Mississippi Oven Baked Catfish Allison Recipe

Yes, you can enjoy catfish that is not fried! Here is a recipe for a delicious baked catfish called Catfish Allison!

Catfish Allison hails from the great southern state of Mississippi. I first read about this dish when I was researching what to cook for our movie night.

Jump to:

• Movie Night - O Brother, Where Are Thou?
• The Crown Restaurant, Indianola Mississippi
• A Variation - Baked Catfish Allison
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• Suggestions For Serving
• FAQ
• Visit The Crown Restaurant!
• Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!
• Join Me On A Fun Food Journey!
• Mississippi Oven Baked Catfish Allison Recipe

Movie Night - O Brother, Where Are Thou?

Sunday evenings we sit down to watch a film. I love to cook a meal on these movie nights that has something to do with the film we are watching.  Usually either the setting of the movie, or food actually eaten or highlighted in the film can inspire the meal.

One recent film we watched was O Brother, Where Art Thou? It is a film by Joel and Ethan Coen, and stars George Clooney. Based on The Odyssey, by Homer, it turned out to be very funny and we enjoyed it greatly! The film is set in Mississippi, so that evening I decided to cook Catfish Allison for dinner.

The Crown Restaurant, Indianola Mississippi

Previously, I had assumed that all catfish consumed in Mississippi must be fried. Boy was I wrong! Catfish Allison, one of the most well known and loved dishes served at The Crown Restaurant, in Indianola, Mississippi, is poached, then topped with Allison Butter Sauce and then broiled.

This sauce contains parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, Worcestershire, tabasco, and green onions. Sounds incredibly good doesn't it?

A Variation - Baked Catfish Allison

I opted to try a slight variation on this recipe, which calls for baking the catfish. This method of preparation worked well and I'm happy to say our family was very pleased with the dinner that night. 🙂

So here I'm pleased to share with you my easy oven baked version of this delicious catfish recipe, inspired by the dish that is served at The Crown!

One word of caution...if you are on a low calorie diet, this may not be the recipe for you as there is a lot of butter, cheese, and mayo involved. 😉

Catfish Allison is based on and adapted from the Catfish Allison dish served at The Crown Restaurant in Indianola, Mississippi.  The creator of the original Catfish Allison recipe is Claudia Ainsworth.  You can find the original recipe in the fantastic book "The Crown of Southern Cooking" by Evelyn Roughton, one of the founders of The Crown.

🥘 Ingredients

So here are the simple ingredients that you will need to make this baked catfish recipe:

• Fresh United States farmed catfish fillets (I prefer using fresh fish, but you can use frozen catfish thoroughly defrosted and patted dry)
• Parmesan cheese
• Mayonnaise
• Butter
• Green onions
• Worcestershire sauce
• Tabasco, or your favorite hot sauce
• Salt
• Black pepper

I hope you're excited to make this delicious fish recipe! Let's get to it!

🔪 Instructions

It's super easy to make this Southern inspired baked catfish recipe!

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking dish with non stick aluminum foil, or coat with thin layer of cooking spray. If you plan to broil the fish, please use a broiler safe baking dish.

Combine the butter sauce ingredients (softened butter, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire Sauce, mayo, hot sauce, green onions, salt, and pepper) in a small bowl.

Pat the catfish dry with your paper towel. Place the fish on the baking dish, and add season both sides of fish with salt and pepper. Cover the top of the fish with the combined butter sauce mixture.

Bake 20-25 minutes in your preheated oven, or until the fish is golden and fish flakes easily with a fork.

OPTIONAL - Place under the broiler until the dish is golden brown to your liking. Add more salt and pepper to taste if you like.

Serve immediately and enjoy to your heart's content!

Suggestions For Serving

If you love catfish, you must try Catfish Allison! This dish is so easy to prepare, and absolutely delicious! I'm really looking forward to trying this again soon, and will opt for the poach then broil method the next time.

Serve with mashed potatoes or yellow rice, and how about some green beans to go along with it? Hush puppies or onion rings would also be great sides!

What I love to do is to make use of the melted butter sauce (and there will be quite a bit of it!) to spoon over mashed potatoes served with the catfish. It's heavenly!

I hope this easy recipe will be added to your easy weeknight dinner rotation.

Bring a taste of the Mississippi delta to your home soon with this awesome Catfish Allison dish!

FAQ

Visit The Crown Restaurant!

If you have the grand opportunity to visit the Mississippi Delta area, then you better head over to The Crown Restaurant in Indianola!

I took this picture of the front of the restaurant when we visited Indianola, Mississippi. My intention was to try the Catfish Allison, but unfortunately the restaurant was closed when we arrived. So be aware they are only open Tuesday - Saturday for lunch from 11am-2pm, so plan accordingly.

However, their gift shop is open from 9am - 5pm, so I was able to buy a signed copy of "The Crown of Southern Cooking" by Evelyn Roughton. Therefore all was not lost!

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

Here are some other great recipes that you may enjoy:

• Delectable Southern Macaroni Salad
• Refreshing Southern Cucumber Salad
• Mississippi Hot Tamales

Join Me On A Fun Food Journey!

Finally, I invite you to come along on this food journey with me! Please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food horizons! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here.

Cheers!

Grace