In article >, Myrl Jeffcoat > wrote:
>On Apr 8, 8:07=A0am, "Nancy Young" > wrote:
>> I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
>> Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
>> Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
>> acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. =A0Soak for an hour before
>> cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
>> the recipe.
>
>I have noticed the "muddy" taste occassionally with tilapia. In the
>past much of the tilapia was coming from Ecuador, but more recently,
>it's been coming from China, and that' when I noticed the muddy flavor
>more.

The Chinese recycle *everything*. ;-)

>There was a report awhile back about tilapia from China, not being all
>that safe. I've curtailed buying most anything I can, which emanates
>from that country, until they get their quality control act together.

Amen.

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

notbob wrote on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:16:34 GMT:

??>> Pardon my ignorance but wouldn't the "muddy" taste
??>> permeate the buttermilk?

n> Frankly, I don't buy into the bmilk-removes-muddy-taste in
n> the first place and find the whole premise of muddy tasting
n> catfish to be dubious in the second. How is a bottom
n> feeding fish most commonly found in muddy silt laden water
n> supposed to taste, like it lives in Perrier water?

The possible removal of the muddy taste of catfish is
interesting but I haven't tried it yet. However, to me the whole
point is that catfish don't taste like they live in Perrier and
I don't like the result!

n> Gimme a break. I've eaten catfish from all over the US and
n> it always tastes just fine to me, and without the help of
n> buttermilk. Now, if you want to use buttermilk to coat that
n> fish before you dredge in cornmeal, I'll even help.


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"ms. tonya" > wrote

> Muddy Fish (James Silverton)wrote:

>>Perhaps, I'll have to give it a try for catfish,
>>which in all my tries has tasted "muddy". Would something
>>really acidic, like lemon juice, perhaps diluted, work? Buttemilk is
>>not something that I keep around.
------------------------------------------------------
>I don't use a lot of fresh buttermilk except in recipes & found this
>product to be excellent.

http://www.sacofoods.com/culteredbuttermilkblend.html

Oh! I forgot about that, I put it on my shopping list, thanks.

nancy

On Wed 09 Apr 2008 05:26:32a, Nancy Young told us...

>
> "ms. tonya" > wrote
>
>> Muddy Fish (James Silverton)wrote:
>
>>>Perhaps, I'll have to give it a try for catfish, which in all my tries
>>>has tasted "muddy". Would something really acidic, like lemon juice,
>>>perhaps diluted, work? Buttemilk is not something that I keep around.
> ------------------------------------------------------
>>I don't use a lot of fresh buttermilk except in recipes & found this
>>product to be excellent.
>
> http://www.sacofoods.com/culteredbuttermilkblend.html
>
> Oh! I forgot about that, I put it on my shopping list, thanks.
>
> nancy

I keep that around for recipes that call for small quantities of
buttermilk. However, I've found it to be a miserable failure in buttermilk
cornbread. I'm not sure exactly why it fails, but my recipe calls for
almost equal quantities of buttermilk and stone-ground cornmeal. The
batter is much too thin using the Saco product. Perhaps if I just used
less.



--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 04(IV)/09(IX)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
6wks 4dys 18hrs 10mins
-------------------------------------------
This is the most amazing loaf of bread
I've ever owned.
-------------------------------------------

Nancy Young wrote:
> I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
> Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
> Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
> acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
> cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
> the recipe.

Interesting thread, nancy.

I don't like catfish, because it always tastes muddy to me and also
because they are such ugly buggers but I haven't found that to be
the case with tilapia (which is not that easy to find in my part of the
world for some reason).... I have the same problem with bream (dunno if
you've ever tried it?) We used to go fishing in my young and foolish
days - and usually threw any bream we caught back into the water,
because no matter what we soaked it with, or for how long, it always
tasted muddy to me... IIRC, my Dad used to soak bream in a very weak
solution of vinegar and water to get rid of the muddiness, but never
worked for me...
--
Cheers
Chatty (Picky) Cathy

Monday is a lousy way to spend one seventh of your life.

