Help me and my brother in law settle a debate.

What is the best eating catfish (central texas)

In order.

Flathead
Blue
Channel

This is not a debate.

LOL, I agree with that list, but I think most folks prefer channels over blues.

Great - He keeps pushing that blues are the best - They seem to bottom feed the most eh? Hence gamiest taste was my take.

Flathead best then channels and blues I can’t tell the difference.

Agree!

Blues are the best just off the cuff. But I have never had flathead and how you care for, clean and cook them has a lot to do with it.

Best eating catfish? Whichever one ends up in my cooler!

2 pound blues! Beautiful white meat.

Channels,channels,channels..........put those flatheads back til they hit triple digits

Channels for me. I give blues to fishing buddy. I don't keep any catfish over 5 lbs.

I prefer Blues over Yellows.

But it has to be Blues (BC) from Lake Limestone., They are the Best.
12 to 14 pound Blues are the Ultimate as I can make "B" or figure "8" filets from the backstraps. Smaller or Bigger just cannot compare.
Next are Yellows YC).
Then Channels (CC).

The trick also is knowing how to cut the bitter olfactory gland strips off on on the sides (in the center) of any of these 3 cats, In fact, I can do a MudCat (MC) as well and make it "sing" too. Two of my prize Catfish Calendar & YellowCat students even had me fry up half of their $2600 saltwater catch (only two bags of fish to show for their "return" investment.

Plus on belly straps, you have to know how to aireate (aeriate/aereate) the belly straps. The silver lining really is not the bitter bit, it is the fat content. I cross section the belly straps & it totally changes the taste. And soaking them out also does good.


When I did a very large family fish fry for June 2020 for my grandson Willan (as a high school graduation gift upon his request, I had to throw in 4 big boxes of Catfish Filets in with ones I had caught in previous years. 2 boxes of them were Delta Pride from Krogers. Another brand was not as good. And a 3rd brand was bitter..

As for frying, deep frying is best.

Grease is best over oil, as grease fries up much qwikker & does not get absorbed into the meat like the oil does.

Animal fat/veggie mix is best, as veggie grease does not cut it

Mrs. Tuckers used to be the best. My uncle said my grandmother used it & everything she cooked turned out the flakiest My sister & I used to stand near the cast iron wood stove she cooked on awaiting whatever she cooked for us. She could make that wood stove "sing". Sadly Mrs. Tuckers is not available back around 2010. So BakeRite was the next closest thing (comparing between both labels (as I kept a Mrs. Tuckers). BakeRite was used on the 2020 fish fry).. However, the last time I checked, I could not find it. Perhaps I need to go to the larger HEB stores.

Also, you want to use a cast iron pot as it keeps the heat more evenly compared to aluminum or other pots. You want to get your grease hot enough to stir the tip around in the top of the heated grease, to actually ignite it. I have even pulled a match out & as I shook it, it lit up in mid-air. You may start to see the grease just starting to smoke. Be careful as you start to drop fish in, as it will jump (climb) up the meat to your fingers if you do not let go fast enough. The first batch will be darker brown as you pull the heat down, but once it evens out, as long as you keep a good rotation, it will be just right- a golden brown, slightly crisp on the outside & tender & flaky on the inside. Enjoy with ice cold Del Monte ketchup. 2nd best is Krogers brand. Heinz is too salty & Hunts is too sweet. If you do it right, you can blow smoke rings as you eat without burning your mouth.

The last major public fish fry I did, was for a church in north Houston back in 2010, They even paid for everything except the fish, including my mileage plus gas. The grease alone cost about $6 a pop for 10 or more containers, I had 5 burners going- 2 for catfish.1 for Tilapia filets (for those who did not like catfish), 1 for French fries (I use Ore-Ida crinkle cut-- golden brown on outside & tender on the inside), and 1 for bullet style (torpedo looking things from HEB- Hill; Country brand) hushpuppies as they evenly cook (compared to the ball type). Sadly they do not carry them the last time I checked (since that 2010 fry). I also had a charcoal; grill with big BlueCat (BC) slabs for those that could not eat fried foods or wanted to just try it. I may have grilled a few store bought Tilapia filets as well. I had 3 tables & the grills. It looked like a marathon production line. I came with a load of equipment in the back of my 1972 Chevy pickup. Anyway, everybody got full. I cook until they say stop or I run out. I snack as I go, you know, you gotta taste test it to make sure it is coming out OK.

I use Tony's Crispy Creole Fish Fry batter. And for the grill, Tony's Crispy Creole sprinkled on the meat. If you want to use yellow corn meal, also add a slight bit of flour mixed in to help make the corn meal stay on your fish. Not too much or it will cause it to burn more. Next best batter after Tony's Crispy Creole is Bearden's. It is the only one with a tad bit of lemon that I will fry with.

I forgot to add, I was taught by 2 ladies at the print shop I worked for at Texas A&M back in the mid to late 1970s as to how to fry catfish, as well as preserve the fish in the freezer, or even how to reheat fried fish to where it is almost as good as when you fried it.

And then I learned some new tricks over the past 40+ years.

And yet, I failed to mention that I was taught by two YellowCat(YC) fishermen (Newt & Olen) from 1978 thru 1981. And of course, I found out a little bit more, including the YC feeding patterns & Blues (aka my Catfish Calendar).

But one of them (Newt) taught me how to soak out YellowCat meat in the ice chest or refrigerator to tender it out, get the blood & bitterness out & make it taste clean.

"I don't keep any catfish over 5 lbs."

Yup!