Orange Tea-Smoked Catfish

Food Service Search Staff

INGREDIENTS:24 6-oz. U.S. farm-raised catfish fillets (9 lbs. total)

Marinade:
1 ½ quart orange juice
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup honey
¼ cup ginger, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp. garlic, chopped
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
¼ tsp. ground cloves

Smoking Ingredients:
3 cups orange pekoe loose tea
2 cups long grain rice
6-8 bay leaves
4 oranges, zested

3 gallons orange frisee salad (recipe follows)
1 ½ quart red bell peppers, roasted and julienned
2 cups cashews, broken

Frisee Salad:
3 gallons frisee, cored, washed and dried
1 cup orange juice
½ cup balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp. honey
3/4 cup olive oil
to taste, salt and ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. orange zest DIRECTIONS:Place catfish fillets in a shallow hotel pan. Combine marinade ingredients and pour over catfish. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Remove catfish from marinade. Place catfish fillets in a single layer on 2 perforated hotel pans. Combine smoking ingredients (tea, rice, bay leaves and orange). Sprinkle inside base of two deep steamtable pans. Place catfish fillets into an insert tray and place over smoking set-up. Cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil; seal edges well. Place pans over medium-high heat until smoke appears (5-6 minutes). Lower heat to medium and continue to smoke 15-20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let cool. Transfer fish to sheet pans, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For each serving: Place 2 cups tossed frisee salad on a chilled dinner plate. Top with smoked catfish fillet, ¼ cup red pepper pieces, and 2 Tbsp. cashews.

For Frisee Salad:
Place frisee in a large bowl. Blend together orange juice, vinegar, honey, oil, salt and pepper. Toss with frisee and place 2 cups on each plate. SERVINGS:24 servings From:Executive chef Travis Hedgepeth, Wyndham Garden Hotel, Durham, N.C. PHOTO CREDIT:Photo Credit: THE CATFISH INSTITUTE