I soak the filets in Ice water. I keep rinsing and repeating until the ice water gets clear. then i cut out all yellow and brown meat and only keep the white.
Thanks Sciotodarby, that's what I've been doing up til now also. I think the soaking in brine might be accomplishing the same thing as bleeding, just maybe more mess at the cleaning table without bleeding.
I keep a garden hose running on them when I'm filleting them. That takes care of the blood for the most part. Rinse them with cold water a couple times in the sink.
No animal activist, but instead of slitting their throat, take a filet knife and scramble their brains. Here's a post I made on a fishing thread on SomethingAwful that helped quite a few people in cleaning their catfish quicker and more humanely. This will also help stop bloodflow faster, more blood goes to the head, less on the meat.
It's also faster than skinning the catfish before fileting
When you clean a catfish there are two things you do FIRST. EVERY TIME.
Right in between the eyes, the skull angles inward. Make a slit from just above the eyes about 1.5-2 inches down. If you have a traditional filet knife, take the tip and run it downwards along the slit until the knife enters the skull. Once you've found this open area in their skull slide the knife INTO the catfish's skull until the catfish appears the have a quick seizure, and just stops moving. Congratulations! You've hit the brain! Now, proceed to obliterate the brain, turning it into soup.
Cleaning a catfish is an absolute joke, frankly it's easier than other fish with lighter bone structure!
1. Right beside the dorsal fin you will find that there is a bone that extends out near the skin outwards from the spine, take a BONING knife (don't use a filet, it's a waste of time) and push the knife down to the rib cage, start cutting towards the tail, along the spine until you come right behind the belly.
2. Push the knife along the spine all the way through the fish. Cut against the spine all the way to the tail until the muscle separates.
3. Return to the origination point and cut just around that extended bone and separate the flesh from the spine all the way to to head. Run your knife along the rib case until all of the flesh comes off.
4. Repeat on other side.
5. Lay your filet on the cutting board skin side down and make a slit in the mean towards the skin. Pull the skin into the blade and cut the flesh off
Optional Pre 1 step: If you like to eat the skin of fish, catfish skin is excellent... if it's prepared right. Run a VERY sharp knife and scrape the skin all around where the filet would come off of. After your knife fills with goop, clean it off and repeat until you remove ALL of the slime.
I drive a pole barn spike through their head and into a 5' long 2x12 oak board covered in aluminum flashing. I lean that against my shed. Makes it easy to skin and fillet them that way. Belly meat from channel cats and flatheads is also delicious.
I drive a pole barn spike through their head and into a 5' long 2x12 oak board covered in aluminum flashing. I lean that against my shed. Makes it easy to skin and fillet them that way. Belly meat from channel cats and flatheads is also delicious.
I learned this from an old boy from alabama. He netted cats and sold them. He brought a half of a 22 lber to a fish fry. I thought it would taste like crap. It did not. He said he always bleeds them. He takes a knife and cuts their tail off just up into the meat while they are alive. He hangs them over the boat and they completely bleed out. There is a vein you have to hit and it will pee a stream. When you clean them you have perfect white meat. I have done this for years now. It works great for me, try it.
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