Chef Kevin Belton: A fishing trip brings a tasty distraction for the seafood lover

It seems when we reach this time of year, only one thing matters: How much crawfish can I eat before the season is over?

You’ve got it bad when the person checking out in the grocery ahead of you has a basket full of frozen corn, smoked sausage, crab boil, salt, garlic, lemons, potatoes and mushrooms because you know that they’re about to boil crawfish. For a moment you consider following them, offering to help them load their car, hoping for an invitation.

I also keep an eye out for sales of Louisiana crawfish this time of year, hoping to buy tails to keep in the freezer for use throughout the year.

If you’ve eaten a lot of boiled crawfish, you know crawfish bloat is the puffiness and water retention from all the seasoning and salt. As I am getting close to my maximum bloat, a distraction arrives in my messages. 

Coming from a family of fishermen, a day near or on the water is as relaxing as a five-star spa. Captain Mike Helmstetter from Da Parish has become a friend I've had the pleasure of joining on charters. My phone dinged with a message and as soon as I saw it was from Capt. Mike, I knew I was in trouble.

There was a picture of a table full of speckled trout with two words: “spawning season.”

We’re fortunate that our waterways are full of delicious seafood. Speckled trout, redfish, drum, sheepshead, triple tail — they don’t need much to have their full flavor pop off the plate.

For the catfish topped with crawfish, I seasoned the fish and sautéed it in just a bit of butter. For the trout amandine, I decided to lightly flour the fish and pan-fry it to a crisp golden brown.

I believe in cooking to your taste, so the preparation of the fish is interchangeable between the recipes.

Catfish with Crawfish Sauce

5 catfish fillets

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon black pepper ground

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons Creole seasoning

2 tablespoons shallots, minced

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 pound crawfish tails

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon hot sauce

¼ cup green onions, chopped

¼ cup parsley, chopped

kosher salt and pepper to taste

1. Season catfish fillets with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a skillet over medium heat, add butter and cook catfish 2-3 minutes per side until cooked through.

3. While fish is cooking, in another skillet heat olive oil, sauté shallots and garlic for 2 minutes. Add crawfish tails and season with Creole seasoning.

4. Stir in heavy cream, hot sauce, green onions and parsley. Heat thoroughly taste and adjust with salt and pepper.

5. When fish is cooked, remove to plates and top with crawfish sauce.

Speckled Trout Amandine

4 speckled trout fillets

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup milk

½ cup flour

vegetable oil

1 cup butter

1 cup sliced almonds

Juice of 1 lemon

parsley, chopped

1. Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper, dip into milk and roll in flour.

2. Fry in 3/4 inch of hot oil in a shallow skillet until golden on both sides.

3. Remove and keep warm.

4. In a separate pan, melt and whip butter until frothy.

5. Add sliced almonds, lemon juice and parsley.

6. Place each fillet on a heated plate and pour sauce over it.

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