Fried Fish and Spaghetti: A Black Tradition Cooked With a Side of History

The tradition of fried fish and spaghetti on a plate stayed with me through my childhood in St. Louis and Denver and my young adult life in Chicago. My mom was an exceptional cook, and she taught me how to make crispy catfish with a side of flavor-packed, meatless spaghetti and sometimes creamy coleslaw.

If you grew up in the Midwest, the combination does not sound unfamiliar or strange.

“It was not considered weird when we did fish fry fundraisers to have spaghetti on there with a salad and the fish and some bread,” says Adrian Miller, a food historian and award-winning author.

He lives in Denver and remembers eating fried fish and spaghetti in the city. “It is a church-fundraiser-dominated memory. Like for you growing up in Denver, that was a staple of our church,” notes the author and recipient of two James Beard Awards.

Where Did Fried Fish and Spaghetti Originate?

Miller is a recognized authority on African American food history and culture. His book, “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time” received a 2014 James Beard Award for Scholarship and Reference.

In 2022, his “Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue” won a Colorado Book Award for History and a second James Beard Award for Reference, History, and Scholarship.

Yet, despite his extensive knowledge of Black culinary subjects, the results of a poll he posted on social media in 2019 surprised the celebrated food writer.

In an article published in Heated, Miller wrote about the reaction to his including fried fish and spaghetti on a soul food list. “Much like chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, and okra and tomatoes, fried fish with spaghetti is one of soul food’s greatest culinary combinations. End of story, or so I thought. It turns out it’s not beloved by all of Soul Food Nation, and to my surprise, it may be the most controversial soul food coupling since someone decided it was a good idea to marinate dill pickles in Kool-Aid.”

Miller mentions that he got the most shade from people in the Mid-Atlantic. Some critics of the combo questioned his cultural creds. “They were challenging my Blackness or authority because I even put it out there. Fortunately, other people chimed in, and so that was cool.”

He heard from fans of fried fish and spaghetti living in the lower southern states or big northern cities. “Most people, if they were from the Deep South and followed that migration pattern to the upper North, to the big industrial cities like Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee, it seemed familiar to them. It just seemed to me that it was a migration story, in the sense that people came to other places and brought it with them.”

The celebrated food historian has researched the origins of the fried fish and spaghetti we both grew up eating in Denver. He sees a connection to America’s enslaved Africans who were not fed well.

“The first thing was it was an important way to supplement the very meager diet they got from slave owners. The fact that they could get fish in their own time was important,” Miller says.

He also recognizes that our ancestors wanted the same benefit Black people get today from frying up large batches of fish at church gatherings, social celebrations and family reunions. “It was a way to physically, spiritually and financially sustain themselves.  It is also, I think, a connection to our ancestors because most people of African heritage in the U.S. descend from people from the western coast of Africa, and seafood was a very important part of their diet.”

Pasta and Fish: The Perfect Pairing

As for spaghetti in the African American culinary journey, Miller speaks of pasta’s arrival in the U.S. in the 19th century. Pasta-based dishes are plentiful in early Southern cookbooks. It was a popular item distributed by relief organizations around the time of the Great Migration.

Italian immigrants had moved to the South by the late 1800s, bringing their love for pasta. “The feeling is that the dish took root sometime in the 1800s, that pairing. And then Black migrants took it with them out of the South,” Miller adds. “It was something very filling and delicious.”

Over time and in different regions, the fish fry tradition moved to a different day. “In the South, the fish night was originally on Saturday. That was a popular time to have a fish fry because that was typically a day off without having to work the next Sunday morning. I think it changed days in cities because of that Catholic influence, which encouraged fish sales on Fridays. So people moved it from Saturday to Friday,” says Miller.

The fried fish and spaghetti pairing remained the same as it moved to Friday and from rural to urban settings. The Denver food writer details how economic factors drove the preference for catfish with the combo.

“Basically, in the 1950s to 1960s, the cotton market was very depressed. So, cotton farmers began transitioning to catfish farming in order to diversify their income by flooding their fields and raising catfish. Catfish are easier to farm and have a mild-tasting flesh, which appeals to a broader market. Wild catfish has that muddy taste, which not everybody prefers and consumes.”

What Are Some Fried Fish and Spaghetti Essentials?

Whether you buy farm-raised or wild-caught catfish or another option, there are some essential elements to preparing a mouth-watering plate of fried fish and spaghetti. Memories of the dish from growing up in Cleveland inspired executive chef Danielle Harris to put it on her menu at Almeda in Washington, D.C.

“It’s something that I feel connected to because it’s something I grew up with. It’s very nostalgic for me. Even when we serve it today, and I bring it to people’s tables, I can smell them pouring the hot sauce. That brings up such a distinct memory,” says the owner of the critically-acclaimed restaurant.

Chef Harris admits she gets a lot of questions about why she puts fried fish and spaghetti together. She has the answer. “It’s just really good, and it’s really Black. Why not put it on the menu? It’s one of the flagships of the restaurant, to be honest.”

Almeda’s Afro-fusion cuisine is so tasty, that Michelin added the restaurant to its 2024 DC guide this month. The chef’s creative approach to from-scratch cooking of fried catfish and spaghetti helped earn that recognition.

“I would say 9.9 out of 10 love the dish. We have people of all shades, colors and creeds who come back all the time just for that dish,” Harris confirms.

“The fish is almost treated like a piece of chicken or chicken fried. We make our own fish fry seasoning and our own fish fry coating with cornmeal and flour,” Harris explains. “It’s a single dredge process, but we use buttermilk on the fish as part of the marinade with the spice blend and with the same hot sauce served with the fish. We have a dedicated fryer just for the fish,” she continues. The hot sauce, by the way, is homemade.

Harris serves her meatless spaghetti, and the sauce does not come from a bottle. “We use a thin spaghetti, which I prefer for the texture. And the sauce is made from scratch using imported San Marzano tomatoes. We use Calabrian chiles, anchovies and apples in our sauce.

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“The apples sweeten the tomato sauce a bit. My mother taught me to add a touch of sugar to spaghetti sauce. It is a common practice among African American cooks. So is using a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven to fry the fish. Some people use stone ground corn meal to make their fried fish extra crispy. Others who like a softer coating use corn flour or combine cornmeal and flour for the dredge. Every cook I know marinades catfish in milk or buttermilk before it is fried.

“Most importantly, the oil has to be hot to get a crispy coating that is not oily. I like to use a neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as peanut, avocado or sunflower oil. The recommended temperature for the oil is between 350 and 360 degrees Fahrenheit. If you choose to make meatless spaghetti, be sure to add enough seasonings and herbs to give the sauce a flavor punch.”

Chef Harris and Miller agree on the essential condiment you must serve with any plate of fried fish and spaghetti: hot sauce, homemade or from a bottle. You will surely find hot sauce on the table at Almeda and some other restaurants where you can order fried fish with spaghetti. They include Haire’s Gulf Shrimp, MacArthur’s Restaurant in Chicago and Betty’s Place in Indianola, Mississippi.

Want to host your own fried fish and spaghetti dinner? Cuisine Noir Magazine has you covered with acclaimed chef Todd Richard’s for Mom’s Fried Catfish with Hot Sauce.

You will find some home-cooked fried fish and spaghetti versions online at Cooks with Soul , EV Eats , and Just Keep Cooking. You can also watch RD Eats make fried fish and spaghetti on YouTube.

This story originally appeared in Cuisine Noir Magazine