How to Buy Raw Catfish

Raising catfish in farms has stabilized the wild population.

Catfish is such a popular product in America that farmers raise it in large river-based farms throughout the Mississippi Delta. Farms can control the size and quality of their catfish population with fine-tuned precision. Farmers taste the catfish at the moment and location of harvest to ensure the flavor is clean. As a result, farmed catfish lacks the slight muddy flavor often found in wild catfish. Though farm-raised meat and shellfish are not always preferable, farm-raised catfish is preferable to wild catfish. Does this Spark an idea?

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Instructions

- 1
  
  Smell the fish. Fresh fish does not smell fishy at all but rather has a mild odor. If fish smells fishy, it is not fresh.
- 2
  
  Look at the color of the flesh. Catfish should have white flesh, which may include subtle pink coloring as well.
- 3
  
  Touch the fish or watch the person at the counter touch the fish. Fresh catfish should be firm to the touch.
- 4
  
  Check the edges of all the portions. Look for dry or slightly darkened edges. This is a sign that the store or distributor did not butcher the catfish recently.
- 5
  
  Look at the eyes of the catfish if you are shopping for a whole fish. The eyes should be clear. If they are cloudy, the fish is not fresh.