"ChattyCathy" > wrote

> Nancy Young wrote:
>> I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
>> Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
>> Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
>> acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
>> cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
>> the recipe.
>
> Interesting thread, nancy.
>
> I don't like catfish, because it always tastes muddy to me and also
> because they are such ugly buggers

They are freaky looking, but not as freaky as monkfish!

> but I haven't found that to be the case with tilapia (which is not that
> easy to find in my part of the world for some reason).... I have the same
> problem with bream (dunno if you've ever tried it?)

Even if we call it by a different name, I probably haven't tried it.

>We used to go fishing in my young and foolish days - and usually threw any
>bream we caught back into the water, because no matter what we soaked it
>with, or for how long, it always tasted muddy to me... IIRC, my Dad used to
>soak bream in a very weak solution of vinegar and water to get rid of the
>muddiness, but never worked for me...

I hope you didn't have to eat it anyway.

nancy

"Wayne Boatwright" > wrote

> On Wed 09 Apr 2008 05:26:32a, Nancy Young told us...

>> "ms. tonya" > wrote

>>>I don't use a lot of fresh buttermilk except in recipes & found this
>>>product to be excellent.
>>
>> http://www.sacofoods.com/culteredbuttermilkblend.html
>>
>> Oh! I forgot about that, I put it on my shopping list, thanks.

> I keep that around for recipes that call for small quantities of
> buttermilk. However, I've found it to be a miserable failure in
> buttermilk
> cornbread. I'm not sure exactly why it fails, but my recipe calls for
> almost equal quantities of buttermilk and stone-ground cornmeal. The
> batter is much too thin using the Saco product. Perhaps if I just used
> less.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll remember.

nancy

Nancy Young wrote:
> "ChattyCathy" > wrote
>
>> Nancy Young wrote:
>>> I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
>>> Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
>>> Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
>>> acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
>>> cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
>>> the recipe.
>> Interesting thread, nancy.
>>
>> I don't like catfish, because it always tastes muddy to me and also
>> because they are such ugly buggers
>
> They are freaky looking, but not as freaky as monkfish!

Heh heh heh.. Catfish we caught seemed to stay alive for a loooong time
outta the water, even tho' they're not officially amphibians - or are
they? - nah, don't think so. They give me the 'creeps'. Most fishermen
I knew used to just kill them as soon as they caught them - I won't go
into graphic details <shudder>....
>
>> but I haven't found that to be the case with tilapia (which is not that
>> easy to find in my part of the world for some reason).... I have the same
>> problem with bream (dunno if you've ever tried it?)
>
> Even if we call it by a different name, I probably haven't tried it.

Actually 'bream' is quite a broad term - but these were what we called
fresh water 'bottom-feeder-type-bream'. They lived mainly in the Zambezi
River and farmers often used to stock their dams with them at various
locations and let the locals fish them once they got to a certain
size... Oh, and they had zillions of bones too - blech. Even tried some
at a Very Fancy Hotel Restaurant at Victoria Falls one time - and it
still tasted muddy to me.
>
>> We used to go fishing in my young and foolish days - and usually threw any
>> bream we caught back into the water, because no matter what we soaked it
>> with, or for how long, it always tasted muddy to me... IIRC, my Dad used to
>> soak bream in a very weak solution of vinegar and water to get rid of the
>> muddiness, but never worked for me...
>
> I hope you didn't have to eat it anyway.
>

Nope. The ex-DH liked it, so he got my share
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Monday is a lousy way to spend one seventh of your life.

On 2008-04-09, ChattyCathy > wrote:

> they? - nah, don't think so. They give me the 'creeps'. Most fishermen
> I knew used to just kill them as soon as they caught them - I won't go

I get the impression you've never had a mess o' fried catfish, Southern
style, with a side of slaw and beans and cornbread and a cold glass of iced
tea and a bottle of Lousiana hot sauce and a bucket of iced beer and some
banana creme pie and.... Well, fer lands sakes, I just can't go on anymore
as I'm about to pass out just from thinking about it.... mercy!

