so im getting into cat fishing a lot more this year, i find myself thinking about it constantly. i think more because we have kept a few of them and cooked them up, and was i very surprised! my first time eating catfish this year and it was awesome!
with that said i was curious about everyone else and how they cook their catfish? ive heard the only way to cook catfish is to fry it, but i wanna hear whats preferred and whats not so good.
A couple weeks ago I cooked mine up on the grill. I filleted it, skinned it and placed it on foil. I did not cover it but left it open and made a small “dish” out of the foil. I then seasoned it and squeezed a lemon over it. I cooked it on the top rack over medium heat for around 30 minutes. It turned out fantastic. Served it on a bed of rice with the lemon and juice it made, The only other way I have done it is frying it. Frying was probably better tasting but the grill was a lot healthier.
Later,
Chris
I’m not big on catfish but sometimes when my kiddos catch them we keep a couple for dinner. It provides hours of entertainment for them playing with the fish in the livewell 
. The only way I like it is to fillet them, cut 'em in to chunks, dip them in beaten eggs and throw them in a bag of Italian seasoned bread crumbs. I fry them until they are very crispy, I don’t like the texture of catfish-too mushy. They crispy crust makes it tasty.
After I fillet them I ‘re-fillet’ the dark colored…goop? off the skin sides of the fillets.
Try this: Fillet the fish & cut it into about finger sized strips. Take 1 cup of Bisquick, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp. salt & 1/4 tsp. pepper & a beer. Mix em together using enough beer to make a batter that’s just a little thinner than pancake batter. Dip & deep fry the strips until they’re just darker than golden brown. Drain em, let em cool & eat 'till you bust. Some like some lemon juice too.
Catfish are a favorite with more and more Utah anglers. They have a good firm flesh with a mild flavor. However, they are oilier than some other species and their dense flesh requires more cooking time to firm it up and cook off excess oils and moisture. If your catfish is “mushy” it is because you did not let it cook long enough.
I love fried catfish. But, if you are trying to reduce the amount of fats in your diet you can cook them plenty of other ways. Use the thinner fillets from “cookie cutter” kitties…under 20 inches. Or, cut larger fillets into finger strips. This helps them to cook faster and more thoroughly.
I have posted several recipes in the past. Follow these links for some pics and recipes.
Also a couple of PDF files.
Enjoy
Nice post TubeDude! Appreciate the past post links and PDFs - very helpful.
I read in a fish cooking book a prep method - not quite a fillet - but it was pretty quick and easy. Good for smaller cats anyway. (I’ll try to remember to get the reference - several notes about handling of catch I hadn’t realized/thought of.)
Slice through the skin behind the head-bone, down the side. Then along the length of the back. Pull back skin with pliers. Then snap the head down, and pull out the innards/belly. Leaves the meat on the bone.
Wrapped in foil (salt/pepper, lemon) I stuffed some fresh thyme/sage inside. Then set on the grill - about 10 minutes.
Tender flakey white meat - fell right of the bone. Great with a bed of rice.
My wife has a thing about fried foods at all, and especially fried fish in the house. I’ve never tried smoking catfish. But I haven’t met a smoked food I don’t like!
"I read in a fish cooking book a prep method - not quite a fillet - but it was pretty quick and easy. Good for smaller cats anyway. (I’ll try to remember to get the reference - several notes about handling of catch I hadn’t realized/thought of.) "
**I am very familiar with that method. I used to use it myself when I lived in central California and caught lots of smaller white catfish. If your kitties are too small to fillet efficiently, the skinning method is okay. But anything over about 12 inches is better to fillet. **
**Those who tout the cut and skin method claim it is a ten second process. Unless you have a lot of experience, the right tools and strong hands it will take you more than ten seconds…a lot more. I can fillet and skin a cat faster than the cut and skin method. And you don’t have to pick the meat off the bones after cooking. And there are more cooking options for small fillets than for whole skinned fish. **
i fry my kittys wit equal parts flour and corn meal seasoned with creole seasoning and some salt n pepper dip the nuggets into egg wash first and fry em up in half lard half canola oil. serve em up wit some hush puppies and green beans…mmmm mmm son thats some good eats.
**I don’t have an oven (my dad does, but it’s old and breaking down), so I either fry or slow-cooker stuff.
I recently tried a chowder recipe, and the fish was just fine, but the stock was ‘watery’/thin - it was milk, and didn’t thicken up at all. I may try to find another recipe and try it again.
Everybody seems to fry their fish with eggs and some sort of powder coating of flour or crumbs. I don’t really like crispy stuff, and would prefer soft. So I made up a recipe!
