Catfish: Totally Underappreciated?

Question

I just want to rant on how awesome I think catfish is. To be honest, I used to be snobby and knock catfish as being a cheap, dirty, low-class fish. I considered it the pig of the sea in a land where beef and chicken rule. But now, I realized that I've never had catfish that wasn't delicious.

Catfish is wonderfully flavorful and distinct, unlike other fish that can pretty much taste however you want it to taste like. I think the image of catfish as being a poor man's fish is totally unfair and I definitely would like to see it on more high-end restaurants. Catfish doesn't just belong on the fried seafood menu anymore. I think chefs can do so much more with it. It's always fresh and has a high turnover rate. I don't see why it shouldn't be just as appreciated as any other fish out there!

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I love it dredged in cornmeal, pan fried and drizzled with fresh lemon juice.

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I love it fried. It is a sweet tasting fish which I thought I would never eat. My hubby encouraged me to try some of his awhile back and I was surprised to say the least at how yummy it was.

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man i miss eating fresh catfish. when living in new orleans it was so easy to find it. but now in nc can't find it that easily. especially love it the vietnamese caramel way called ca kho to. but my mom never did it in a claypot.

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I'm confused. There is catfish, small whole fish usually breaded and fried, had it in Southern Indiana, and there is "ocean catfish", a larger fish you buy in fillets. Is the term "catfish" derogatory like "dogfish"? are they two species? which is which? I actually preferred the ocean catfish but would love to try the other prepared another way.

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Sometimes when I had catfish I found the meat to have a "mud" taste. Does that mean that the catfish is of low quality? What contributed to the mud taste?

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yea you right! my friend had a cajun restaurant on long island and came up with an amazing recipe.he published it in his own cookbook later.the 1st time i had my (future) wife for dinner i made it.it was panfried catfish smothered in a crawfish/mushroom/cream sauce.what a great dish!

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huh. guess I'm cheap, dirty and low-class to some people them. I assume others share your former views?

I like catfish.

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I've never eaten catfish (that I know of). Since it seems to be a far-from-endangered, sustainable food source, I'm open to any suggestions re. selecting and preparing catfish. I'm ready to introduce this new (to me) food into my diet.

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We eat it often, dredged in a mix half cornmeal and half flour, panfried, sprinkled with Emeril's seasoning, and served with some cooked up fresh jalpenos.

I think it tastes great and the fact that it's always under $8/pound makes it even better. I never feel like I've sacrificed taste or quality when I make catfish.

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i love blackened catfish with conch fritters. YUM.

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Maybe I've only had good catfish? Perhaps I grew up thankfully w/o any of this trashfish/bottomfeeder nonsense(it's both, but the onus placed upon the fish in some areas is frankly odd)??? Try catfish in the Texas Hill Country...a food memory I treasure from my childhood: Camp Warnecke/New Braunfels, Guadalupe River rapids, and tensile, fresh, snow white-fleshed catfish fried to perfection in pepper-speckled cornmeal batter. Oh, and hushpuppies. Failing that "catfish in claypot" is a favorite Vietnamese preparation and couldn't be more different than the one described before.

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This amazes me. I've never had catfish that didn't have a somewhat muddy or ick flavor, and I've tried to like it. And I'm a seafood lover! I'd think I've only had farm raised.

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In a recent edition of "Cooks" magazine, they recommended soaking Catfish (or any other "muddy" tasting fish in buttermilk for 30-60 minutes; I did this then dredged in cornmeal & fried & it was divine! Highly recommended.

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One of the reasons catfish became known as a "poor mans fish" is that basically all you need is a cane pole and fresh water access. They are pretty easy to catch, don't really require expensive bait, and can live in varied types of fresh water as opposed to,say trout which requires a bit more finesse and has more limited range. Through out the South you will frequently see folks with a cane pole fishing by the side of the road catching catfish. The farm raised fish (which really seemed to start taking off in the late "70's) generally have a cleaner taste and more consistent size & texture than the wild caught fish. Some prefer farmed, some prefer wild...

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Another factor may be ocean vs. fresh water. A friend of mine who was raised in Arkansas liked only fresh-water fish. I prefer sea fish. Even fresh-caught mountain trout cooked over a campfire at 8,000 feet (with cornmeal and bacon) isn't as tasty to me as say, rex sole from the market.

Social status, unfortunately, also cnters in. Catfish has often been considered a poor people's dish because it's less expensive to catch then say, salmon.

I've caught catfish that didn't taste at all muddy to me. Tough to skin, though. Nail them to a tree and go to work with pliers.

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First, catfish rocks. I agree with many, fried is the best way to eat it. Almost as good is steaming it chinese style. Steam first with scallions, pour hot oil over it with some soy and wine mixture. Excellent.

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"Catfish nuggets" are even more underappreciated. They are the flap of belly that is cut from the fish prior to fillet preparation.

They cost about 1/3 the price of the fillet. I like to think of them as "Catfish Ventresca", and get them regularly for $1.49, often .99 on sale.

They are like a finger-sized piece of meat, and you can quickly trim them to yield nice pieces (already bite-sized) for either cornmeal frying or for steaming with scallions and black beans. The trimming "waste" can be used for chowder or mild fish salad.

The only drawback is that you need to examine (by sliding your finger along) each piece, as occasionally some stub of ventral fin will be present and needs to be cut out. That takes maybe a total of one minute per pound.

At 99 cents a pound, and a sustainably farmed resource, low mercury and decent Omega source, it's a great deal.

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We have lots of catfish farms around here, and even more places to eat catfish. I've had it fried, grilled, blackened, steamed, and with about every kind of sauce that you can imagine. Probably my favorite was a simple grilled catfish topped with some spicy crawfish etouffe...

I don't know if it is because farm raised catfish are always so easily found fresh around here, but I have *never* detected any muddy taste at all- in fact the fish itself seems pretty mild and lends itself well to whatever is added to it, whether it be a fancy sauce or just some cornmeal. I love the stuff!

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On the farm-raised topic: My fishmonger told me that US farm-raised catfish is the way to go if you don't like the "muddy" flavor. If you are at a reputable fish market they will most likely have reputable US farm-raised catfish, that was monitored so that it didn't feed on the muck that makes the muddy taste. However, since most consumers equate farm with bad and wild with good, a lot of fish markets sell wild catfish because wild sells quicker. Best thing to do is find a good fish guy who will learn your tastes over time and be honest with you about what's best to buy.

And for a side note... I feel like bluefish gets the same rap. I love it but people usually turn up their noses. Too fishy?

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Hare are some neat PDF's from the catfish industry:

processing:

http://aquanic.org/publicat/usda_rac/efs/srac/183fs.pdf

Testing for the "muddy flavors"

http://aquanic.org/publicat/usda_rac/efs/srac/431fs.pdf

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I am a southern girl through and through, and I adore catfish.

But I wouldn't call it seafood! For me, it has to swim in salt water to be seafood. I live on salt water; does anyone eat saltwater cats? I'm game to try them if someone says they're good to eat.

Catfish does have a distinct flavor, although I have eaten catfish that was so mild that I wouldn't have been able to identify it as catfish. i don't think that it's as much of an issue of wild vs. farmed fish. 

My favorite catfish meal is so good and so bad for you! I want the fish cut into fingers and fried with a cornmeal-influenced dredge - a bit on the spicy side, please. I want fried okra AND French fries as sides, and there must be cole slaw and crisp green onions. I want a bite of green onion with every bite of fish. And I want cornbread with jalapeños baked in it with my catfish. Collard or mustard greens with pepper vinegar is optional.

Now I'm hungry!

B

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Catfish: Totally Underappreciated?

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