Cook's Country

-"Cook's Country" is about more than just getting dinner on the table.

We're also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes.

We go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook, and we look back through time to see how history influences the way we eat today.

We bring that inspiration back to our test kitchen so we can share it with you.

This is "Cook's Country."

Today on "Cook's Country," Christie makes fried catfish.

I tell the story of Mississippi's favorite sauce, comeback sauce.

Adam reviews serrated bread knives.

Then Carmen makes Bridget extra cheesy grits.

That's all right here on "Cook's Country."

-Funding for this program has been provided by the following.

-Monument Grills, offering innovative technology and design for the grilling enthusiast, with a lineup of gas grills to suit every level.

Our mission is to ignite your passion to pursue the art of grilling.

Learn more at monumentgrills.com.

-Comeback sauce is a classic Mississippi condiment.

It's a cross between a Cajun remoulade and a thousand island dressing, but it has a punch thanks to some black pepper, some hot sauce, and some mustard.

And today, Christie is going to serve it alongside another Mississippi classic, fried catfish.

-I sure am, Julia.

You know, I don't know about you, but I was a bit of a catfish skeptic... -Huh!

-...when I first started developing this recipe.

But then I went to Mississippi.

I went to the Delta, I went to Oxford, and I got to go to a number of different restaurants where people were so kind and let me try their catfish.

I went to The Crown in Indianola and Taylor Grocery outside of Oxford.

I tried catfish in gratins, as cakes, as po'boys and fried, and I came back really, really liking this fish.

So we're going to make the comeback sauce first, because it doesn't matter how great the catfish is, even the most well seasoned catfish, you still want some comeback sauce.

We're going to start with some mayonnaise.

Pretty basic.

This is 1/2 a cup.

And it really uses basically all of the ingredients on your refrigerator door.

I also have a third of a cup of chopped onion.

It's going to give us a little bite.

And I have two tablespoons of vegetable oil, which is just going to add to the richness and make sure that the body stays correct with all of the other ingredients we're adding.

-Okay.

-I have 2 tablespoons of chili sauce.

Now, this is the chili sauce that you find next to the ketchup in the condiment aisle.

So it's not super spicy, but it has some really great flavors.

-Yeah, it's mostly ketchup-y.

-Yes.

And speaking of, I'm also adding a tablespoon of ketchup.

So those two ingredients are going to give us some nice sweetness, a little tang.

Now I'm also adding 2 1/2 teaspoons of Worcestershire -- savoriness.

-Mm-hmm.

-2 1/2 teaspoons of hot sauce.

I also have a clove of garlic that I've minced.

And then we're going to add a little more punch with some yellow mustard.

This is a teaspoon of yellow mustard.

And then a teaspoon of lemon juice to add a little brightness.

3/4 of a teaspoon of pepper.

-Mm!

That's a little kick.

-It's gonna say hello to you.

And then this was 1/8 of a teaspoon of paprika.

And really I think that's just to kind of help with the color.

-Yeah.

Okay.

Well, you know, it looked like a lot of ingredients, but they're all pantry staples.

-It's everything that you have already.

Now I'm just going to blend this for 30 seconds until it gets nice and smooth.

Okay.

That should do it.

-Oh, that does have a nice consistency.

-Doesn't it?

-Not soupy, but not super thick.

-Nope.

This is just an amazing sauce to have.

You will want to use this all the time.

It's liquid gold, and it'll last for up to five days in the refrigerator.

-Wow.

-So that's done.

Now we'll talk about catfish.

-Mm-hmm!

-So I have four 6 to 8 ounce catfish filets here.

Skinless.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's such a nice fish.

And it's often a bit maligned.

-It is.

-I think a lot of that comes from imported catfish, which can have more of a pondy flavor.

-Mm-hmm.

-This is -- -Pondy?

I like that term.

I'm gonna copy you on that.

-Farm catfish has a sweet, kind of delicate flavor.

It's got a nice, firm texture, probably similar to, like, tilapia.

-Mm-hmm.

-And it works so great with a cornmeal breading.

-Mm-hmm.

-But I'm going to do a little bit of fabrication here.

These are pretty big filets to fry.

So I'm just going to use the natural seam that runs right along the fish, and I'm going to cut it in half.

Cut each fillet in half.

So I'm just going to finish cutting up this fish.

And then we'll straighten up and move on to coating and frying.

-All right.

