Cajun Blackened Catfish

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It's no secret that we love fried catfish in Louisiana but we don't have to limit ourselves to fried fish. Blackened fish is quick and easy to make.
First, I lightly seasoned the filets and doused the fish in lemon juice.  I covered them with plastic wrap and placed them in the refrigerator overnight. Don't worry, if you don't have that much time, do this for about 30 minutes to an hour.  I then coated the filets with melted butter, seasoned them and pan fried the filets on both sides in a seasoned cast iron skillet.  The result was perfectly, blackened catfish.  Make sure you watch the instagram reel here if you want to see exactly how I did it!

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Ingredients
2 lbs of catfish filets
1 lemon (cut in halves)
Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning
Zatarrain’s Blackened Seasoning
Garlic Powder, to taste
Onion Powder, to taste
Slap Ya Mama Seasoning, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
2 tbs butter (melted)
Canola Oil (2 tbs, adding in 2 tbs intervals as needed)
Parsely, to garnish
Directions

1.  Lay the catfish on a cutting board and pat dry with a paper towel.  Lightly season them with the Tony Chachere’s Seasoning.  Squeeze the lemon halve to release lemon juice all over the fish and rub it into each filet.
2. Flip the fish over to the other side and repeat step 1 using the other lemon halve.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave.
5. Remove the fish from the refrigerator and use a small brush to spread the melted butter all over the fish on both sides.
6. Add the canola oil to a cast iron skillet and heat over medium high heat for about 4 minutes.  Your skillet should start to smoke.
7. Use tongs or a spatula to add one catfish filet to the skillet.  Allow it to cook for 4-5 minutes and then flip it on the other side and repeat. Remove the cooked filet and set it aside on a clean plate.
8. Add more canola oil to the skillet, in 2 tbs intervals, as it becomes consumed by the fish.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until all of the fish is blackened.  Garnish the fish with parsley.