I Have Cought Some Catfish In The Past And Fried Them Up And They Tasted Muddy How Do You Go About Getting Rid Of The Taste Other Than Drowing Them In Some Kinda Sauce
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I Have Cought Some Catfish In The Past And Fried Them Up And They Tasted Muddy How Do You Go About Getting Rid Of The Taste Other Than Drowing Them In Some Kinda Sauce
We have that problem with Bullhead sometimes and we soak them in buttermilk and then scim the top liquid off before cooking
Fatman
This is a lot of work but here is how I do it. Take a sharp fillet knife and slit the gills where they connect to the top of the head. Hold the fish in a net until it bleeds out. I then gut them and toss the guts. Pack in ice. When home skin with a knife rather than pliers. Leave a eighth inch of meat on the skin. Next remove the lateral line area. Remove all yellow tissue. Next rinse the fillets in a container until all fat is skimmed off. At this point the fillet should smell like clean pure air. The muddy taste is probably coming from a chemical produced by a type of cyanobacteria The chemical is called methylisoborneol. It’s a big problem on commercial fish farms. They actually have a professional taste tester come in and sample the fish before the lot is sold to a buyer. Muddy flavor in fish is seasonal and will probably lesson later in the year!
We usually keep our catfish in a fish box with clean well water for a couple days before dressing 'em. This helps to clean they out some and get rid of that muddy taste.
... is a strong, overbearing taste, it could be the red meat that's causing it. Many members have stated that, if you filet off the reddish meat portion of your Catfish fillets, the strong (muddy ?) taste will be lessened or removed.
I can't personally verify this, as I've seldom kept Catfish to eat. And the ones I did keep/eat ... were before I had heard of this.
It is, however, a good practice to remove & disgard any of the yellow fat along with the entrails, eggs, & skin. These are where most of the pollutants will congregate within the fish ... ;)
... cp :cool:
This is the best way I have found for people like me who don't like the fishy/muddy/strong tasting catfish. Take electric knife and filet, just like a crappie. Take the filet and a very sharp knife and cut the red vein completely out, leaving two pieces out of each filet. Next trim any fatty/yellowish/dark colored junk off. After cleaning all the fish, put in whatever type container that will hold the filets or a portion of them not filling over 1/3 of the container. Next take garden hose with a nozzle and turn water on full pressure. Place nozzle over into container and adjust the stream to let the filets roll or tumble like a washing machine. Keep filets turning until water in the container is clear. Take filets and soak in salt water in refrigerator for several hours or overnight. One thing to be careful is until you are familiar with the water turning the filets, you might want to cover with something to keep filets from coming out of the container.
"The muddy taste is probably coming from a chemical produced by a type of cyanobacteria The chemical is called methylisoborneol." quote Slimecoat
This is what I was told about the catfish in my pond. It is caused from high organics in the water. They told me 72 hours in fresh water will remove the bad taste. With all the rain we have had my pond has flushed out real well and the mold taste in the fish is gone.
After filleting and cutting out the red meat leave the fillets in cold water in the fridge for a day or two and they'll turn as white as a crappie fillet. Makes 'em better.;)
I have been taught that to remove the yellow fat fron catfish particularly channel cats put them in boiling water. Bring a pan of water to a rolling boil and drop the fillets in for 2 minutes. 2 minutes only, we don't want to cook them just release the fat. Remove the fillets from the boiling water after 2 minurs then fry as normal. I had heard of this idea several times so i tried it. It works every time. The yellow color is there but the foul taste is gone.
You also need to trim all the red meat off the fillets too. This helps immensely to improve the flavor. I would not eat channels before the boiling water trick. You will see a thin layer of yellow fat floating on top of the water after you have boiled several fillets so you know it is working.
Best start with fresh fish from good water. Them dress ASAP , perferably fillet while alive. Remove all red meat and fat. Cut these fillets into steaks about 3/8'' thick. Does'nt hurt to soak them too. The larger fish are usually lower quality. The Blues and Channels are best under 5 lbs. Flatheads are best of any size. We never bother with Bullheads as here they are called Mudcats . Time of year can effect the flavor of all fish. Low water in high temps are the worst. The Flatheads caught in winter when lots of fresh cold water is in the lake here is our favorite.