-It's time to talk about the coating.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now we have two components.

We've got the adhesive, or the glue, the wet component, and then we've got the dry component, the cornmeal.

First let's talk about the glue.

This is 2 cups of buttermilk.

And I'm also adding a teaspoon of hot sauce.

Because we're just going to kick up the flavor wherever we can.

-I gotcha.

-Just going to give this a little whisk with my little whisk.

-[ Laughs ] The cutest little whisk.

-All right.

So that looks good.

Now the dry.

-Mm-hmm.

-Straight cornmeal is just too gritty.

-Okay.

-It's just it's just a little too coarse.

So we decided to cut the cornmeal with something else... -Okay.

-...to kind of soften that texture a little bit.

So one cup of cornmeal goes into my bowl.

Now at Taylor Grocery, which was my favorite fried catfish, they used cream meal, which is really finely ground cornmeal, but it's really hard to find that outside the South.

So I figured maybe we need to make our own.

We're going to grind this cornmeal and make it finer.

-Ah.

-Now, if you're using a spice grinder or a small vessel like this, it might take a couple of batches.

You could also use a blender, and I'll put about 1/3 in at a time.

I'm just going to grind this for about 30 seconds, maybe 45, until it gets a lot more powdery.

[ Whirring ] -Wow.

I got to feel the difference.

So here's the regular cornmeal.

All right.

Here is the powder stuff.

Wow!

Feels different.

-Mm-hmm.

-Almost feels like corn starch, which makes sense.

It's corn ground more finely, so it is more starchy.

-The finer grind is going to kind of fill in the spaces of the coarser grind and give us a really nice coating.

-That is really cool, Christie.

-And there's our last batch.

Now I want to make sure this is really well seasoned.

So I have 4 teaspoons of salt.

Now that sounds like a lot of salt, and it is.

But we're not going to end up using all of this cornmeal.

-And there's no seasoning on the fish.

-I'm not going to season the fish, no.

2 teaspoons of pepper.

-Ha-cha-cha-cha.

-Mm-hmm.

And then because it adds a different kind of heat, I'm adding a teaspoon of cayenne.

We're not pulling any punches.

And then I have 2 teaspoons of granulated garlic.

So I'll just use my little dry whisk.

Get this all mixed in.

All right, that looks pretty good.

-That's great.

-Okay.

So now we're just about ready.

I want to pat the catfish dry.

I will take my fish.

I like to use a wet hand and a dry hand.

-That's always what I try to do when I'm breading something.

But around piece 2 or 3 it all goes to pot and I start using both hands.

-You start out that way, and then you kind of forget which is which.

So I just let any of the excess liquid kind of drip off, and I try to coat it before I grab it.

-Mm-hmm.

-Bridget likes to kind of shake the plate.

-That's what I like to do.

-That's another good tactic.

You just really want to make sure that you've got a well-coated fish.

And there's some kind of nooks and crannies in the catfish.

So don't be afraid to kind of dig in there and make sure that it's all coated.

That's why I have a little more coating than we need, to make sure that we're not skimping at all.

-Gotcha.

-So I'll just let any of the excess drip off.

We'll finish up here.

Give it a good clean, and then we're ready to fry.

All right, Julia, we are all set to fry.

I have two quarts of peanut oil in my big Dutch oven.

Lots of room.

You want the oil to be about an inch and a half deep.

You could use vegetable oil if you wanted.

So we want the temperature to be 350 degrees and to stay between 325 and 350 while we're frying.

-Okay.

-So you might have to adjust a little bit.

I'm going to take half of the fish, so four pieces, and drop them in gently.

-Why is watching food deep frying so fun?

-[ Laughs ] -It's mesmerizing.

-It's so transformative.

-It is.

-And I'm adding the fish away from me.

-No splattering hot oil up on to your person.

-No.

And as soon as I get them in, you might want to give them a little zhuzh to make sure that they're not sticking to each other.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now, this is not going to take very long.

This fish is pretty thin, and it's a delicate fish.

So it's only going to take about five minutes.

-Oh, that's it?

-So we're just looking for a golden brown color.

And that color is pretty much all the indicator you need to know that the fish is cooked.

-Okay.

-Julia, it's been almost five minutes, and I've been keeping an eye on my oil temperature, made sure that it stayed between 325 and 350.

-Mm-hmm.

Oh, goodness!

-Look at that.

-I love watching food emerge from boiling hot oil because it's always a looker.