(...and yes, "mess 'o" is perfectly valid and widely recognized term)

nb

On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 17:36:40 -0400, "Nancy Young" >
wrote:

>
>"Michael "Dog3"" > wrote
>
>> "Nancy Young" > dropped this
>
>>> I'm with you. The one time I tried tilapia, there was a texture thing
>>> that I didn't like. Of course, I'm not much for eating fish, I like
>>> flounder and cod, with the occasional wild salmon.
>>>
>>> And there isn't enough buttermilk to make me eat bluefish again.
>>
>> Hon, we should never go out to dinner for fish together I don't like
>> catfish and love tilapia. Now, I've never tried bluefish that I know of.
>> What's the deal with it?
>
>The guy down the street from us used to go fishing for blues
>and he'd bring the leftovers to my parents. Wow, what a
>boon, free fish! Ugh, it's so strong and fishy, and all us kids would
>just want to croak, we knew we'd be eating bluefish for the
>next few days.
>
>nancy
>

i've had good smoked bluefish.

your pal,
blake

notbob wrote:
> On 2008-04-09, ChattyCathy > wrote:
>
>> they? - nah, don't think so. They give me the 'creeps'. Most fishermen
>> I knew used to just kill them as soon as they caught them - I won't go
>
> I get the impression you've never had a mess o' fried catfish, Southern
> style, with a side of slaw and beans and cornbread and a cold glass of iced
> tea and a bottle of Lousiana hot sauce and a bucket of iced beer and some
> banana creme pie and.... Well, fer lands sakes, I just can't go on anymore
> as I'm about to pass out just from thinking about it.... mercy!
>
> (...and yes, "mess 'o" is perfectly valid and widely recognized term)

Nope haven't tried it, but you also mentioned the 's' word <shudder>
slaw=cabbage in my book - Ick!
Beans, well sometimes I like beans.... The banana creme pie sounds good,
as does some cold beer or the iced tea (but not at the same time)
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Monday is a lousy way to spend one seventh of your life.

blake wrote on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:00:50 GMT:

??>> "Michael "Dog3"" > wrote
??>>
??>>> "Nancy Young" > dropped this
??>>
??>>>> I'm with you. The one time I tried tilapia, there was a
??>>>> texture thing that I didn't like. Of course, I'm not
??>>>> much for eating fish, I like flounder and cod, with the
??>>>> occasional wild salmon.
??>>>>
??>>>> And there isn't enough buttermilk to make me eat
??>>>> bluefish again.
??>>>
??>>> Hon, we should never go out to dinner for fish together
??>>> I don't like catfish and love tilapia. Now, I've
??>>> never tried bluefish that I know of. What's the deal with
??>>> it?
??>>
??>> The guy down the street from us used to go fishing for
??>> blues and he'd bring the leftovers to my parents. Wow,
??>> what a boon, free fish! Ugh, it's so strong and fishy,
??>> and all us kids would just want to croak, we knew we'd be
??>> eating bluefish for the next few days.
??>>
??>> nancy
??>>
bm> i've had good smoked bluefish.

Me too and I'm quite enthusiastic about it! Really fresh
bluefish is delicious broiled. The best I've ever had was in
Montauk where the fisherman brought it to the door! Decent
broiled bluefish can be improved by throwing some dampened wood
chips on the coals if you don't have a smoker.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:50:36 -0700, Blinky the Shark
> wrote:

>Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>
>> I have eaten catfish all my life and fairly often. I have yet to have
>> eaten one that tasted muddy.
>
>Even when they come from muddy waters. Sorry -- I couldn't resist. I
>started reading a biography of blues musician Muddy Waters, today. I'll
>leave now. Nothing to see, here, folks...

mckinley morganfield, one of the greatest bottleneck guitar players
and singers ever.

your pal,
blake

On Wed, 9 Apr 2008 09:51:21 -0400, "Nancy Young" >
wrote:

