Filleting Channel Cats

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]It always amazes me how many anglers still believe you have to clean catfish by first nailing their heads to a board and then stripping the skin off with a pair of pliers. Still others struggle with making a series of cuts and slices around the fish...gradually working the flesh away from the bones.

Some catfolks have learned that Mr. Whiskers can essentially be filleted just as you would fillet almost any other fish. However, due to some differences in their bony structure and the type of skin (non-scaly), there are some little differences that can be addressed with the pictorial sequence below.



Three candidates for the fillet board...all about 3#. You can fillet cats from about 10 inches to a hundred pounds. Filleting large cats is more like butchering a hog, but can be done.


Use a stout fillet knife or an electric. I prefer the electric for the "slabbing" process. It slices through the rib bones of these smaller cats, although big ones are much tougher. Continue all the way down and cut the fillets loose, instead of flipping over and skinning as with scaly skinned fishes.



If I have several cats to fillet, I complete the "slabbing first...leaving the skin intact for the next step.


Catfish have thicker skin at the upper end of the fillet, so I skin them from the top down. I first cut the rib cage partially free...and then using it as a handle to complete the skinning...as seen in the next pic.


Make a cut down through the flesh, almost like the first cut in the filleting process, and then work the knife between the skin and fillet. Keep the blade pressed flat against the board and see-saw the knife toward the tail, until the fillet is completely separated from the skin.


REMOVING THE DARK FLESH. Once the skin is off the fillet, you can slice out the line of darker tissue, if you wish. These fish did not really have enough to adversely affect the taste, but larger ones often will. Begin by making shallow slices in toward the center with a sharp knife. Then, beginning at one end, fillet it right off the flesh.



For faster cooking and a crispy texture, cross cut the fillets into "fingers". Shake them up in a mixture of Bisquick and yellow corn meal...with salt, pepper and some cayenne (to taste). Cook them over high heat in peanut oil until brown and crispy. Then dip into sweet and sour, barbecue, tartar sauce or regular seafood cocktail sauce...or just squirt on some lemon juice and go munch city.

Catfish have a dense and oily flesh. They require more cooking than the delicate white fleshed fishes. Many people do not cook them long enough and do not like the flavor and consistence of the underdone catfish. A couple more minutes in the heat can make a lot of difference in the end product.

PS. Thanks, TubeBabe for posing for the pics. Actually, she can do a pretty fair job at the fillet board herself...but still "allows" me to do most of the knife and pan work.
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