Northwest Sportsman – August 2019

104 Northwest Sportsman AUGUST 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

COLUMN

SHAVING MEAT OFF A WHISKERFISH

C

atfish are often maligned because

they can have a “muddy” taste

to them. Sure, a catfish is not a

halibut, but they are not a poor eating fish.

I think of them as the lingcod of the river, if

they are treated and cooked correctly.

The key is to remove everything that

is not white flesh from the fillet. Why?

The brown line on the skin side of the

fillet holds the most “off ” flavor. It is even

referred to as the “mud” line on the fish.

Removing this (see pics) will make the dish

much better.

Also remove the yellow flesh from the

fish. This is fat. Most rivers in the Northwest

that hold catfish are “working” systems,

meaning that agricultural byproducts

get into them all the time. Regardless

of whether it’s a catfish, bass, salmon or

albacore, most of the bad things that can

make a fish inedible accumulate in the fat.

As most fish get bigger, they start to eat

other fish and this only makes the problem

worse, concentrating toxins. Removing

the fat – all of it – gets rid of most bad

things in the meat. And when you remove

everything from a catfish fillet that is not

white, you solve two problems at once.

Next, soak your fish. At a bare minimum

I rinse my fish off until the water that they

Step 1: Lay the cooled catfish on its side. Find the beginning of the fillet where the skull ends. Plunge

your knife in at the base of the skull and make an inch-or-so-long incision. Then mark a line from one

end of the cut to the anus. Slice just through the skin to the anus, avoiding the gut cavity. (LEVI SIM)

Step 2: From the skull cut make a cut line down the

spine, on the top side of the dorsal fin. Cut down

until you feel the rib bones. Do not cut all the way

to the tail like this. (LEVI SIM)

Step 3: Next make a “plunge” cut at the end of the

dorsal fin. Drive your knife down through the fillet

and out the anus from the top of the spine. (LEVI SIM)

Step 4: Slide your knife along the spine, toward the tail

of the fish, making small sawing motions to remove the

fillet from the bones. Free your fillet the rest of the way;

if it does not come free at this point, you might need to

do some more cutting along the ribs. (LEVI SIM)