Not to piggy back off of June's last thread, but I live in the Little Elm area and have been looking for a while for a place that has whole fried catfish and I can't find anything around here. Does someone around here know of a hideaway place that may be around? I guess if worst comes to worst, I can go and catch some and do it myself but I was really wanting a sit down joint to enjoy.

On a side note, for you folks that do like to go and eat fried catfish fillets, I would highly recommend asking the manager where they get their catfish from (and they have to tell you). There was a good show on tv about this a while back that I watched and it damn near made me sick looking at it. There are these "synthetic" catfish farms in Thailand and Vietnam where they raise literally millions of these catfish and are sold in many many restaurants all over the world, and yes, the good ol USA is one of them. You can look this up on the internet and they have a name for them but I can't remember it (I think it is called SWAI or something like that). If you seen this, I guarantee you wouldn't be eating none of it. I've seen the damn boxes first hand in a little sit down bar in The Colony, TX (next to Little Elm).. If it comes frozen in a box from Asia, that's it..

Sorry for the long read guys/gals

Make the trip down here and go to Catfish Corner in Seven Points. Then go walk around the Walmart in Gun Barrel City.

My stepson goes to someplace near Jefferson. Says they have the best whole catfish in the state,

MO

Big Pines Lodge at Caddo Lake has whole catfish. I believe they have an all you can eat dinner if you are really hungry.

all of these are 2 hours plus away from him

Frilly s in Denton is great cajun catfish. I think you can get to 380 pretty quick

Derek is spot on. Especially the Wal Mart experience at Gun Barrel City.

I think they should have to tell you upfront if it is Basa and profoundly display it if is catfish from all those farms in the Mississippi Delta.

Why a whole catfish? Do you get the head and eyes and stuff?

It’s all edible.

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Headed, gutted, skinned, fried with bone in. There are however some Thai restaurants that gut only and fry with head and skin on.

Ha ha, no, I like to eat it off the bone and you can do that pretty easy on catfish.

That's how my dad and friends did it. It was awesome.

I was raised on catching brim from our cattle tanks. Cut the head off.... gut and scale. Old timers would eat them bones and all. Worked my away around whole fried fish many times.

Catfish Sam's in Arlington on Division still offers the catfish you seek; it is US farm raised.

https://catfishsams.com/

Seems like it’s changed in the last 5-7 years. Dang good fish but I think it’s not as good as it used to be. And it always has the Avon smell in the restaurant. You know the smell of old ladies wearing cheap perfume.

Mmmmmmmm-
Old lady smell-
It’s getting to where all lady’s are younger than me lately-

Well, the people that started it are the aunt and uncle of my massage instructor. Their daughter runs it now. My massage instructor will be 74 this year, so I'm guessing the cousin running it ain't much younger...

I was working in St. Joe Missouri. We went to eat at a local diner for lunch. I ordered the lunch special which was catfish. I didn’t know it came whole, less the head. I was surprised, but it was damn good.

I've ordered the fried catfish at the Grist Mill in Gruene Texas, and it takes a long time from when you order until you get served, so I know they must go down to the river and catch them fresh.

The how my grandpa did it. He'd cut the fins off and fry them also. He'd eat them like potato chips.