Unk wrote: ↑Mon Apr 19, 2021 2:12 am
KJ, Catfish are bottom feeders,
Catfish will actually rise to a fly.
Yes they will, and I’ve caught a couple on top water lures while bass fishing. They will also readily take minnows, and of course night crawlers.
Roland there are many different species within the catfish family. They don’t have scales, instead they have skin like a trout. Some get huge and live to very old age (for a fish) of 40 or 50 years. Those are typically not very good table fare. What is sold in most restaurants are channel catfish, raised by and harvested from fish farms on a diet of corn. Prepared properly the filets are light and flaky - need to be freshly cooked and served promptly. If left sitting after cooking the meat becomes soggy. I like the filets battered and deep fried, broiled or blackened. When done right they’re delicious and do not taste “fishy”. Freshly caught wild channel catfish is even better.
Ken
Member AKTI, TSRA, NRA.
If your religion requires that you hate someone, you need a new religion.
When the people fear their government, that is tyranny. When government fears the people, that is freedom.
Catfish have to be “cleaned” right to keep them from tasting fishy. But when prepared correctly, and fried, they’re delicious.
I usually fish for them about 6 inches or so off the bottom. But I have caught them on artificial minnows when bass fishing too. I bet hooking one on a fly rod was a hoot and a half!
jerryd6818 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 19, 2021 3:02 am
Anybody here ever telephone for catfish? Ya take an old wall mounted crank phone and connect a couple of wires to it and throw the leads over opposite sides of the (wooden) boat. One to the positive and the other to the negative. Then someone sits there and cranks that phone like they're calling someone (Hey Mable!!!) and someone else dips them catfish up with a dip net as they roll to the top of the water. Some are too big and they will just lay down on the bottom and stir up the mud. If the game warden comes along, Pitch that phone over the side and get rid of it 'cause telephoning cat fish is against the law. Or at least it is/was in Illinois in the 50's.
I’ve heard of that, never done it. I’ve also heard of using the coil off an old model A too, same general principle. And from what I gather the gut and feathers boys take a real dim view of either. lol.
“There are things in the old Book which I may not be able to explain, but I fully accept it as the infallible word of God, and receive its teachings as inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
Robert E. Lee
kootenay joe wrote: ↑Mon Apr 19, 2021 1:36 am
Is catfish like a sucker, rather oily flesh ?
I've never found it to be obnoxiously oily. However, it does have a very strong "fishy" taste.
We don’t abide fishy tasting catfish here. That’ll close a restaurant down quick in this area. Most of the time the fishy taste come from not cutting out the “mud vein” we call it.
“There are things in the old Book which I may not be able to explain, but I fully accept it as the infallible word of God, and receive its teachings as inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
Robert E. Lee
Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:47 pm
Wade, red sauce is ketchup and horseradish, with a dash of Worcestershire and a dash of tobasco. The base is ketchup. Then you add the other ingredients to taste. A generic red sauce in most restaurants is bland .mostly ketchup with a little horseradish) but they usually have the other stuff on the table so you can add it as you like.
Ken
Ken that sounds delicious! I LOVE horseradish!
I’ve always been a fan of ketchup on my fried fish, but that concoctions sounds even better.
Wade, now you’ve got the basic recipe. Just get some ketchup, some ground horseradish, Worcestershire and Tabasco, and start experimenting. A little lemon juice mixed in is good also. I’d start with a cup of ketchup,then add a tablespoon of horseradish (depends on how strong your horseradish is - I usually end up using 3 or 4 tablespoons to a cup of ketchup), about a half-teaspoon each of the other spices, then start tasting and adding to the ketchup until you get what you like. If you overdo it you can a little more ketchup to weaken it. It’s great on all kind of fish, fried or boiled shrimp, fried or raw oysters, etc.
Ken
Member AKTI, TSRA, NRA.
If your religion requires that you hate someone, you need a new religion.
When the people fear their government, that is tyranny. When government fears the people, that is freedom.
I like me some catfish that first plate is just missing a bottle of hot sauce---I like Heinz 57 on fried fish...these catfish that people bring in off the bay are fishy tasting to me theres a couple good places to buy fresh fish but always bad flavor to it..I used to bring it back from Mo. off them fish farms & it was good eating..I'll have to fry fish this week...
Unk wrote: ↑Mon Apr 19, 2021 2:12 amWe had a Cajun restaurant (Babin's) we ate at down in Houston every week or two. We always had two blackened catfish fillets, over dirty rice, covered in a lemon butter cream sauce with capers and crawfish.
That sounds excellent.
USN 2000-2006
Adaptable and (usually) affable knife enthusiast, unsure of his knife collecting destination but enjoying the journey
Case taste, Rough Ryder budget
Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:47 pm
Wade, red sauce is ketchup and horseradish, with a dash of Worcestershire and a dash of tobasco. The base is ketchup. Then you add the other ingredients to taste. A generic red sauce in most restaurants is bland .mostly ketchup with a little horseradish) but they usually have the other stuff on the table so you can add it as you like.
Ken
Ken that sounds delicious! I LOVE horseradish!
I’ve always been a fan of ketchup on my fried fish, but that concoctions sounds even better.
Wade, now you’ve got the basic recipe. Just get some ketchup, some ground horseradish, Worcestershire and Tabasco, and start experimenting. A little lemon juice mixed in is good also. I’d start with a cup of ketchup,then add a tablespoon of horseradish (depends on how strong your horseradish is - I usually end up using 3 or 4 tablespoons to a cup of ketchup), about a half-teaspoon each of the other spices, then start tasting and adding to the ketchup until you get what you like. If you overdo it you can a little more ketchup to weaken it. It’s great on all kind of fish, fried or boiled shrimp, fried or raw oysters, etc.
Ken
That sounds like the basic recipe for what we always called cocktail sauce here. And I agree it’s some kind of delicious on seafood. I’ve just never thought to put in on my catfish. I’ll have to remedy that!
“There are things in the old Book which I may not be able to explain, but I fully accept it as the infallible word of God, and receive its teachings as inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
Robert E. Lee
PigStikr wrote: ↑Mon Apr 19, 2021 12:34 pm
I like me some catfish that first plate is just missing a bottle of hot sauce---I like Heinz 57 on fried fish...these catfish that people bring in off the bay are fishy tasting to me theres a couple good places to buy fresh fish but always bad flavor to it..I used to bring it back from Mo. off them fish farms & it was good eating..I'll have to fry fish this week...
Oh don’t worry, it got a liberal dousing in hot sauce right after I took that pic!
I agree, the water the fish come out of do make a difference in the taste.
“There are things in the old Book which I may not be able to explain, but I fully accept it as the infallible word of God, and receive its teachings as inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
Robert E. Lee
Fried catfish sounds like a delicious Southern delicacy! I know that fried catfish served with mandarin orange salad is a beloved dish in many regions, especially in the Southern United States. Its crispy exterior and tender, flaky interior make it a popular choice for seafood lovers. The accompaniments you mentioned—fries, fried okra, slaw, and hush puppies—sound like they would complement the catfish perfectly. It's great to hear about regional culinary specialties like this!