>
>"Wayne Boatwright" > wrote
>
>> On Wed 09 Apr 2008 05:26:32a, Nancy Young told us...
>
>>> "ms. tonya" > wrote
>
>>>>I don't use a lot of fresh buttermilk except in recipes & found this
>>>>product to be excellent.
>>>
>>> http://www.sacofoods.com/culteredbuttermilkblend.html
>>>
>>> Oh! I forgot about that, I put it on my shopping list, thanks.
>
>> I keep that around for recipes that call for small quantities of
>> buttermilk. However, I've found it to be a miserable failure in
>> buttermilk
>> cornbread. I'm not sure exactly why it fails, but my recipe calls for
>> almost equal quantities of buttermilk and stone-ground cornmeal. The
>> batter is much too thin using the Saco product. Perhaps if I just used
>> less.
>
>Thanks for the heads up. I'll remember.
>
>nancy
>

Buttermilk freezes pretty well. I put it in 1 cup containers and
freeze. If I need just a bit more than one cup I will add regular
milk.

Wayne, I also had the same problem with Saco product and cornbread.
One of the main reasons I freeze buttermilk.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

In article >, ChattyCathy > wrote:
>Nancy Young wrote:
>> I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
>> Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
>> Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
>> acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
>> cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
>> the recipe.
>
>Interesting thread, nancy.
>
>I don't like catfish, because it always tastes muddy to me and also
>because they are such ugly buggers but I haven't found that to be
>the case with tilapia (which is in my part of the
>world for some reason)....
[snip]

"Not that easy to find." Bloody hell! Here in Oz you can go to jail
(well, heavily fined anyway) if caught in possession of tilapia.

If out in the middle of a dam or river, and you catch one of the
beasts, you have to row back to the shore *immediately* and dispose of
it in an approved official rubbish bin. If you leave it in the bottom
of the boat and a patrol catches you, you'll be in deep shit. (A bit
like catfish.

Of course, the net [good fishing term] result of this is that people
out in boats, or just too far away along the bank, *never* catch the
damn vermin. They always "get away".

Which just confirms traditional wisdom "The law is an ass."
(And especially when written by environmentalists!)


Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

Phred wrote:

>
> "Not that easy to find." Bloody hell! Here in Oz you can go to jail
> (well, heavily fined anyway) if caught in possession of tilapia.
>
> If out in the middle of a dam or river, and you catch one of the
> beasts, you have to row back to the shore *immediately* and dispose of
> it in an approved official rubbish bin. If you leave it in the bottom
> of the boat and a patrol catches you, you'll be in deep shit. (A bit
> like catfish.
>

Wow, didn't know that. Why is it such a 'crime' in Oz, BTW?

> Of course, the net [good fishing term] result of this is that people
> out in boats, or just too far away along the bank, *never* catch the
> damn vermin. They always "get away".
>
> Which just confirms traditional wisdom "The law is an ass."
> (And especially when written by environmentalists!)
>

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Monday is a lousy way to spend one seventh of your life.

blake murphy wrote:

> On Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:50:36 -0700, Blinky the Shark >
> wrote:
>
>>Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>>
>>> I have eaten catfish all my life and fairly often. I have yet to have
>>> eaten one that tasted muddy.
>>
>>Even when they come from muddy waters. Sorry -- I couldn't resist. I
>>started reading a biography of blues musician Muddy Waters, today. I'll
>>leave now. Nothing to see, here, folks...
>
> mckinley morganfield, one of the greatest bottleneck guitar players and
> singers ever.

And...follow the last link in the list of what I'm currently reading:

http://blinkynet.net/books/index.html


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Blinky: http://blinkynet.net

Michael "Dog3" wrote:
> notbob > dropped this
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>
>>On 2008-04-08, Michael "Dog3" > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Pardon my ignorance but wouldn't the "muddy" taste permeate the
>>>buttermilk?
>>
>>Frankly, I don't buy into the bmilk-removes-muddy-taste in the first
>>place and find the whole premise of muddy tasting catfish to be
>>dubious in the second. How is a bottom feeding fish most commonly
>>found in muddy silt laden water supposed to taste, like it lives in
>>Perrier water? Gimme a break. I've eaten catfish from all over the US
>>and it always tastes just fine to me, and without the help of
>>buttermilk. Now, if you want to use buttermilk to coat that fish
>>before you dredge in cornmeal, I'll even help.
>
>
> I've never cared much for the taste of cat fish. I've had it in stew
> type dishes and it was okay. I see catfish nuggets here and there but
> have never tried them. Honestly, I have fried fish maybe 3-4 times in the
> past couple of years and it's usually been tilapia used in fish tacos. I
> prefer my fish grilled or baked.

