Catfish From Pond To Plate: Demonstration Of The Easiest Method of Processing and Cooking

Catfish, in my humble opinion are one of the best tasting freshwater fish. I have ate it from a wide variety of lakes, rivers and streams and cooked it in a wide variety of ways varying from fried to smoked. I neglected to get video of the fishing process, but catfish are fairly easy to catch old rotten hotdogs, night crawlers, chicken liver, shrimp, bluegill, etc. This particular channel catfish was caught on a chunk of old hotdog. The video below (just click on the picture to begin viewing) shows how I prefer to process Chanel catfish for cooking over a fire. I usually don't bother with making filets as you will see it eliminates waste and bones are not a problem as they lift right out. I do filet fish when I plan to freeze them for later consumption but if they will be cooked over a fire this is the quick and dirty method I prefer.

Other Outdoor Cooking Posts: Pioneer Pumpkin Pie; Teays Valley Corn Bread; Shore Lunch Cheddar Potato Soup Vs. Bear Creek Cheddar Potato Soup; Betty Crocker Blueberry Muffins; Bear Creek- "Darn Good" Chilli; Low Country Boil; Mountain Man Stew; Bear Creek Gumbo; Idahoan Hash Browns; Preparing Trout- Recipes to Try; Wild Edible- Wild Onions; Wild Edibles- Leeks (A.K.A. Ramps); Wild Edibles- Winter Collection; Martha White Chocolate Chip Muffins;

Outdoor Cooking Tool Posts: Improvised Container; Trangia Mess Tin; Rotating/Adjustable Pot Hanger; Stripping and Re-Seasoning Cast Iron; Baking Over A Camp Fire; Cheap Bomb Proof Bush Pot; Modified Primitive Pot Hanger; Series Introduction; Pathfinder Bottle Cook Set Review; DIY Hobo Stove; 

So now that you have your fish processed, how are you going to cook the fish? I personally prefer to cook nearly every fish in aluminum foil (I have a decent amount in each part of my kit) with butter or olive oil and a variety of spices (I always seem to use old bay when it comes to catfish as it pairs nicely with its taste). If you take Bear Creek Soups into the woods with you (I always keep some in my bush pot) then I highly recommend that you throw some of the catfish into the gumbo it brings a whole extra layer of flavor to the soup (See my review of the Bear Creek Gumbo here- LINK). The video below shows how I cook the catfish over a bed of coals (If you need a rapid bed of hot coals I highly recommend you use the log cabin fire lay- Learn how to make one here- LINK) then shows the final product after an hour cooking on the coals. Just click on the picture below to begin the video.

Need Supplies To Catch Some Catfish?  
A Few More Details About The Process:

The seasoning method I prefer is butter (you can substitute olive oil if you wish) and old bay. I usually place a little bit of butter inside the fish and a little around the fish and then cover everything with old bay very heavy.

This is the finished product as soon as it came out of the fire.

 

Many people ask me when to take fish off the coals I usually let mine cook for thirty minutes to one hour depending on the size of the fish. I let this fish cook for close to an hour. The skin will protect the actual meat from burning so overcooking is very difficult to do. The interior should be white and warm with a consistent texture.... If its slimy your fish is sushi!

 

As I stated above this method allows for easy removal of the bone structure as one piece, simply eat the top layer of fish and then pull out the bone structure as one piece.

This will leave you with a clean lower level to eat without any bones!

Conclusions:

The catfish is one of the staples of my back country diet, it is great as a stand alone food source or added to gumbo style soups. The fish is one of the easier to catch (if it stinks they generally like it) and can become quite large to provide a significant food source long term (at this point you may want to think about smoking or drying).  So what is your favorite means of catching, cooking and eating catfish? Lets see some pictures!

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