What To Do With Cat Fish

easy sider

I caught some cat fish and filleted them out but my wife doesnt know how to cook them. How do you cat fish guys cook this ? Does the fish have to soak in salt water to get the blood out ?

Thanks
Bill

rbsremodeling

I either grill or fry mine. Frying is my preferred method.

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Brock

Beer batter, then fry them up in peanut oil.

fez-head

Never heard of soaking them.....5-6 pounders we hang up and cut the tail off so they bleed out........ right after knocking them in the head. Bigger ones may need to soak in buttermilk a bit since they get kind of "rangy".

Roll them in a good cajun mix and deep fry in peanut oil. Also throw some thin sliced red potatoes in there and some crab rangoo. For desert go ahead and deep fry some Pillsbury biscuits that come in a can. mmm - mmm good

22rifle

Stop! You are making me hungry!

fez-head

So how big are these cat fish, where did you catch them, how did you catch them (rod& reel, limb line, trot line, net, jugs, noodleing..... or dynamite?) and what did you use for bait?

neolitic

Bread 'em in cornmeal, fry 'em in anything
that's never been in a crankcase,
serve 'em with baked beans,
a big glob of mustard potato salad,
and lot's of sweet tea.
Julips or Tom Collins in the cook
is optional!

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easy sider

I caught these in the river and I think they are called chanel cats. They are around 2 - 3 pounds each. A friend help me skin and fillet these but he isnt sure what to do with the meat either. Since its a bottom fish I cut out anything that wasnt whiteish which reduced the 8 pounds of fillets to about 4-5 pounds of the same color meat. I also cut out the tough piece in the center of the fillets. I was told that catfish is gamey because they are bottom feeders so I was thinking of soaking them in salt water like I do with sturgeon.

I guess were going to boil these in oil tonight with the cornmeal breading. If it turns out bad I can order a pizza.

These were fun to catch last night. We fished with fresh chicken guts, worms and whiskey.We threw the fish in the ice chest in a garbage bag. We didnt bleed them. Most were still moving a little when we filletted them.

Tscarborough

Most catfish are not bottom feeders. They are mid-water predators who hang out under cutbanks during the day.

Since you have them filleted out so nice, no need to brine them, just troll through flour, then beaten egg, then cornmeal and deep or panfry.

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Cdat

Breading on catfish? For shame. Grill 'em just like you do trout. Dang fine tasting fish. I swore they were borderline mud suckers like carp or drum until I tired 'em. I rate them right around perch flavor. Smaller is always better.

cleveman

It is not mandatory to deep fry everything. You are not a concession stand at the Iowa State Fair. As the previous post stated, you can grill the fish (lightly) or steam it (lightly). I like to steam in foil with tomatoes and lemon. The channel cat is a very fine fish indeed.

cleveman

sorry, a lot of onions also. And olive oil or butter or half/half.

silvertree

I get mine out of the Mississippi River before it goes through Minneapolis.
I use frozen shrimp to catch them. 2 to 3 lbs is a good tasting fish.
I grill over a piece of foil with a little olive oil and pepper.
Then some corn meal biscuits. Corn is in season now so thats my veggie.

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Double-A

This is why our Northern Brethren think we're nuts down here in the southern part of the US. We use perfectly good shrimp to catch what many consider to be a fish not worth catching, let alone eating.

Well, let me tell you, there is little that a catfish can't do. Powdered up with cornmeal heavier than a baby with diaper rash and set free to swim in Lake Crisco (or for the more health conscious of you, some peanut oil), there is nothing so good.

Dusted with Voodoo spices and seasonings from Louisiana and flashed into a rocket hot iron skillet for blackend catfish, or gently poached in white wine and shallots, this is one fish that is tasty, delicate and worth every shrimp you bought and them some. Shrimp? Who needs shrimp when you can have crawfish and catfish etouffee? "Not I", said the boy from Texas.

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mmike032

deep fry dem suckers....hmmmmmm
catfish are bottom feeders ( or so I have always thought ) but still taste great..
you can catch catfish with just about anything that smells.
Soap works, and I bet you put a fresh turd on the hook and they'd bite that too.

easy sider

Ok, I rolled the catfish in flour,egg and corn meal and boiled them in oil. They were not bad. Im used to cod and halibut and find catfish more fun to catch than to eat. Thanks for the help.
Later
Bill

Tscarborough

To tell where a fish feeds, observe the location of it's mouth. Here is a bottom feeder, a carp:



See how his mouth faces down, just like this sturgeon:



Here is the mouth of a channel cat, notice how it is in the middle of his face:



Species that feed at the surface, like tarpon, have upturned mouths:

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silvertree

Us northern boys sometimes listen to you southern boys. I was baptized into fishing for cats when I lived in Kissimmee, Florida. My buddy and I were working building hotels and got into a fishing night after oiling the reels at Art's Paddle Wheel Bar. The locals had a bottle of "Rebel Yell", not sold north of the Mason Dixon line y'all. Lots of yellin and fishin later, we got our cats and had a fish fry, with hush puppies, something I never had before. Its now a tradition wherever I live.

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22rifle

Next time, don't use motor oil. -wink

22rifle

I spent a couple years in eastern OK. Had some decent catfish houses there. Catfish, fixings, and hushpuppies. About all they served. Man, I could eat a mess right now.