I haven't eaten catfish in years, neither wild nor farmed. I just can't
get past the image of them being some sort of aquatic possum...

Kathleen wrote:

> I haven't eaten catfish in years, neither wild nor farmed. I just can't
> get past the image of them being some sort of aquatic possum...

Not to worry. Catfish aren't as hairy and their tails aren't as ugly.


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Blinky: http://blinkynet.net

Blinky the Shark wrote:
> Kathleen wrote:
>
>
>>I haven't eaten catfish in years, neither wild nor farmed. I just can't
>>get past the image of them being some sort of aquatic possum...
>
>
> Not to worry. Catfish aren't as hairy and their tails aren't as ugly.

But they can't cuddle up next to you, or be transported under your
t-shirt, and they certainly can't hang from your finger by their tails.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=okbaxg&s=3

Catfish, on the other hand, can nail you with the barbs on their fins
and the bacterial slime they carry on their skin pretty much guarantees
an instantaneous infection.

Nancy Young > wrote:

>"Blinky the Shark" > wrote

>> I'd never even heard of muddy fish taste until this thread kicked off.
>> And I've fried plenty of (Mmmmmmm...) catfish.

>People here mention it often, that's why I posted it.

I don't know about "muddy" but either catfish or tilapia can
be a randomly inferior fish, texture-wise ... too soft and mushy.
I can't reliably get fish I really like with either species,
so I've more or less quit buying them.

Steve

"Kathleen" > wrote in message
...
> Blinky the Shark wrote:
>> Kathleen wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I haven't eaten catfish in years, neither wild nor farmed. I just can't
>>>get past the image of them being some sort of aquatic possum...
>>
>>
>> Not to worry. Catfish aren't as hairy and their tails aren't as ugly.
>
> But they can't cuddle up next to you, or be transported under your
> t-shirt, and they certainly can't hang from your finger by their tails.
> http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=okbaxg&s=3
>
> Catfish, on the other hand, can nail you with the barbs on their fins and
> the bacterial slime they carry on their skin pretty much guarantees an
> instantaneous infection.
>

But mmm, mmm mmm, that tasty meat. Good stuff. All this talk of catfish
made me get a mess and fry them up. Wonderful.


** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Wayne Boatwright > wrote:

> I have eaten catfish all my life and fairly often. I have yet to have
> eaten one that tasted muddy.

That's probably because you're used to it. I didn't catfish until
4-5 years ago and my first impression was... ugh! And I've tried to
eat it 4-5 times since then.

The last batch I went 'Ugh!" again and made the rest into Thai fish
cakes. That wasn't too bad since all the other spices/aromatics
covered up the taste.

-sw

Kathleen wrote:

> Blinky the Shark wrote:
>> Kathleen wrote:
>>
>>>I haven't eaten catfish in years, neither wild nor farmed. I just can't
>>>get past the image of them being some sort of aquatic possum...
>>
>>
>> Not to worry. Catfish aren't as hairy and their tails aren't as ugly.
>
> But they can't cuddle up next to you, or be transported under your
> t-shirt, and they certainly can't hang from your finger by their tails.

Is that a possum in your shirt or are you just happy to see me?


