned for the next post and video where we tackle the true poll winner: Butterscotch Slices!