How to Dress a Catfish

Dressed catfish are pan-ready and often fried as is or coated with cornmeal.

Dressing a fish simply refers to preparing it for cooking, and, concerning catfish, entails removing the head, viscera and skin. Catfish skin, although edible, has a pronounced fish-like taste and oily texture that doesn't do hold up well to frying, the most common application for the fish. You should clean catfish, and all freshwater fish, within two to three hours of landing them. Their liver releases toxins within hours of harvesting, altering the flavor of the catfish and diminishing the overall quality of other fish stored with it. Does this Spark an idea?

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Cutting board
Fillet knife

Instructions

- 1
  
  Position the catfish on the cutting board horizontally. Make a 1/4-inch deep incision beginning behind the adipose fin (the fin on top and closest to the tail) extending along the top of the fish to dorsal fin (located behind the head).
- 2
  
  Make a cut on top of the fish behind the head until you reach the backbone, approximately 1/4-inch deep. Hold the catfish with one hand and pull the head down sharply to break the spine; you will hear an audible cracking sound.
- 3
  
  Insert the forefinger of the hand holding the catfish body in its ribcage. Pull the head to the tail and off the fish. The pulling motion removes the viscera, head and skin from the fish. Rinse the catfish prior to cooking.

"Fish and Seafood: Identification -- Fabrication -- Utilization"; Mark Ainswoth and Culinary Institute of America; 2009
Upfishing: Cleaning Catfish and Bullhead