Fried Catfish has long been a staple of Southern Cuisine. This is perhaps due to the activities that surround the act of preparing the food rather than the food itself. A lot of the time when cooking catfish you are not simply going to the store and buying it. Instead, you and a group of close friends or family get together and catch the fish itself through a variety of methods. This ranges from what you would usually expect like using a rod and reel all the way to noodling, which is the act of swimming in the water and pulling a catfish out of its hole by hand. Once you have caught a satisfactory amount of catfish that is when the preparation begins. At this point some of the people will go prepare side items such as some form of potatoes while others will work on fileting the fish so it is ready to be prepared. Then, when everything is cooked and prepared everyone comes together again in order to enjoy the meal they have worked hard for over the course of the day. So, part of the tradition of eating fried catfish is also getting together with people you are close with and having a great experience with them. Here is a recipe for fried catfish if you ever would want to try it yourself. You will need Catfish filets, 1 cup of buttermilk, 1 cup of cornmeal, 1/2 a cup of flour, spices to taste, and oil. Firstly, you need to put your catfish filets in the buttermilk. Then, you mix together the cornmeal, flower, and whatever seasoning spices you would want. Next, put your oil in a pan and make sure the temperature is around 350 degrees. When your oil is hot coat the catfish filets in the breading mixture and place into the oil. Cook the filets for 3-4 minutes on each side depending on how thick they are and the catfish is done.