-So I have a triple layer of paper towels here on the one side of my rack that's on a rimmed baking sheet, and I'm just going to let it drain for a minute.

Kind of get rid of any of that excess oil.

-All right, now I'm just going to bring my temperature back up to 350.

And then I'll drop the other four, and I'll transfer these to the wire rack.

Now they're all drained of that excess oil.

I'm just moving them over to the wire rack so they have some air circulation so they don't get soggy.

-Ah.

Good idea.

-Comeback sauce could be considered one of the mother sauces of Southern cuisine.

And while many cooks have their own variations, there are two main styles.

Mississippi comeback sauce starts with mayonnaise and ketchup and layers in strong flavors, from Worcestershire sauce, onion, pepper, chili sauce, and usually a heavy dose of garlic.

Most people credit the Rotisserie restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi, with inventing this style of comeback sauce in the late 1920s.

The original owner sold it as a house salad dressing.

The other popular style of comeback sauce is served as a side to barbecued meats.

Thin and spicy, this version usually contains beef stock, brown sugar, and lots of cayenne.

The earliest mention of it was made in 1906, when a Kansas City African American group offered it at their annual picnic.

But where does the name comeback sauce come from?

The most obvious and fun explanation is that these sources were just so good, you'll want to come back for more.

Another theory is that the strong flavors of either garlic or spice will come back to haunt the eater.

Here at "Cook's Country," we pair our version of comeback sauce with another Mississippi classic -- fried catfish.

-We're ready.

-I am ready.

-Are you ready?

-Those look gorgeous.

I love how they curl at the end, some of the pieces.

-They're so pretty.

-Mm-hmm.

-Since you pointed that curly piece out... -Oh, that's my guy?

-...these are so delicate, too.

I'm going to give you a little comeback sauce.

-Mm, mmm.

-A lemon.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-Oh.

Yeah, the fish looks like it wants to just flake apart when I look at it.

-It's super delicate.

-Even though the fish is flaking apart, the coating is sticking right to it.

-Good job.

-Good job, coating.

-[ Laughs ] -Mmm.

-You can hear the cornmeal crunch.

Wow, that is delicious.

There's a lot of flavor in that coating.

-And the coating also acts like this kind of impenetrable force that keeps the heat into the fish.

Like that's still nice and hot.

-Yeah, this fish is so delicate, it would really fall apart at this point without that coating.

And the sauce, I love it.

-You're gonna come back for more?

-Yeah.

Much like the grinding of the cornmeal, where I'm thinking about all the different recipes I could use that in, the sauce would go with so much.

It would be great with shrimp.

It would be good with roast beef on a sandwich.

-Mm-hmm.

-And I just -- I can't get over this coating.

I mean, it is perfectly even.

Again, thanks to grinding some of that cornmeal, it just coats every nook and cranny.

But you can still taste the catfish, which has a very sweet, mild flavor.

Christie, this is delicious.

Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Not only was your trip to Mississippi sound like a blast, but you brought home a real winning recipe.

-Well, it was such a treat to go there.

I'm so glad you like it.

-Yeah.

Thank you.

If you want to make this amazing fried catfish, start by slicing the catfish filets in half, grind half of the cornmeal into a fine powder, and serve with a tangy comeback sauce.

From "Cook's Country" by way of Mississippi, fried catfish with comeback sauce.

Really inventive technique.

♪♪ -A long serrated knife is definitely part of the core set of knives everyone should have in their kitchen.

And Adam's here.

He's going to show us which one of all of these knives was a cut above the rest.

-[ Laughs ] Cut above the rest.

Very good, Bridget.

-I had to.

-You know, you have to have a chef's knife, you have to have a paring knife, and you have to have a serrated knife.

-Right.

-A lot of people call these bread knives because that's one of the main tasks that they're used for.

Our lineup has 11 knives in it.

The blade length was between 9 and 11 inches, and the prices range from $14 to $180 for these guys.

-Oh.

Big range.

-We tested these on the things that they do best.

Obviously cutting through a crusty sourdough boule, we cut through challah.

We also cut through layered sandwiches where we wanted the sandwiches to look neat and tidy at the end, rather than sort of messy and askew.

We cut millionaire's shortbread because that's layered, also.

It's got the caramel and the chocolate and the shortbread at the bottom.

And we cut through chocolate, which they do well.

Let's talk about the blades first.

