Name: Bagre sudado: catfish from Dolores in a beer-and-milk sauce
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Cuisine: Colombian
Ingredients: 750 g catfish steaks, 4 thick pieces, skin on or off, pin bones removed; 45 ml lemon juice, about 1 large lemon; 375 ml lager beer; 120 g ripe tomato, 1 medium, finely chopped; 30 g scallion, 1 large stalk, thinly sliced; 1 garlic clove, about 3 g, crushed; 2 g dried thyme; 1 small bay leaf, about 0.2 g; 2.5 g of the fine salt; 0.5 g ground black pepper; 15 ml neutral oil; 240 ml whole milk, gently warmed; 60 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces; 60 g fine toasted breadcrumbs; Remaining 2.5 g fine salt, or to taste; 600 g cooked white rice, hot

A shallow casserole of cooked catfish in beer, milk and toasted-breadcrumb sauce, with rice alongside.

Region Dolores, Tolima, in Colombia’s Andean region

Category Main course; catfish steaks in a gently simmered beer-and-milk sauce

Yield 4 servings

Prep time About 30 minutes, including a 30-minute refrigerated marinade

Active time About 35 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Bagre sudado: catfish from Dolores in a beer-and-milk sauce

Tolima-style catfish steaks gently simmered with beer, tomato, scallion, milk and toasted breadcrumbs, served with white rice.

Bagre sudado is recorded for Dolores, Tolima, in Colombia’s traditional-recipe inventory. The inventory’s short summary describes catfish with green beans, scallion, garlic, tomato, rosemary, bay and optional white wine. The Dolores entry points to a recipe on page 360 of Gran Libro de la Cocina Colombiana, where the dish takes a different form: catfish steaks with lemon, beer, tomato, scallion, garlic, thyme, bay, milk, butter and toasted breadcrumbs, accompanied by white rice. This home version follows that explicitly titled Dolores recipe and does not combine the two ingredient lists.

The result is a gentle fish stew rather than a crisp-fried dish. Briefly seared catfish finishes in a savory sauce that begins with beer and aromatics, then becomes creamy and lightly thickened with milk, butter and fine toasted breadcrumbs. A short lemon-and-beer rest seasons the fish, but it must take place in the refrigerator. Lemon juice adds flavor; it does not soften bones. Ask the fishmonger to remove pin bones, or check each steak yourself with clean tweezers.

This measured version makes four servings from 750 g of catfish. Buy clearly identified fish from a recognized, authorized seller and keep it cold on the way home. The original source does not specify the catfish species, so use fish lawfully sold under a clear product name and do not buy an unverified species. Use a thermometer at the thickest point: the fish should reach at least 63°C. The source’s simmer time is only a guide because steak thickness varies.

Ingredients

Fish and marinade

750 g catfish steaks, 4 thick pieces, skin on or off, pin bones removed
45 ml lemon juice, about 1 large lemon
375 ml lager beer
120 g ripe tomato, 1 medium, finely chopped
30 g scallion, 1 large stalk, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, about 3 g, crushed
2 g dried thyme
1 small bay leaf, about 0.2 g
2.5 g of the fine salt
0.5 g ground black pepper

Sauce and searing

15 ml neutral oil
240 ml whole milk, gently warmed
60 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
60 g fine toasted breadcrumbs
Remaining 2.5 g fine salt, or to taste

To serve

600 g cooked white rice, hot

Method

Check the fish and remove pin bones Keep the catfish refrigerated until you are ready to work. Run a clean finger over each steak and pull out any pin bones with fish tweezers, or ask the fish seller to do this. Do not rinse raw fish under running water, which can spread droplets around the sink. Pat it dry with disposable paper towel and wash your hands and work surface after handling.
Make the beer marinade and chill the fish In a covered nonreactive dish, combine the lemon juice, beer, tomato, scallion, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, 2.5 g salt and black pepper. Add the fish and turn each steak so the mixture coats it. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Do not leave fish marinating on the counter. Keep the fish-contact marinade separate from any clean serving sauce; it will be boiled before use.
Lift out and briefly sear the steaks Set a clean plate beside the stove. Lift the fish from the marinade and place it on the plate; reserve the marinade in its dish. Pat the fish lightly dry so it sears rather than steams. Heat the neutral oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sear the steaks for about 1 minute on each side, just until the surfaces begin to color. They will finish cooking in the sauce, so do not try to cook them through at this stage.
Boil the reserved marinade Transfer the reserved marinade to the hot skillet. Bring it to a full boil for at least 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits from the base. Lower the heat and simmer for 4–5 minutes so the tomato softens and the raw-fish marinade is thoroughly heated. Keep the bay leaf in the pan for now; it will be removed before serving.
Build the milk-and-breadcrumb sauce Whisk in the warm milk, butter, breadcrumbs and remaining salt. Stir over low heat until the butter melts and the crumbs begin to thicken the liquid. Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer; a hard boil can make the milk sauce separate and can break the fish steaks. Taste the sauce for seasoning before returning the fish, remembering that the beer and marinade already contribute salt and acidity.
Finish the fish to 63°C Nestle the seared steaks into the sauce and spoon some over their tops. Cover the pan and cook gently for about 8–12 minutes, depending on thickness. Turn once with a broad spatula only if needed. Check the thickest part of each steak with a clean food thermometer; it must reach at least 63°C. The flesh should be opaque and separate into moist flakes. Continue cooking and recheck any piece that has not reached temperature. Do not rely on color or the timer alone.
Remove the bay leaf and serve with rice Take out the bay leaf. Spoon the sauce over the fish and serve each steak with hot white rice. The sauce should cling lightly rather than form a stiff paste; if it thickens too much while waiting, loosen it with a small splash of warm water or milk. Beer remains part of the recipe, and simmering does not guarantee that all alcohol evaporates.
Cool and store leftovers promptly Transfer leftovers to shallow covered containers and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour when the room is above 32°C. Use within 3–4 days. Reheat the fish and sauce throughout to 74°C, adding a little milk or water if the sauce has tightened. Do not leave cooked fish at room temperature for extended serving.

