Catfish Recipes: Preparing it the Right Way!

Catfish and I have had a hate-love relationship from my early childhood life itself. I would love to go on fishing trips with my dad along with some of his fishing mates. He and his mates from the docks that were located along the Gulf of Mexico along the Florida, Louisiana and Alabama shores were avid catfish hunters. My dad and his fellow fishing mates often caught catfish, and let it die on the dock planking. The sad part is that they had a stiff dorsal fin that used to point up in to the air and could sting an unfortunate barefooted soul if he was not careful. One day I was the unfortunate one who had a nasty sting.

All I can remember from my misadventure is burning pain just running through my tender foot and up and down my thin and lanky leg, and being rushed to a hospital’s emergency room. The lesson that I learned from this episode was to be very careful while handling catfish, dead or alive, or even on the brink of death. That was one part of the story but the happy part is that I miss is

Everybody like eating the deep oil fried catfish. Almost all varieties of catfish are found in the South and so it has become the center for catfish fishing culture in the United States. People eat a lot of catfish too. The people here love to dunk it in corn meal and then deep fry it. There are other mouthwatering recipes too. Catfish culture is booming and hence it has become the staple food for the people in the South and other regions too. It is seen occupying the shelves of grocery stores other places that have come to love the taste of cat fish. The best part is that it is reasonably priced and rich in protein and nutrients too. Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi are the four states from where most of the farm-raised catfish come from. Nearly 13,000 people are employed in this business. It is proving good to the economy in a few areas of Asia and South America.

Why the name catfish, you may wonder? The name came into being because a many varieties of fish belonging to the same species have very prominent barbells, which resemble the whiskers of the cat. Majority of the species live in fresh water conditions, but there are a few who live in the sea. They are found in various shapes and sizes too. The miniature catfish can be kept in the aquarium. The large ones, especially the fresh water species are aplenty. In record the largest catfish is the Mekong giant catfish (646 pounds) that was caught by fisherman in Thailand. The ones you buy from the store weigh around 1-2 pounds. The catfish farmers generally keep 1-2 pounds as their general reference so as to promote the catfish product uniformity.

Do take a glance at some of these mouthwatering catfish recipes:

Catfish in Beer Batter

• 2 cups beer any brand of your choice
• 3 cups flour with baking powder
• 1 tsp of ground pepper(black)
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 6 catfish fillets
• 1 teaspoon salt (according to your taste)
• Any cooking oil

Cooking directions

Take a bowl and add the beer, salt, garlic, black pepper and 1 ½ cups of flour and mix it gently. Take the flour and dredge the catfish fillets and then add it into the batter that was created in the first step. Take a deep pan and heat the cooking oil until fumes appear. Now fry the fillets in this oil until a golden color appears. If the fillets absorb too much oil, then just drain the excess oil with serviettes and serve immediately. Great Tip: keep hot sauce ready to dip the fillets your guests will relish it. Don’t forget to stock cold beer.

Broiled /Baked Catfish

Ingredients

• 4 large catfish(whole)
• 2 packs Mexican cheese
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tsp parsley fresh or flakes
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• Oil

Cooking Directions

Take the entire tomato sauce and brush the fish both inside and outside. Take a large baking dish and grease it. Brush the fish with a bit of cooking oil and pace it in the dish. Now sprinkle the parsley flakes and the cheese (both) over the entire fish. Bake the catfish in an oven for nearly 30 minutes at a temp of 350 degrees.In the en