12-28-2007, 04:08 PM
Catfish are very similar, except the first step is to skin them. The easiest way to skin a catfish is to nail him to a tree. Put a 16 penny nail through his head and into a stout tree. Lightly cut around his head and fins as to free it when you begin your pull. Next, using a set of skinning pliers or just a good set of heavy pliers, get a good grip on the skin and start pulling. Once you get the skin off, you can remove the fish from the tree and begin your filleting process. You'll find it more difficult to fillet a catfish with the thick rib cage they have, but once you get through the rib cage, it very simple to finish the cut. You'll have to remove the rib bones from the front of the fillet, but once you do, the ending product is a boneless white fillet of fish. Rinse the fillet very good and remove any red tarnish meat from the fillet. The red meat is blood saturated and has a strong flavor.
I prefer to cut catfish into 1" squares, roll in batter, and deep fry. The beer batter is a great suggestion, as it makes for a mean plate of food. Add cole slaw, hush puppies, and a cold beer, and you're in happy land.
The biggest mistake people make when cleaning/preparing fish is leaving the dark meat on the fillet. It's not terrible or anything, but it does add a strong flavor to the piece of meat you take a bite of.
I prefer to eat Flathead catfish only, as they have a fishyless smell and taste. Blues aren't too bad either. I feel channel cats have a bit of a strong flavor, but that is to be expected based on the food habbits of this subspecies. They'll eat small live prey, but the bulk of their diet is the dead and/or stinky. And you know what they say, "you are what you eat."
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I prefer to cut catfish into 1" squares, roll in batter, and deep fry. The beer batter is a great suggestion, as it makes for a mean plate of food. Add cole slaw, hush puppies, and a cold beer, and you're in happy land.
The biggest mistake people make when cleaning/preparing fish is leaving the dark meat on the fillet. It's not terrible or anything, but it does add a strong flavor to the piece of meat you take a bite of.
I prefer to eat Flathead catfish only, as they have a fishyless smell and taste. Blues aren't too bad either. I feel channel cats have a bit of a strong flavor, but that is to be expected based on the food habbits of this subspecies. They'll eat small live prey, but the bulk of their diet is the dead and/or stinky. And you know what they say, "you are what you eat."
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