Season the catfish with salt. Let sit on the counter.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When the pan’s hot, add the oil, onion, and bell pepper. Sauté, stirring often, until the onion starts to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the paprika and sauté, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the catfish and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the barbecue sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 6 to 7 minutes, until thick.

Meanwhile, heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Butter the buns and toast them on the griddle.

Fill the buns with the catfish mixture and pile some potato chips on top for crunch. Serve these Joes while they’re hot.

Barbecue Sauce for Fish

Fish deserves its own special barbecue sauce. This one isn’t aggressive in the least, so it’s perfectly suited to the soft nuances of seafood. The flavor of the clam juice wafts through the sauce. Makes about 1 3/4 cups

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, onion, garlic, thyme, and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and water in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, swirling the sugar in the skillet, until the sugar dissolves and the caramel is dark amber. Add the vinegar and clam juice and boil until the caramel has dissolved.

Add the caramel and clam juice mixture to the onion, along with the ketchup, Tabasco, Worcestershire, and white pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the sauce for 20 minutes. Let cool.

You can make this well in advance. It will keep for days in the refrigerator.

For the marinade: Whisk the zests and juices, olive oil, fish sauce, shallots, mint, and thyme together in a bowl.

Spread the shrimp out in a single layer in a baking dish. Pour in the marinade, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to 8 hours.

Set an oven rack in the top position and heat a cast-iron griddle under the broiler for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, take the shrimp out of the marinade.

Put the shrimp in a single layer on the griddle pan and season them well with salt. Broil for 2 1/2 minutes, or until barely cooked through.

Serve hot, with melted butter if you want.

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Drop in the clams, cover the pot, and steam until the clams open.

Drain the clams in a strainer set over a bowl. When the clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from the shells — over the strainer so you capture all the juice. Chop the clams coarsely. Reserve the clams and juice separately.

Meanwhile, put the garlic and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the garlic starts to sizzle, reduce the heat to very low and let the garlic infuse into the oil for 15 minutes. Take it slow; you don’t want the garlic to color.

Add the crushed red pepper and oregano to the garlic oil and heat for 5 minutes. Add the reserved clam juice, crank the heat to high, and reduce by half. Keep the sauce warm on the back of the stove.

While the sauce simmers, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the linguine until al dente. Drain and return it to the pot.

Add the sauce, clams, and parsley to the pasta and toss well. Serve right away.