Texas Fishing Poll (Arp: eat, best place, business)

[destin04]

Originally Posted by Pipeweld

Should farm raised count as most are raised out of state?

I'm talking Texas raised...on corn......out here in E Texas we have several large catfish farms....

[Pipeweld]

Originally Posted by destin04

I'm talking Texas raised...on corn......out here in E Texas we have several large catfish farms....

OK, That counts!

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Do people actually eat carp and buffalo? We always considered that a trash fish! I have heard that gar is a really good, delicate white meat, with fine flavor. But I was always told that it was also a trash fish! The next time I pull in a sizeable gar, I am going to try it!!!

Cathy, back when worked at "The Bait House", my first "real job" when I was 15, yes, there were some folks who would go to the lake (which was just a hop and skip away) and fish for carp and buffalo. Mostly, it was black folks who did...and many of them were "regulars" at the bait shop (it was sort of a "community" there...sharing fish stories, etc), and would tell us that, properly cooked, it tasted a lot like salmon.

Anyway, I got a little chuckle you might appreciate when you mention them being trash fish. While I personally agree, I understand that many yankees consider CATFISH a trash fish!!!

I voted for fried catfish too, by the way!

[TexasReb]

If I was a bettin' man, I would project that fried catfish is going to be the runaway favorite when all is said and done.

But even if not, this question still stands, and I am curious about it...

That is, do you all prefer the fish "thick" or "thin" sliced...?

I always liked it thin filleted and fried. Too thick and it just didn't usually taste right!

[destin04]

Thin!!!! Not just for catfish...I like all fish thin....I guess...except for Salmon.

[lonestar2007]

CRAPPIE by all means! Filleted (not too thck, not too thin, mmm, just right), rolled in cornmeal and fried! Nothing better. While I like catfish, it's fickled for sure. So much hinges on where it's caught. Just about any catfish coming out of a running river is going to be good. Some lakes produce a good catfish and I'll include the blues, channel, and yellow. The problem I have with the yellow catfish is they can get so darn big their meat gets pithy like a radish that is too big. I guess when they get that size (both the catfish and the radish, they're just too dang mature/old to be eating). But I had too many catfish that have come from certain lakes or stock tanks that definitely have a mud taste to them and I'm talking channel cat or blue cat, not the trash mud cat. LOL Not as bad as that crap they sell from the Mississippi Delta though, Lord, that's half fish and half mud. Maybe they are just a bigger version of our mud cats (little catfish we always called mud cats that the kids catch for fun in the stock tanks.)

But good God Almighty, crappie is king! Sweetest fish you'll ever eat in Texas!

Perch is also right up at the top flavor wise, but Lord, they're too small to fillet and by the time you're through messing with the bones, well, needless to say, it can become a hassle. Guess I'm getting lazy.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Cathy, back when worked at "The Bait House", my first "real job" when I was 15, yes, there were some folks who would go to the lake (which was just a hop and skip away) and fish for carp and buffalo. Mostly, it was black folks who did...and many of them were "regulars" at the bait shop (it was sort of a "community" there...sharing fish stories, etc), and would tell us that, properly cooked, it tasted a lot like salmon.

Anyway, I got a little chuckle you might appreciate when you mention them being trash fish. While I personally agree, I understand that many yankees consider CATFISH a trash fish!!!

I voted for fried catfish too, by the way!

LOL!!! I can imagine! As far as carp go, I had heard something about removing a mud gland or something of that nature very carefully when cleaning it.

I grew up on fried catfish (with pinto beans, cornbread, cole slaw..and ketchup). After I got older, and moved away from home, I liked it better grilled with butter, lemon/lime juice...and plenty of black or cayenne pepper!!

[Delta Planter]

Now that I've "voted", lemetell you what it are. Of the four, if I had to pick one, yes, that one would be catfish, outta the river, off the farm, whatever. Bottom-feeders are some kind of good. And if the yankees don't want catfish, hell, more for me and you.

As far as cooking catfish, of course fried is the norm; howsomever, some 15 years ago I ran across a recipe in The Joy of Cooking for fish on the grill. Whachado is take a couple filets, lay 'em up in some tinfoil, rub 'em good with lemon butter, sprinkle some parsley over 'em, wrap 'em up in the foil leaving no gaps for the steam to escape. Either on the grill or in a broiler for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove, release from the foil, and yeow! talk about some kinda good.

Anyway, that's the way I prefer it. I'll eat it fried, but at my age, well, you know how 'tis, fried food and me don't mix real good. That's my line and I'm stickin' to it.

[Eastender67]

Crappie. No contest. Filets too, as I don't want to waste a lot of time picking bones out of my mouth. Call it crappie, white perch, sac-a-lait or whatever you wish but just don't fry it too damned long. Too many so-called "cooks" (especially at my family reunion) think they've got to stand their making like Emeril and fry and fry and fry. And coleslaw, and baked beans. No ketchup either. Putting ketchup on crappie is like putting ketchup on a fine steak.

Now I done made me hungry.

[Philosophizer]

what about salt water? Wahoo and Mahi Mahi are the finest the gulf has to offer. Snappers make for some good eating too though. Specs and Reds are good too if you don't want to leave the bay.