My friend has a pond and wants me to take the larger catfish out of it, which should be fun, but I have no idea how to prepare them.  My dad is worried about the meat being too tough to eat them, and them having a fishy taste.  I had one on today that I would guess was about 7 lbs, and I saw channels come up to the surface that were about 2.5 ft or more.

Can anyone give me some advice on cooking/preparing them?  I have no idea what to do lol.  

Skin them first.Use a sharp fillet knife to cut the skin and use pliers to take the skin off.Once the skin is removed you fillet the meat off,clean it,and cook it any way you want.

I don't have any idea how to cook them.  Is there a way to soak the meat or something to get the fish taste out, and maybe get rid of the toughness?  I read somewhere else to soak them in saltwater over night.  

Sounds like you just need a few tubs 'o fryer oil & fixins, a keg and some friends my man.  

 

 

I guess I should be more specific.  What should I soak them in, and for how long? (vinegar, salt water, lemon, hot sauce?)  Should I cut them into small pieces before I fry them?  Any info is helpful, thanks!

Alright this may sound funny and I swear it's not a joke but when I catch catfish to eat I fillet em up and put them in a freezer bag of half milk and half water with a little salt. Soak them over night or put them in the freezer for another time. Also if they are pretty decent size I have always been told to cut the fillet up in to nuggets. 

9 hours ago, Smallieseeker said:

Alright this may sound funny and I swear it's not a joke but when I catch catfish to eat I fillet em up and put them in a freezer bag of half milk and half water with a little salt. Soak them over night or put them in the freezer for another time. Also if they are pretty decent size I have always been told to cut the fillet up in to nuggets. 

doesn't sound funny at all man, i was going to tell him to soak in some buttermilk, roll in flour, toss in oil and enjoy!

I've heard some say that larger channels aren't nearly as tasty, that's why fillets at restaurants are usually the smaller ones, but heck, if you're frying it, you can make it taste great.  I'd take the advice of those above.  No need to overdo it, just some buttermilk and flour or cornmeal and maybe a little salt, fry and enjoy.  Maybe get a little tartar sauce too.  

Large Flathead and Blues are supposedly much tastier than large Channels.  

Just soak the fillets in milk for 24 hours,roll them in your favorite coating and fry away. 

Large channels are by far the worst tasting of the catfish family. 

 

Why does your friend want to remove them from his pond? Unless they're eating everything else in there, you could really upset the balance if you remove very many large predators like that. 

He said he wanted to give the smaller fish a chance.  I don't know anything about pond maintenance, but it's a fairly small pond.  

I'd seriously consider doing some research or talking to someone in pond management before removing too many of the larger fish. Doing something like that is a good way to end up with a pond full of nothing but small, stunted fish. 

You might check with your state. There's programs here that they'll come out and sample your pond and test the water to give suggestions on what the best management program is. Might be something like that where you live as well. 

I just caught AND ate a 25 pounder'. I skinned her, then fillet each side. I cut into chunks, battered in zatarain's Lemon Pepper Fish Fry and fried in oil on skillet. Taste so good everyone thought it was chicken!

We cooked up a 6-8lber one time and it was great! Skin, filet, trim away the bloodline, cut into nuggets, and fry. Put the fish on ice as soon as you catch them, and cut the gills so they bleed out.

For me bleeding them out is key.  Also I cut them up in bite size or slightly larger pieces. It allows for more me to have more batter than just a large filet.  Have had many compliments on both large and small channel cats.

Unless they're black bullhead caught on a cool April night, I prepare them by removing the hook, and tossing them back in the lake.

On 4/28/2016 at 0:55 PM, J Francho said:

Unless they're black bullhead caught on a cool April night, I prepare them by removing the hook, and tossing them back in the lake.

i hate bullheads you eat them?

LOL, yep, but only in early spring.  By now, they've warmed up and taste like mud.

I use an electric fillet knife on mine.

 cut out blood line and yellow meat (I call it the mud meat.

Cut up in small nuggets

Wash good under cold water.

Soak in saltwater for 24 hours.

Rinse out good in a strainer.

Lay it out on some paper towels to absorb as much water as possible.

Mix egg with milk and beat.

I use andys fish fry. 

Dip in milk/egg mixture then in your breading and fry. 

Enjoy

aint heard it called "mud meat" in a long time.