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Blinky: http://blinkynet.net

On Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:34:21 -0700, Blinky the Shark
> wrote:

>blake murphy wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:50:36 -0700, Blinky the Shark >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>>>
>>>> I have eaten catfish all my life and fairly often. I have yet to have
>>>> eaten one that tasted muddy.
>>>
>>>Even when they come from muddy waters. Sorry -- I couldn't resist. I
>>>started reading a biography of blues musician Muddy Waters, today. I'll
>>>leave now. Nothing to see, here, folks...
>>
>> mckinley morganfield, one of the greatest bottleneck guitar players and
>> singers ever.
>
>And...follow the last link in the list of what I'm currently reading:
>
>http://blinkynet.net/books/index.html

interesting list.

your pal,
blake

"Kathleen" > wrote in message
...
> Blinky the Shark wrote:
>> Zeppo wrote:
>>
>>
>>>"James Silverton" > wrote in message
>>>news:j5NKj.8122$qB1.7389@trnddc07...
>>>
>>>>Marl wrote on Tue, 8 Apr 2008 09:25:09 -0700 (PDT):
>>>>
>>>>MJ> There was a report awhile back about tilapia from China, MJ> not
>>>>being all that safe. I've curtailed buying most MJ> anything I can,
>>>>which emanates from that country, until MJ> they get their quality
>>>>control act together.
>>>>
>>>>I suppose traditionally raised tilapia might well have a muddy taste
>>>>since they were grown in the shallow muddy waters of rice paddies before
>>>>the fields were drained to ripen and harvest the rice. It's really a
>>>>very efficient use of space.
>>>>
>>>>Let's be honest, I don't like the texture of tilapia even ones I've
>>>>selected from those swimming in a tank.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Interesting. I like tilapia but have a problem with the texture of
>>>catfish. It has the same sinewy texture as mako shark.
>>
>>
>> Mmmmmmm......sinewy texture.
>>
>> Blinky loves catfish; Blinky doesn't remember ever having mako shark
>> (probably professional courtesy).
>
> I can't remember locally available shark being identified by species. And
> I've cut way back on consumption of top-level predators so I don't pay
> much attention to whatever shark might still be available.
>
> Probably the last time I fixed shark, my daughter was just shy of three
> but perfectly capable of relaying her thoughts.
>
> Her review of the grilled, teriyaki marinated shark steaks? "Dis chicken
> tastes insgustink".
>
> As a parent you're not supposed to laugh at comments like that so I had to
> excuse myself, retreat to my bedroom, close the door and put a pillow over
> my face.

My kids actually loved it. The texture doesn't bother them. Course, now that
they're older I've had years to shape their tastes in all things
food-related. Unfortunatley, it tends to run to the most pricey thing on the
menu when we eat out these days.

My local fish store will usually be as explicit as possible for the stuff he
sells. Much better than supermarkets.

Jon

On Apr 9, 6:39 pm, Blinky the Shark > wrote:
> Kathleen wrote:
> > I haven't eaten catfish in years, neither wild nor farmed. I just can't
> > get past the image of them being some sort of aquatic possum...
>
> Not to worry. Catfish aren't as hairy and their tails aren't as ugly.
>
> --
> Blinky
> Killing all posts from Google Groups
> The Usenet Improvement Project:http://improve-usenet.org
> Blinky:http://blinkynet.net

I love catfish.

N.

In article >, ChattyCathy > wrote:
>Phred wrote:
>> "Not that easy to find." Bloody hell! Here in Oz you can go to jail
>> (well, heavily fined anyway) if caught in possession of tilapia.
>>
>> If out in the middle of a dam or river, and you catch one of the
>> beasts, you have to row back to the shore *immediately* and dispose of
>> it in an approved official rubbish bin. If you leave it in the bottom
>> of the boat and a patrol catches you, you'll be in deep shit. (A bit
>> like catfish.
>
>Wow, didn't know that. Why is it such a 'crime' in Oz, BTW?

Tilapia were first found in Australian streams about 20 or 30 years
ago and *much* more recently the bureaucrats woke up and decided they
were a menace to native fish and other fauna here, so needed to be
controlled or, preferably, eradicated. (Too late as usual IMO.)

The main concern with "possession" is that people may deliberately or
unintentionally spread them around. They (all, or just our
intruders?) are mouth breeders and the assumption seems to be that
even a dead fish may still have live young in its gob. (Or, perhaps
more logically, that dumping one fish may in reality be dumping a
shoal of the buggers.)