When you do catch some fish that are too fat you can use this method. After cutting up wash quickly in hot salt water with a little vinegar. Don't leave in but a minute. Transfer to other side of sink in water and ice to cool . Then rinse and bag to freeze or drain to fry. The larger Blues out of the Arkansas River tend to be fat and stronger tasting.
I think the water temp has effect on the taste of catfish here in southern IL. The fish from cold water such as early spring tasts alot better then ones caught in the summer.
Your are correct. Fish have a mild flavor but pick up bad taste from water sometimes. During hot weather is the worst , even pond raised fish. It can be caused by algae in the water.;)Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappieClint
To give any fish a cleaner taste (even Crappie) I usually unload em after a day of catching, in an ice chest of ice & clean water, enough to cover the fish and keep for at least 24 hrs. After a day or 2 on ice water I clean them. Just keep an eye on the ice. I noticed a differance in taste many years ago. Also as one said before, most waters (fish) are better in the cold of winter.
Cut the yellow strip off that will fix it.
There is a guy here that takes all the fillets and puts in a cooler and pours dawn dishsoap in and wash them, he said it takes all the muddy flavor out by seperating the oils in the meat. And it worked...I wouldn't have beleived at first but the dawn says it gets rid of oils and grease.
stick em in the dishwasher
Soak em for 2 hours in a mudpuddle. The mud puddle will draw out the muddy taste! Then cook em in the microwave on high for 1 hour. Transfer them to a cedar plank, toss em in the woodstove and go to Captain D's for a flounder dinner.
Try warm water with salt and vinegar, wash good. Then rinse in fresh ice water to cool back down quickly. Most people cut Catfish too thick. Even fillets should be trimmed of all yellow or dark meat or fat. Cut into slices less than 1/2'' thick. Nothing beat good fish from clean cold water. Also try to avoid larger fish as they tend to carry more fat and containants in the flesh.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cracker68
I ain't putting soap on my food.:rolleyes:
Right on Slimecoat!! That is how we do our catfish when we run our trotlines. We gill cut them on the stringer and let them bleed out. By having them bleed out, it minimizes the blood mess when you fillet them. We don't gut the fish right away because we are only minutes from the reservoir.Quote:
Originally Posted by slimecoat
Here's a video that is similar to how we clean our catfish: Cleaning Catfish Under A Minute
I have experienced the muddy taste from Crappies as well if they are taken from a lake that has a large algae bloom.
i find that the bigger cats usually have a stronger muddy taste i usually wont keep one larger than 2 - 2&1/2 feet long ill just snap a picture and throw it backQuote:
Originally Posted by shocker037
The quickest way to rid the fillet of the fat and any bad taste is to remove all red meat then drop the fillets in boiling water for 2 minutes. Pull the fillets after 2 minutes and cook. You do not waste the yellow meat and the bad taste is gone
Put 'em live in a feeder tank full of water with a water hose tricklin' for a couple days. The fresh water runnin thru 'em will take out the muddy taste. Pappaw used to do that with his Mississippi River catfish back in the day.
If they dead, gill cut em, let 'em bleed out, put 'em in heavy ice when you get to dry land. That'll help a lot.
I predominately fish for catfish here in the Carolinas on the Santee Cooper Lakes, and the water here is normally warmer than most place you guys fish. I found out some time ago, throw bullheads at seagulls..we keep Arkansas blues and some channels in the winter. Rule #2 is like some guys mentioned earlier, soak in salt water overnight after cleaning all red meat and fat off the filets like you would duck or deer meat to remove the wild taste and blood.
I cut mine in strips about like your little finger also when frying, good stuff. When done properly, you may need to tie up your wife until you are ready to serve so that you can make a pile on the plate...
don't forget to remove the black stuff on the belly meat.A stiff hand brush will remove it.
Clean catfish fillets of all dark meat. Immediately place in ice water to cool. If you are going to fry them up for supper splash some malt vinegar into the ice water a let set for and hour or so. If you are going to freeze splash some malt vinegar into the freezer bag. No fishing taste after this.
