# Bought a whole catfish, now what?



## i <3 vodka (Jun 21, 2008)

I was at Winco the other day and they had a whole, unfrozen catfish for $7 or so and out of curiosity I bought it..

Now, I never cooked one before. How should I cook this thing for the first time?


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I like it best steamed Asian style. Here are some excellent instructions:

Steamed Fish | Steamed Fish Recipe | Rasa Malaysia: Asian Recipes and Cooking

It's often filleted, battered and fried. Also good smoked, But steamed with ginger, scallions, garlic and soy is just YUM.

Phil


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

Fillet, S&P, flour, pan fry, hush puppies on the side


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## chefhow (Oct 16, 2008)

I like to Wok "fry" mine and serve it with a sizzling peanut sauce. Cut the fish into chunks, pat dry and season with a little salt and pepper and corn starch. In a wok bring peanut oil up heat just before it starts to smoke and gently add the catfish pieces. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel. 

For the sauce, 
take 1/2 cup of the peanut oil from the wok
1" very finely shredded ginger
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks green onions
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/4 cup of light soy
1tsp oyster sauce
1/2 cup of FINELY chopped peanuts
Puree the ginger, garlic, green onion and cilantro and lay it out in a very fine thin layer in a cookie sheet with tall sides. Sprinkle with the peanuts.
In a pan bring the peanut oil to the point of smoking, once it reaches that point very slowly pour over the peanut and puree mixture so it sizzles and cooks it. Mix that with the soy sauce and oyster sauce and serve with the catfish. You can make this up to one day in advance and hold in the fridge, it goes great with the very rare tuna as well.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Steamed with ginger and scallions. Smoked. Fried and in a po' boy. Fried with hush puppies. Piccatta with capers. Tempura.

Have fun skinning it.

BDL


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## mastercooker (Mar 31, 2009)

Here are 5 steps for cooking a catfish:

*Grill:
*_Direct Heat_ - Heat charcoal or gas grill. Brush grill grate with oil or spray a large piece of foil with cooking spray. Spread fillets in a single layer on foil and place on grill rack. Cook 5 to 6 minutes per side over Medium to Medium-Hot coals with lid closed.

_Indirect Heat_ - Move Medium-Hot coals to one side of grill or heat half of gas grill. Place fillets directly on cool side of grill grate. Cook 15 minutes with lid closed. Do not turn fish.

*Bake:*
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spread fillets in a single layer on baking pan. Bake uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness, until fish is cooked completely (see note below).

*Pan Fry:*
Heat a small amount of oil or butter in a skillet over Medium-High heat. Cook fillets 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning once.

*Pan Broil:*
Heat a nonstick skillet over Medium-High heat. Cook 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning once. Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray, if desired.

*Microwave:*
Spray microwave-safe dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut fillet in half and turn so thick center portions are to outside of dish. Microwave one fillet at a time on High for 6 to 8 minutes.


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Hope you know how to filet it. Assuming you do filet it cut filets into pieces approx 2 1/2 ounces then serve 3 peices per.dip in a batter then fry at about 320 then serve with corn fritters or hush puppies. Yum Yum good luck


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## abefroman (Mar 12, 2005)

Does it still have the skin on?

If so you can nail it to a tree, cut a circle at the top, and then pull the skin off with pliers.


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

I am sure health department would not like that. Surely your not serious?


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## abefroman (Mar 12, 2005)

That's how we used to do it in the country


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## bubbamom (Jan 30, 2002)

That's how we STILL do it in the country although we sometimes just nail it to a board and skin.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Give me the catfish and I'll worry about it 

Pretty much the same as skinning eel - wood, nail, rip off skin. Eels can be pretty feisty to send to heaven, tho.


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## unichef (Aug 14, 2000)

If you are down south you need to marinade it in mustard and deep fry.


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

last july, our american holiday was a cottage (shack) at lake Murray NC and my husband went fishing with a very enthusiastic neighbour. Very long story short. We , or rather I, had a cool box full of catfish and striped bass to deal with.

~Now I can handle the bass, but no idea with catfish. Well my manly, butch hubby heard the details of nailing the head to a tree etc and repatriated them pronto, seeing as they were still alive. Me n Gregor, our youngest (15) cheered them on as they lethargically swam to freedom. 
There's something rather grotesque about freeing one species while enthusiastically developing a marnade foranother.

So no recipe for catfish. Still waiting to even taste it


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## dillbert (Jul 2, 2008)

okay, let's do fact & fiction.

most fish have scales; you peel the scales off, cook the fish with or without the skin layer.

catfish do not have scales. they have a slimy skin. it does not cook well. hence the theory of skinning the fish. a good one, imho. it may be imho, but I've met a few catfish on the line and plate.

eel has a similar issue. eel is quite tasty. it's also quite slimy when caught. if you can't deal with the slime, you're unlikely to deal with the thyme, regards eels.

so, anyway.... skinning a catfish is not altogether a simple exercise. you slit the belly, then grab the flaps with pliers and pull off the skin. afixing the head firmly to "something" is a good approach - now driving a nail through the fish's head while it's alive vs dead is an ethics issue vs a effective mechanical issue.

whether you prefer to have the fish slowly die flopping around in air or die quickly by a nail through the brain, your choice.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Well I hope it's been cooked by now . . . either that or frozen.


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## i <3 vodka (Jun 21, 2008)

I just ended up baking it in oven. It didn't taste anything special. Tasted like the typical white meat fish.


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