-Okay.

-Number one, the type of serrations made a difference to testers.

Testers found that when serrations were a little more distinct, a little taller and a little pointier, they got better initial purchase on the food than something like this that was a little more rounded, a little more scalloped.

So that was number one about the serrations.

Number two about the serrations was a real surprise to us.

I want you to try this knife cutting a sandwich and see what you think.

-On this delicious sandwich which I'm very excited about.

-I can't wait to eat that when we're done!

-Okay.

Yeah.

-Yeah.

Well... -Little slippery.

-That didn't work out exactly perfectly, and one of the reasons why is the number of serrations.

Testers found that fewer serrations were actually better.

Why don't you go ahead and try that knife with the pointy serrations?

-Okay.

-Yeah, cut right through that bottom.

And I think that's key.

-Easier, huh?

-Yeah, a lot easier.

-So the difference was the number.

The second knife that we used had 29 serrations.

And testers' favorite knives had between 29 and 34 serrations.

That first one, which was this one... -Right.

-...between the micro serrations and the bigger serrations, had 96 serrations.

-Kind of counter-intuitive.

You'd think more serrations, better.

-That's what I thought going into this.

But fewer was definitely better in our tests.

Let's talk about the dimensions of the blade, also.

-Okay.

-Number one, you want to have as much usable cutting length as you can.

Testers wanted at least 8 1/2 inches.

Some of them had as little as 7 1/4 inches, like this one.

And I want you to try that knife, cutting through that sourdough boule right there.

-All right, beautiful boule.

-It's gorgeous.

-I'm gonna go right through the center.

And it's stuck because... it's shorter than the bread.

-Yeah, you've only got 7 1/4 inches, so it didn't have enough serrations.

There just wasn't enough length to get through the center of that.

-Yeah, I mean... -Yeah.

So you definitely want a longer blade.

Testers also liked when the blades were a little bit taller.

They felt it was easier to control the knife through the cut that way.

And if you had extra height at the heel -- this one is an inch and a half at the heel -- that gave you more space for your fingers underneath the handle.

And this is our winning serrated knife.

This is the Mercer Culinary Millennia 10-inch wide, wavy edged bread knife.

It's actually won tests before, but it's still the serrated knife to beat.

The blade is terrific.

It's got the right kind of serrations, the right number of them.

The handle is comfortable, and it's less than 25 bucks.

So it's a relative bargain.

-Well, there you go.

The perfect serrated knife for your knife trifecta at home.

It's the Mercer Culinary Millennia 10-inch wide, wavy edged bread knife, and it retails for just under 25 bucks.

-A big bowl of grits with a little salt and pepper.

Can it be beat?

It's really hard to, unless you add cheese.

I love cheese grits, very cheesy grits.

And Carmen's here, and she's going to tell me if there's a limit to the amount of cheese that we can put into cheese grits.

-That's exactly right, Bridget.

We are very strategic about our use of dairy in this recipe.

We want to maximize those cheesy flavors that are so comforting to us.

I have here 2 1/4 cups of whole milk.

I'm going to add 2 cups of water, 1/2 teaspoon of table salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.

I'm going to bring this to a boil over medium high heat.

And I use whole milk and water because it's going to be a foundation for creaminess.

We're going to build on that with the cheese, which is our next step here.

-Okay.

-I have 6 ounces of extra sharp cheddar cheese.

We're going to go ahead and grate that up.

And we're using extra sharp cheddar cheese just because it's stronger.

We tried using American cheese.

That was fine.

It just gave us a little bit too much of a mild flavor.

I want to show you a little trick I do.

I like to use a bench scraper and just scoop underneath everything.

So it just makes it easy to transfer into wherever I'm going.

I have here Parmesan cheese, as well.

-Okay.

-And this is going to add savory umami.

That's really important here.

We noticed that when we didn't use the Parmesan, there was just something missing.

And this gave it a little bit more interest, more body.

-And that's a super power cheese.

-Absolutely.

-I mean, that's like super concentrated flavor and a lot of seasoning, as well.

Now something like a Parmigiano-Reggiano would be good here.

Or would you just use a really good Parmesan?

-I think a really good Parmesan is great.

If you have another cheese, I'm sure it will be perfectly acceptable.

-Okay.

Definitely save this.

Put it in your freezer and add it to soups and stews.

Really good.

-That's really smart.

2 ounces of Parmesan cheese.