I mixed a couple spoonfulls of sour cream with parmesan cheese and spices (I used the McCormic salt-free all purpose…Ms Dash kinda stuff). I spread this over both sides of the fillets, then cook them like usual in melted butter enough to coat the pan bottom. Nummy for my tummy!
**
Couple notes on smokin’ fish: (my wife always jokes - “How do you keep them lit?”)
WOOD: I prefer to use a “lighter” wood for smoking fish. Alder, or the fruit woods - apple/cherry, rather than hickory or mesquite.
I love H&M for beef and pork, but I find the other woods impart a more subtle smoke flavor which lets the more delicate fish flavor come through.
Brine or Rub - makes ALL the difference. I used to smoke salmon w/o pre-treatment, and once I learned to brine my Mrs exclaimed “now THAT’s what it’s supposed to taste like”.
Had a round of rainbows from Hyrum that I filleted brined and smoked, and my 8 year old daughter liked them SO much she ate 13 fillets in one sitting! I pointed out she’d just ate 7 and a half fish! Zowie!
I like to use Sea Salt, it seems to have a more complex saltiness. I found a Hawaiian Salt that comes in big crystals. I especially like that in rubs on beef/pork cuts.
I’ve been a fan of “blackened fish” - especially on kitties. Found a premix “Cajun Rub” - but the family usually finds it a bit too hot. Not me!
Another option I enjoy when grilling fish is using a cedar plank (Woot had a wicked sale on them a while back). Soak it, then preheat one side, flip, lay the fish, and cook. Adds some smoke flavor as the edges brown, leaves the fish very moist as they get indirect heat.
Saw a cooking show where a guy made British Style Fish’n Chips. Two things he added to the batter - baking soda (dry) and club soda (wet), probably does the same as the bisquick - adds more rise to the batter.
I gotta find me some-a-them bigger cats so I can try my hand at filleting. Thanks for the photo-guide. Nice.
Smoking is another area of fish cookery in which everybody seems to develop their own personal preferences…for their own reasons. And that is the way it should be. Nothing is all right or all wrong. But you can really get some different results with seemingly minor changes in the recipes or procedures. And the more batches you turn out the more you learn…or think so anyway. Some people never learn nothin’. Bad grammar but true.
And, by the way, the main concern is not “How do you keep them lit”. It is “Which end do you light?”
There is another ingredient you can add to your batter mix…cornstarch. It is the thing that adds crunch to tempura and it imparts a nice crispy finish to most other batters too.
One of the things I have been doing a lot lately, on all kinds of fish dishes, is turning it into “faux shrimp”. I dissolve about 1/3 of a cube of shrimp bouillon (Caldo de Camaron) in a small amount of boiling water. Then I mix it with about a half a cube of butter (melted) and some garlic (to taste). You can use that stuff for dipping or to pour over your grilled or poached fish. See pics.
The Chinese style of tempura (dza twan ) is:
One egg
1/3 c. flour or rice flour
1/3 c. cornstarch
1/3 c. water
from there add seasonings like garlic chile powder, etc and eat with tartar or Chinese fish sauce, etc..
Add 1/2 tsp. baking powder and it acts more like English fish and chips. Beer instead of water helps the flavor.
Chinese hot and sour sauce ( Jen MaMa’s recipe from Tam Sui in Taiwan)
1/2 cup each Catsup, soysauce, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup rice vinegar.. Add Japanese peppers, white and black pepper, and garlic to taste…boil lightly.
Hot, sticky sweet and sour. I serve this with whole sea bass or the like at my Chinese new year party, but it is awesome on just about any white-fleshed fish.
Sounds good. I love sweet and sour and have tried a lot of different recipes. All good…some better than others. Yours sounds like it has all the right stuff.
I also like to stir fry small fillets…from perch, white bass, bluegills, etc. Mix with peanuts, veggies, soy, etc. Also make a great fish fried rice.
I cooked some up this afternoon and were they tasty! Here is what I used.
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup of pancake flour
1/3 cup of corn meal
1 tsp season salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
place ingredients in a gallon baggie and shake well.
Cut fillets into to two or three pieces and place in the baggie with the mixture and shake well.
Take your dutch oven on your camp chef and put about 11/2 inch of oil in it and heat oil. Place fillets in the hot oil and cook until golden brown. (approx 8 min) Remove fillets from oil and let cool for a few minutes .
I like malt vinegar or lemon juice on mine and salt to taste. Serve with cold slaw and steak frys.
Enjoy!