John Tyler Moore of Durham placed first and took home the $500 prize with his Carolina Catfish Sliders in Primetime with the Pack Slam Dunk Sliders Home Chef Challenge at the N.C. State Fair. Moore is a nurse at the Campus Health Center at N.C. State University.
Second place and a $300 prize went to Domino Ireland of Raleigh for his Pimento Sloppy Slams Don’t Slip Sliders with three dunks. Third place and $200 went to Savannah Ranson of Raleigh for her Chicken Banh Mi Sliders.
The winning recipe follows:
Ingredients
Catfish
• 1.5 pounds catfish filet
• ¾ cup hot sauce
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 1 9-ounce package seafood breader
• ½ cup flour
• Teaspoon of salt
• 1 48-ounce bottle of vegetable oil
Tartar Sauce
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons chopped dill
• ¼ cup chopped dill pickles
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ lemon, juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Miscellaneous
• 1 package Hawaiian slider rolls
• 1 8-ounce package slaw mix (purple and white cabbage mix)
• 6 ounces of cocktail sauce, room temperature
Preparation
Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, dill pickles, buttermilk, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small mixing bowl. Let rest in fridge for two hours.
Cut catfish filet into nuggets to fit slider rolls, about 1.5 to 2-ounce chunks. Sprinkle with salt. Mix hot sauce and buttermilk in gallon size zip top bag, add catfish nuggets. Marinate at least one hour in fridge (preferable 24 hours). Heat oil in large pot on medium high heat and keep oil around 350-375 degrees. Mix flour and seafood breader in small bowl or plate. Coat nuggets in breader and fry in two to three batches for five to seven minutes or until golden brown. Let nuggets drain on wire rack or paper towel.
Toss slaw mix with tartar sauce. Toast slider rolls in oven with butter for two to three minutes on 350 degrees. Once rolls are toasted cover bottom bun with cocktail sauce, place catfish nugget on sauced bun, top nugget with slaw/tartar sauce mix and top bun.
Serve and enjoy!
Slaw and tartar sauce can be refrigerated and used for up to five days. Fried catfish best consumed the day of cooking.
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