Wanted to share my new favorite way to prepare catfish with yall. I learned this from well known Wild Game and Fish Chef Jesse Griffiths.

What you want to do is take your catfish fillet and trim out all the red meat and any of that yellow fat often found in channels. Take your time and get as much as you can. You want to get it down to looking as white as snow if possible. Dont overlook the belly meat from larger fish (say 4lb+) that is some of the best meat! Be sure to fillet off that inner "skin" of the belly as well as the outside skin. That silver looking bit.

Cube those up to about the size of chicken nuggets. Get those good and cold by leaving them in the fridge for an hour or better yet give them a nice ice bath.

In a large bowl combine equal parts Yellow mustard (just like you put on your hot dogs) and heavy whipping cream. You can use whole milk in a pinch. Add hot sauce to that dredge to taste up to a whole other equal third! Or skip it. Personal preference there. I like my hot, many do not.

Take your cold and dredge coated fish nuggets and coat them in a FINE coating or your preference. Could be bread crumbs or panko etc. Avoid medium or large caliber, you want a fine blend of whatever it is you choose. I used the kind pictured below and it came out really well. I bet you can find it at your local Walmart.

Drop those into HOT 375 degree oil until done.

These come out great! My wife loves these and she "hates catfish". But prepared this way, she eats them up. With some fries and a cold beer... its about perfect as its gets!

Now I strongly prefer to do this with Blue Cat over Channels. Just has a lighter and "cleaner" flavor and a firmer texture. Across the board I favor blues. I take the channels if they are the right size but dont get as excited about it as I do when I have some blues to fillet up.

Between the two (Yes I know Flatheads are the best, but between the two novices can tangle with regularly) which do you prefer!?

Catfish Dinner! single choice
	Channel Cats
	Blue Cats
	Both Taste the same to me/No preference
	I don't eat catfish, just like the pursuit
Votes accepted starting: 12/15/22 05:42 PM You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

One last note. If you want to learn more about Chef Jesse or see his other recipes check out https://www.themeateater.com/people/jesse-griffiths

He has tons of recipes there online. From bass sandwich's (works great with Sandies, Striper and Largemouth) to whole pan fried fish and more! Lots of really excellent stuff if you hunt as well. Whitetail, wild game stocks, etc. etc.

A blue cat always tastes better than a channel cat of the same size. I don't know what makes the difference, but man are those blues tasty!

Agreed. Even from the same water. I think its the diet. I know channels take live bait but I think blues just do so much more often. Channels are much more general opportunists. Thats my shoe string theory at least.

I think the taste difference is due to the fat found in the channels. It's just like a steak, fat is what holds the flavor.

I grind my own cornmeal !

Ok, heck it all sounds good to me guys, but the really big thing here is the oil you guys are using to cook your fish in. I don't have a clue as to why or how it makes the big difference it does, but you guys need to get you some cotton seed oil and then proceed.

Cotton seed oil really sets your fin and feather table fare at a different level. Cook your French fries after the fin and/or feather will really have your French fries all tasty as well as clean the oil if you want to keep it as like in a big deep fryer, but if like in a pan frying the frys just taste so much better cooked after the fin and feathers.

I know in the days of air fryers and cooking on the grill is big, but you really have not tasted this sort of table fare till you try it in cotton seed oil. Just say'n...

Sounds tasty !

Where to get cotton seed oil?

That stuff is $20 A gallon on the cheap side.


Bass Pro Shop...

I'm out on cottonseed oil.

Guess Im still old school. Love to fry them up in Pure Crisco.

I prefer good old fashioned Lard.

I know, I know, but this is totally out there guys. The taste is unbelievable. I thought Crisco forever was the best way also. Let me see what I can come up with for a source of cotton seed oil and I will get back here. You really have to try your fin and feathers in it, then it is just what you do when frying fin & feathers.

I'll second that..........I grew up here in West Texas on a cotton farm and cotton seed oil was a staple.We still use it on our occasional fish fries,after 5 by passes my wife insist on less frying and more air fryer but every couple months I still get the real deal.The last fry we had to use peanut oil..........good but not the same.