I've gotta ask

[JoJoDapyro]

Dave, I have had the same experience with Venison, Duck, Goose, Moose, pretty much you name it, and people will say they hate it and yet eat 2 servings. Channel Catfish is another that you have to fib on what they are eating. I can't say as I blame them, If you want me to try something new, just tell me to eat it. Then tell me what it is after.

Do you have any special details for grilling? Thanks for all the replies.

[JW_Halverson]

Dave, I have had the same experience with Venison, Duck, Goose, Moose, pretty much you name it, and people will say they hate it and yet eat 2 servings. Channel Catfish is another that you have to fib on what they are eating. I can't say as I blame them, If you want me to try something new, just tell me to eat it. Then tell me what it is after.

Do you have any special details for grilling? Thanks for all the replies.

I went to a First Nations Game Feed once up in Canada, near The Pas, Manitoba.  This was long before Andrew Zimmern was laying down his tag line..."if it looks good, eat it!"  It was also long before the US military  edict of don't ask don't tell.  Those were the two guiding principals I went by and they served me well.  Everything was good, most of it was cooked in a manner I had not tried, and I had happy tummy syndrome before it was all finished. 

The only thing I really had a clear picture on ingredients was the soup at the end of the line.  There was this 6'4" Native that must have weighed all of a hundred twenty pounds and wearing a huge grin on his face as he saw me approach.  He swirled the ladle in that big old pot and said with glee, "RAT SOUP!"  I stuck out the bowl and said fill'er up!  He said again, "RAT SOUP!"  I grinned like Dan'l Boone shinin' a possum out of a tree and said, "Gimme some of that!" 

Poor feller, I stole his fun. His grin collapsed and he muttered, "Aw, it's only muskrat and cattail roots."  Sweeter than cottontail, nowhere near as stringy as jackrabbit, and the earthy starchiness of the cattail roots blended perfectly in the rich broth.  Delicious.

Now enough chewing around the bull, make with the recipes, JoJo!

[Marc St Louis]

Here is a simple recipe I have used many times. 

Sprinkle the fillets with lemon/pepper and grill in butter.  Carp has a soft flesh so I find it's best to grill them till they squeal for mercy.  They're also full of bones so watch out

I have also put the fillets through a meat grinder and made cakes, you don't have to worry about the bones then.  Cook with salt and pepper and serve as a sandwich with your favorite condiment or with veggies and potatoes

[JoJoDapyro]

OK, I'm gonna go in the morning and do it. Wish me luck. Photos to follow.

[lebhuntfish]

I have eaten them several ways, fried, pressure cooked, grilled and baked. I would say that pressure cooked and made into patties just like you would make salmon patties is my favorite. And if you don't want to cook them, just cut them into about 1" cubes and freeze them. They make awesome bait, one of the biggest flathead acts I ever caught on my jugs was on a carp nugget. He weighed 74lbs! And I know they are awesome to eat.

As far as the carp goes, when you clean them try to cut out the red streak in the filet, it's really fishy tasting. Good luck! Patrick

[Hillbilly]

I will eat and enjoy most kinds of fish, such as gar and others that many folks won't, but I just can't like carp. Too strong of a fishy taste for me, and a soft texture. There are way too many good eating fish in America to be eatin' carp.

[Hillbilly]

Dave, I have had the same experience with Venison, Duck, Goose, Moose, pretty much you name it, and people will say they hate it and yet eat 2 servings. Channel Catfish is another that you have to fib on what they are eating. I can't say as I blame them, If you want me to try something new, just tell me to eat it. Then tell me what it is after.

Do you have any special details for grilling? Thanks for all the replies.

Catfish? Really? I don't think I've ever met anybody in my life who didn't love fried channel cats?

[JW_Halverson]

Dave, I have had the same experience with Venison, Duck, Goose, Moose, pretty much you name it, and people will say they hate it and yet eat 2 servings. Channel Catfish is another that you have to fib on what they are eating. I can't say as I blame them, If you want me to try something new, just tell me to eat it. Then tell me what it is after.

Do you have any special details for grilling? Thanks for all the replies.

Catfish? Really? I don't think I've ever met anybody in my life who didn't love fried channel cats?

I have had so much soft, mushy, flaccid, greasy, muddy, crap-toast catfish that for years I thought of them as trash fish.  I worked in aquaculture and was fed some of the "best" farm raised cats cooked by Michelin starred chefs and frankly I think the plate it was served on was better.  I have been served fresh caught from Mississippi and Louisiana and Tennessee and it was all the same.  Tasted like the mud the cat swam over. 

Then I tasted the cats out of the coldwater gates below Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota.  Those Missouri River cats live in cold water all their lives, they live in heavy current and are bull-strong and razorback-ornery.  Three pounds of that on the end of a line is like hooking into a15 lbs of fresh sea-run steelhead, just without the jumps!  And when filleted, the meat is paper white, firm, and nicely flavored. 

Just leaves me scratching my head why so much catfish being served is all but inedible???

[lebhuntfish]

I personally love catfish! I only eat what I catch and almost never from a restaurant. Most of the cats I catch are in lake pom de teere in Missouri. We jug fish, trout line, and pole fish. All of our fish are purged in fresh water until the water runs clear for 24 hours.

We fill a stock tank with fresh water and put our days catch in it. The stock tank is on a bit of an incline so the water will run over the edge on one side. We put our fish in and leave the hose running slowly so that it just skims over the down hill edge. The first day the water is almost dark brown and after about 4 or 5 day's the water is crystal clear and about 75 degrees the night before we clean them we put about 50lbs of ice in the water and turn the hose off. We clean them first thing in the morning. Most of the time we will have about 30 plus fish when we do this. If we only have a few we don't do the ice thing.  The fish taste awesome and the meat is white and stiff and cooks up really fluffy.  A lot of work but it's well worth it. Patrick

[JoJoDapyro]

I agree on the farm raised cats tasting like crap. I had never bought farm raised, I only caught them. I did buy farm raised a few times, and all of them tasted like crap.

[Hillbilly]

Absolutely dead-on about the catfish. There are few fish better than wild-caught catfish. There are few fish worse than farm-raised catfish. farm-raised catfish taste like carp.

[JoJoDapyro]

I guess I need to take a step back in what I said. My Grandparents live near a Catfish farm in Nevada. I have caught them out of those ponds and they were great. Maybe the time between catch and table? I know that freezing doesn't really matter in fish. In fact, most great sushi places use frozen fish, as just like other meat, it needs to cure before it is at its peak flavor. Maybe Catfish are better fresh? Who knows, I can only say I have never enjoyed store bought catfish. I was lazy today and yesterday and didn't get up to go chuck some spears. Maybe tonight.

[Pat B]

My favorite catfish are about 4" to 6" long, skinned, gutted, rolled in seasoned flour and cornmeal and dropped in hot grease. Right out of the river is best. Served with hush puppies, coleslaw and extra cold beer. 

[lebhuntfish]

Man Pat, that sounds good! I haven't river fished for cats in years! The way I do them make them vast like they come out of the river!

[Hillbilly]

My favorite catfish are about 4" to 6" long, skinned, gutted, rolled in seasoned flour and cornmeal and dropped in hot grease. Right out of the river is best. Served with hush puppies, coleslaw and extra cold beer. 

I don't recall seeing you turn down or spit out any filleted, fried 15"-50" long catfish that we've fried up over the years, either.