Of course it does not matter what kind of fish you fillet if you let the fillets get warm after you cut them of then you might as will feed them to the cat. Fish taste better out of cold water.
My buddy is a catfishman and he always hangs them up and cuts the tail off to let them bleed. They taste good to me.
I read an article recently put out by the Ark. Game & Fish which said to soak the cleaned or filleted fish overnight in a gallon of water and I think 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of baking soda. I'll check on the article and get back on here if my memory is wrong.
WOW good reading but its starting to sound to me like its better to catch catfish and eat another spieces... Then again I have never been a big eater of fish to begin with. And this is one of the reasons. Bones being another but get me on some Halibut or Tuna and get out of my way. haha
I rechecked it and it was 1 teaspoon of baking soda instead of 1 tablespoon. I haven't tried it yet, so I can't say whether it works or not.Quote:
Originally Posted by blairarnold
Thats the way we do it. keep em alive cut the tails off about 1/2" up hang them let them bleed out the get rid of the red & yello meat.Quote:
Originally Posted by crappiehuntr
these guys on here know what there talking about! One of the things i do & I might have missed it in the other posts, is after filleting the fish on the spine side of the fillet I take my filet knife I cut about 3/4 to inch right out of the middle fillet you can see the mud vien throw it away. Now all you have is the top & bottom of the fish fillet. As one of the 1st posters said soak your cats in buttermilk, be sure to skim the top also as he said. But when you are breading your fish leave buttermilk marinade on the fillet. You will not believe the crust you get from your choice of DRY breading. one last thing now that your fish is breaded lay them out on newspaper and let fillets rest for 20-30 minutes before frying. Good S%&T guys!!:D:D:D
Overall the quality of a catfish goes in this order. flat head, channel cat, and a very distant 3rd the blue cat. IMO the blues are fun to catch but not worth eating at all.
imo bluecats, arent a bad fish to eat. there like channels you need to get them no bigger than 18-20 inches long.......3-5lbs are the best to eat.....we fixed close to 30lbs of fillets last night even the kids liked the chicken nuggets lol.....flats this way have a real strond taste.......but if i have any fish to eat sorry to say but walleye is number 1
I've got to admit as much as I like walleye, or jack salmon as the old timers here used to call them, I like crappie and flatheads more. Walleye bigger than 4 or 5 lbs. can start tasting fishy, but I never tasted a crappie or flathead that wasn't sweet no matter how big they were.
Have caught quite a few catfish over the years and last year while on Reelfoot lake learned and great way to get rid of the muddy taste.
First important point was to bleed the catfish. You can hang them on a nail and cut the tail off and they should pretty well bleed out.
Second was to soak them in 50/50 lemon juice and ice water after cleaning. I always just used an electric knife to fillet them. This mixture will turn almost a muddy color after 8-10 hours..then drain and cover with fresh water and ice and soak another 4-8 hours. Then they are either ready for frying or freezing.
It amazed me how brown the water would get, but it works!! Just make sure keep them cold.
The above will work for just about any fish..but soak times are reduced a lot with other fish. I have used this on stripers, blue gill, and even crappie, but it doesn't take near as long on soaking...maybe a couple hours at the most for blue gill...
take 2 bowls break afew eggs and put into bowl and whisp in the other bowl pour some buttermilk in it dip the fillet in one then other then batter it and drop in hot grease trust me you will like itQuote:
Originally Posted by NIMROD
or just use the guts as bait.Quote:
Originally Posted by slimecoat
or just save the guts, let them bake in the sun (in a jar of course) for 3-4 days and just wrap them in salmon spawn bags or use as chum and your ready to go! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by slimecoat
Take 'em home live and put them in a feeder tank with fresh water runnin thru it for a few days, then clean 'em up and drop 'em in the grease. Yum!!!
I have been catching catfish out of the TN river for many years. I clean the fish and when I freeze the fillets, I put a little lemon juice in the bags before I freeze em. NEver a muddy taste. ORange juice works to, but you can taste the orange juice in the fish if you use too much.