Big catfish cooking

[Star1pup]

Has anyone cooked a biug channel catfish, say up to almost 4'?  A neighbor has some he'd like removed from a farm pond, but I hate to waste anything I can eat.  I usually just eat the smaller catfish up to about 18" or 20".

I've even thought about trying to smoke some of the big fillets.

[charles p]

Two fellows I hunt with also have a fish camp.  They only fish for big catfish with live panfish for bait.  They cut the flesh into chunks.  Before they batter and fry the chunks, they cover it with yellow mustard for 30 minutes.  Helps the flavor and you never taste the mustard.  This will also work for fish that are slightly freezer burned.

[blind ear]

Taste one for flavor before dressing them all.  Dont use any seasoning. If they are on flavor (taste good)  they won't need doctoring, soaking with buttermilk or smearing with mustard or such things, to taste good.  If off flavor you have to wash them out or you are probably wasteing your time.

 If they are on flavor you can dress them whole and steak them or fillett them and cut the fillets into steaks. Fillett steaks might end up inch or so square fingers that are easy to cook. Steaks cut fron whole fish are a little harder to cook successfully because of the different flesh thicknesses and bones.  Cut between the rib bones like cutting up a slab of pork ribs to avoid picking out bone  fragments while eating the fish.

Catfish is an oily fish and you would have to smoke it in a pan or on a wire rack, not hanging from a limb. If smoked It is best if eaten when cooked. You can freeze it raw and smoke it when ever you want to.

For smokeing I use some medium sweet white wine with a little soy sauce and some basil and garlic salt added. Put the fish in a pan and just enough marinade to cover the bottom of the pan and baste the fish a few times. Have a little extra baste made up so you can add a little if needed. Use pecan wood without bark for the smoke. When it flakes it is done.

 Jaw muscles are good to.

If they are off flavor keep them alive in fresh water for three days and the bad flavor will wash out. Then dress them.

Real bad flavor can be changed to excellent fish with 3 days in fresh water. Plenty of aeriation started before you put the fish in the trough and no clorinated city or clorinated water association water.

Big yellows/flat heads will only bite live bait especially panfish and crawfish. You can catch big blues bateing with dead snakes, cut bait or stink bait, most anything.

 ear

[Star1pup]

They should be good here as this is a spring fed farm pond.  My smoker is electric with wire grills.

[squirrellluck]

Don't forget to cut off the yellow meat or good fish taste rough. We skin them cut off the yellow then start at the tail and steak them(cut between the bones through the vertebrae). Cut the belly meat off and finger it(cut into strips).Drag it through the buttermilk, roll it in cornmeal with salt, pepper, and Tony's and deep fry. MMMMM

[chefjeff]

Thanks for the 411 last two posters. Seems like I prefer about a 18" channel cat above all others.

[Star1pup]

Thanks for the 411 last two posters. Seems like I prefer about a 18" channel cat above all others.

Me too, but these things seem to be eating everything elsde the guy tries to stock.  This is a small pond and they should probably be removed.  I just hate to not use them if we catch them.

[squirrellluck]

We like the big 'uns. Run set hooks with 10-12 ought hooks. Bait with hand sized blue gill.

[rockbilly]

I think the big fish are a lot like game animals, it's all in how they are processed.

I prefer the smaller fish, but have eaten many big ones, first I hang the fish, head up, alive, and make several deep cuts along the tail and let it bleed out before skinning and cutting into small pieces, make sure to cut the FAT away.  I like to soak in buttermilk, take it out and put it directly in a bag filled with cornmeal, salt and pepper to taste, shaake it until fully coated then deep fry until golden brown.  There is usually non left on the platter after dinner.

The largest we ever ate was just under 47 pounds.