Our cheese is ready for our next step.

And I can see my milk and water are at a boil right now.

This is the perfect time to add a cup of our grits.

I'm going to whisk in those grits.

I'm going to turn the heat down to low, cover this, and I'm going to whisk this often over the course of 25 minutes.

I want to make sure that my grits are fully cooked through, thick and creamy.

Now this recipe was developed with Quaker Old Fashioned grits.

But of course, if you have artisanal or coarse grind grits in your pantry, you can use those.

We have instructions on the longer simmering time on our website.

-Yeah, they do cook very differently.

-Bridget, it's been 25 minutes, and these grits are completely cooked through.

-Mmm!

-They are thick.

They are creamy.

They are not stiff.

-Yeah, they're not stodgy at all.

That's good.

-Not at all.

They didn't stick to the pan at all.

If I had noticed at any point in time during the cooking process that they were getting too stiff, I could have added 2 tablespoons of water at a time... -Okay.

-...just to loosen up that texture.

We don't have that problem here today, though.

I'm going to flavor up our grits now.

We were inspired by mac and cheese, so of course we're going to add our cheese and some additional flavorings that are just going to punch up the overall dish.

-It's always a good thing to be inspired by mac and cheese.

-Mm!

I'm also going to add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons of hot sauce.

I have 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard.

-These are kind of universally loved flavors, too, for something like this.

-And all of these ingredients are very pantry friendly.

I also have here 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce.

Let's whisk that until everything is completely melted and all of those flavors have been incorporated.

This will take about a minute.

And that butter is really just going to add that extra richness, almost like à la minute, the way you finish sauces.

-Right, right.

-But we're finishing our grits here with something delicious.

This cheese is completely melted.

And we are going to make sure this tastes just right.

So I'm going to taste this and see if it needs additional salt and pepper.

That's very good.

-[ Laughs ] -I don't need to add anything to that.

-Perfect.

-Great.

I would love to serve you.

-I would love to be served.

-[ Laughs ] We want a nice hefty portion of this.

Some might call this a side dish, but I would be fine with this, with an egg.

That's my entree.

-Well, you're right, I mean, this is just the start.

You could absolutely put a little bacon over the top.

Catfish.

-Why not?

Some nice barbecue ribs.

Mm.

-Oh.

-And I also love hot sauce.

So if you don't mind, I'm going to put a little bit on top.

-Hit me.

-This will stick to your ribs.

-Yeah, I was going to say the problem with cheese grits is that you eat them, and then 4 or 5 weeks later, you're hungry again.

-Yes.

A couple of weeks.

[ Both laugh ] -That's a really good consistency.

-Yeah.

It's not stiff.

-It's super creamy.

-The richness.

-The richness is beautiful.

-Yeah.

-It's got that nuttiness from the Parmesan, as well.

I was going to say it's not gritty at all.

But by that, I mean the cheese itself.

Sometimes when you're using extra sharp cheese, Parmesan cheese, it doesn't feel as creamy.

It can feel a little bit textural.

This is smooth.

The grits themselves are super tender.

-Mm-hmm.

We made sure to really make sure that all of those cheeses were melted.

And those proportions were really important, so again, being strategic about how we use dairy really comes through in the final dish.

-You know, the word "comfort food" sometimes bothers me because I can find comfort in anything that I'm eating.

It doesn't have to be a specific thing.

-But a big bowl of this, it's like a snugly blanket.

Carmen, this is grit perfection.

-Thank you.

It's my pleasure to make this for you.

-You're true grit.

If you want to make this big, beautiful, bold batch of cheesy grits at home, start by whisking grits into both water and milk for a creamy base, use extra sharp cheddar and Parmesan for big flavor, and finish the grits with Dijon, Worcestershire, and a little bit of hot sauce.

So from "Cook's Country," the ultimate extra cheesy grits.

You can get this wonderful recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with product reviews and select episodes, and those are all on our website, CooksCountry.com/TV.

Mm.

-Visit our website, where you can sign up for the free "Cook's Country" e-mail newsletter, for even more of the recipes and stories you love from the magazine and the TV show.

CooksCountry.com/Cooks.

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-Funding for this program has been provided by the following.

-Monument Grills, offering innovative technology and design for the grilling enthusiast, with a lineup of gas grills to suit every level.

Our mission is to ignite your passion to pursue the art of grilling.

Learn more at monumentgrills.com.

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