Practical guidance

Practical

Nutrition per serving

These high-uncertainty estimates use a generic farmed channel-catfish entry because the source does not identify the species. They include the measured butter, oil, milk, breadcrumbs, beer and rice and assume most sauce is eaten. Actual values vary with the fish cut, product brands, sauce left in the pan, salt retention and rice moisture; this is not a laboratory analysis.

Practical guidance

Choose and handle the fish carefully: Buy from a recognized, authorized seller. Fresh fish should be held under refrigeration or on clean ice and smell mild rather than strong. Keep it cold during transport and preparation. The source recipe does not name the catfish species; use a clearly labeled, legally sold product rather than guessing from appearance or accepting an unverified species name. Avoid fish identified as mota, whose commercial sale Colombian authorities prohibit. Remove bones instead of trying to soften them: The source says lemon juice is rubbed on fish to soften the bones. That is not a reliable way to remove or soften bones, so this adaptation requires pin bones to be removed with tweezers or by the fish seller. Lemon is retained for its bright flavor. Check the cut again before serving, especially if steaks still contain a central skeleton. Keep the marinade cold and cook it before serving: Fish can spoil quickly at warm temperatures. The measured 30-minute rest takes place in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Because the fish rested in the beer mixture, boil that liquid fully before adding dairy or serving it as sauce. Keep raw-fish tools away from cooked rice, serving plates and finished sauce. Add dairy gently: Warm the milk slightly before it goes into the pan, then keep the sauce at a quiet simmer. Fine toasted breadcrumbs thicken it as they hydrate. If the sauce looks grainy, lower the heat and whisk gently; do not boil it hard. A spoonful of warm water can loosen a sauce that becomes too dense. The source’s combination of beer, milk and butter is distinctive to this Dolores version and is not interchangeable with the inventory’s green-bean and white-wine summary. Alcohol, gluten and allergens: This dish contains fish and milk. Breadcrumbs contain wheat and gluten, and many beers contain barley or wheat gluten. Beer is not alcohol-free; cooking reduces some alcohol but does not assure complete removal. Check package labels for allergens and cross-contact information. The dish is unsuitable for people avoiding fish, dairy, gluten or alcohol unless they choose a separately developed alternative recipe. Serving and leftovers: White rice is the documented accompaniment and balances the buttery, tangy sauce. Serve the fish hot while the steaks remain intact and moist. Chill leftovers promptly in shallow containers, use them within 3–4 days and reheat to 74°C. The sauce may thicken in the refrigerator; loosen it gently with a splash of milk or water while reheating.

Final notes

Bagre sudado from Dolores pairs catfish steaks with a gently thickened beer-and-milk sauce and plain white rice. Remove pin bones, keep the marinade refrigerated, boil it before making the sauce and use a thermometer to confirm the fish reaches 63°C. Remember 1: Lemon seasons the fish; it does not soften or remove bones. Remember 2: Keep the fish cold during marinating and cook every steak to at least 63°C.

Nutrition per serving

Serving basis: 1 fish steak with sauce and 150 g cooked white rice, one of 4 servings
Calories: 570 kcal
Carbohydrate: 59 g
Protein: 43 g
Fat: 18 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sodium: 820 mg

Bagre sudado: catfish from Dolores in a beer-and-milk sauce

Ingredients

Fish and marinade

Sauce and searing

To serve

Method

Practical

Nutrition per serving

Practical guidance

Final notes

Nutrition per serving

Colombian National Dishes

Soplado de bagre: Tolima catfish bake with a fluffy egg topping

Bagre en salsa de arazá: Caquetá catfish with tart Amazonian fruit sauce

Picillo de pescado: smoked fish with ají and scallions from Meta