Also, the bureaucrats don't want people to start thinking they are
quite good to catch and eat, because that might encourage the
irresponsible *******s to put them into a local pond or creek.

The environmental lobby here has a very poor record of dealing with
sensitive issues (with the foxtail palm saga being a classic example
of the wrong approach to an issue) so it's a bit hard to believe that
their approach to controlling tilapia is likely to be effective. But
I guess it keeps people in a job and out of trouble.

>> Of course, the net [good fishing term] result of this is that people
>> out in boats, or just too far away along the bank, *never* catch the
>> damn vermin. They always "get away".
>>
>> Which just confirms traditional wisdom "The law is an ass."
>> (And especially when written by environmentalists!)

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

On Apr 8, 8:16*am, "Nancy Young" > wrote:
> "James Silverton" > wrote
>
> > "Nancy Young" > wrote
> >>I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
> >> Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
> >> Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
> >> acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. *Soak for an hour before
> >> cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
> >> the recipe.
> > Perhaps, I'll have to give it a try for catfish, which in all my tries has
> > tasted "muddy". Would something really acidic, like lemon juice, perhaps
> > diluted, work? Buttemilk is not something that I keep around.
>
> They said that the lemon water left the texture of the fish somewhat
> mushy. *But if you have lemon and you have milk, you can make
> your own buttermilk.
>

Is that really how buttermilk/kefir is made? Doesn't the lemon curdle
milk into crap?

On Apr 8, 8:07 am, "Nancy Young" > wrote:
> I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
> Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
> Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
> acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
> cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
> the recipe.

Channel catfish are my favorite sport fish. Those puppies get very
large and most fight like no other freshwater fish I've come across.
I've found them to be just a little gamy, or muddy, though. An ancient
fishing buddy taught me to soak the fillets in regular milk prior to
breading and then frying them up; it's cut that "extra" essence down
without interfering in the texture or mild taste that true catfish
provides.

On Apr 8, 8:14 am, "James Silverton" >
wrote:
> Perhaps, I'll have to give it a try for catfish, which in all my
> tries has tasted "muddy". Would something really acidic, like
> lemon juice, perhaps diluted, work? Buttemilk is not something
> that I keep around.

Lemon juice by itself is too acidic and will "cook" the fish, or start
to break down the flesh before cooking. Milk works, too, cutting down
that "muddy" flavor that is associated with bottom feeders.

" > wrote

> On Apr 8, 8:07 am, "Nancy Young" > wrote:
>> I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
>> Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
>> Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
>> acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
>> cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
>> the recipe.
>
> Channel catfish are my favorite sport fish. Those puppies get very
> large and most fight like no other freshwater fish I've come across.

Oh, I saw a bit of some show, let me think of the name.

Hooked: Bare Handed.

OMG, the enormous catfish they pulled out of the water, amazing.
With their bare hands.

> I've found them to be just a little gamy, or muddy, though. An ancient
> fishing buddy taught me to soak the fillets in regular milk prior to
> breading and then frying them up; it's cut that "extra" essence down
> without interfering in the texture or mild taste that true catfish
> provides.

Sounds good. Milk has acid, too, right? So why not.

I'm just remembering this tough ex Marine I used to work with, he had
the bearing and the disposition ... but to see his face when he'd talk
about pulling up a catfish, he would just totally skeeve. Cracked me up.
He wanted no part of those whiskery things.

nancy

Nancy Young wrote:
> " > wrote
>
>> On Apr 8, 8:07 am, "Nancy Young" > wrote:
>>> I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
>>> Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
>>> Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
>>> acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
>>> cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
>>> the recipe.

>> Channel catfish are my favorite sport fish. Those puppies get very
>> large and most fight like no other freshwater fish I've come across.
>
> Oh, I saw a bit of some show, let me think of the name.
>
> Hooked: Bare Handed.
>
> OMG, the enormous catfish they pulled out of the water, amazing.
> With their bare hands.

Down here, they call that "noodling". I guess everybody needs a hobby.

Becca