[drphoto]

Ok, I'm from the south. We've always had fried catfish here. But I tried making it myself lately. I used cornmeal breading with creole spices (home mix.......commercial stuff too salty for my taste) & lots of black pepper. No need for deep fryer. Just 1/4" oil in an electric skillet.

Catfish is tasty, but not fishy. Cheap......$5-6 lb and (hopefully) sustainable, farmed raised in the states. Can be a little hard to find. Dunno about you folks up north or in the west.

Gonna experiment and try to saute with the creole spice and no breading.

So give the lowly cat a try.

Oh, and of course, all commercially available fish (unless you live somewhere like New Orleans or elsewhere along a coast) is flash frozen at some point. I have no qualms about buying frozen fish. It's incredibly perishable, so unless high end seller,  I generally avoid the thawed stuff.

It's interesting that a lot of great food was born out of poverty, stuff like BBQ (how to deal with tough cuts of meat the rich discarded) or Coc o Vin (same deal with poulty.....the tough old hens that no longer lay eggs) Same with catfish. Anthony Bourdain talked about this a bit in his first big hit book "Kitchen Confidential" and again on his TV shows after he gained fame.

[Bob2]

Love catfish. 2nd only to Grouper. If I could get it fresh locally I would have it weekly. Blackened, is the best as far as I'm concerned..

[Tyson]

Grew up eating fried catfish.  Caught them in the ponds that were on my grandparent's farm in Texas.  That's good eatin'!

[ArthurDent]

Good eatin' to be sure. While occasionally available out here on the west coast, of course the better known offerings are salmon & halibut. I do miss it a lot. Used to catch them with my Dad, both pond/lake, and river cats back in the Midwest. 

[Wig]

I'm from the south as well and grew up eating tons of it! You've got to try Swai, it's so much better and cheaper...

[drphoto]

gonna try by sautéing in butter with the creole spices tonight. We'll see.......Tried flounder like that but in olive oil and where I found out commercial creole seasoning way too salty. Will use my own spice mix. I'm hoping butter, which is more traditional in saute will give a nice richness too. When butter browns a bit it gets really tasty. Just winging this one but that's what makes cooking fun.

Ok, quick update. Made it. Flavor good. Don't really like the texture. Cat a bit too soft for this style. Need something a little sturdier like, I dunno....red snapper?

Tried making cornbread griddle cakes, as I can't find my cast iron skillet to bake cornbread. They're.....meh. I think because I was out of baking powder and used half cornmeal and half self rising flour.....they don't have the cornbread texture. Plus pretty bland.

Greens (half collard/half kale) in crockpot turned out great.wilted greens in skillet along with onion and some chopped garlic, put in cooker with veg broth and added a few splashes of liquid smoke, soy sauce & bit of hot pepper flake. No pork but not missed. Although ham hocks do add more depth to the flavor and the fat released gives better mouth feel.

[Rob Babcock]

I'll eat catfish if I have to but I'm not a big fan.  Really I'm not much into freshwater fish with a few exceptions.  I don't mind cat if you soak it in buttermilk overnight, then standard breading procedure (ie seasoned flour > egg wash > crumbs/cornmeal) and fry it.  I agree, not fishy but not a lot of taste of its own.  Nice with some remoulade sauce.

[Imperial]

In Norway we do have and unbeleavable about of catfish alene our shores. So you can get IT fresh and in unending amounts.
IT feeds locally mostly on clams and blue shells and sea urchin.
So the taste is the best in the world... You better beleave IT.
So.... White Whine.
Marinate IT for 3 days...
 Then.oven bake IT....
Best way!

[Art_Chicago]

In Norway we do have and unbeleavable about of catfish alene our shores. So you can get IT fresh and in unending amounts.
IT feeds locally mostly on clams and blue shells and sea urchin.
So the taste is the best in the world... You better beleave IT.
So.... White Whine.
Marinate IT for 3 days...
 Then.oven bake IT....
Best way!

intersting-- do you marinate and bake the whole fish then?

[max190]

catfish......hell yes



Nothing like catching flathead or channel cats and frying them up. That is good eating.

[ArthurDent]

catfish......hell yes



Nothing like catching flathead or channel cats and frying them up. That is good eating.

    

[Scott F.]

I'm a huge fried catfish fan     

Catfish, mashed taters with brown gravy, corn on the cob and a slice of buttered up sweet cornbread...man, that's livin' right there.

[Bob in St. Louis]

I'm a huge fried catfish fan     

Catfish, mashed taters with brown gravy, corn on the cob and a slice of buttered up sweet cornbread...man, that's livin' right there.

*Bump*
Cause.... well, yea. It just deserves it.