Caught Me A Cat!

[richhodg66]

My ex father in law used to make a catfish stew that was real good and spicy. Sounds like the ticket for a big one like that to me. Nice fish, the lake I'm on will have a few big ones like that come out each year, but I personally have never caught one anywhere remotely close to that.

[Dale in Louisiana]

Catfish courtbouillon. That's "coo-bee-yon" for you non-Cajuns.

And yes, I have a recipe:


Catfish Courtbouillon – A Recipe

One of the sad things about life on the road is the that I don’t get good Cajun food. When I get home, I’m looking for Cajun staples: Rice and gravy. Gumbo. Sauce piquant. The stuff I used to find on Mom’s stove.

This is one of them.

First, let’s you and me have a talk. It’s pronounced “coo-be-yon”, light on the “n”. And a courtbouillon is a term used in classic French cuisine to denote a savory liquid in which one poaches mild-flavored meat, fowl or fish. Ah, the French and “classic cuisine”. The chef would go through all the trouble of making a savory (onions, garlic, herbs, etc.) broth and poach a fish in it, then toss out the liquid and serve the fish. Shades of “Let them eat cake!”

My ancestors, the Cajun part of me, haven’t been French since the 1600′s when they left those bozos behind for the New World. After leaving France, getting tossed out of Acadia (now Nova Scotia and thereabouts) by the British and deciding that the French who lived in New Orleans were the same people they left France to escape, my ancestors settled in the prairies of south central and southwest Louisiana. Those Cajuns were frugal people. So somewhere along the line a Cajun cook was poaching a fish in a courtbouillon made with tomatoes, onions, celery, garlic, and bell peppers and said, “Mais, I ain’t t’rowin’ dat stuff away! Make a pot of rice!” and Cajun Catfish Courtboullion was born.

The Recipe:

A couple of pounds of catfish. Or three. If you can get a wild-caught catfish for this, all the better. Mom made ours from catfish we wrested the same day from Black Bayou and Coulee Hippolyte. Wild catfish has a flavor not found in the farm-raised variety. You could make do with other fish, preferably something white.

A 15- ounce (or so) can of chopped tomatoes. Ro-Tel works well here, as does any other variety. Canned tomatoes? Any old Cajun cook worth her salt canned tomatoes. Pantries were filled with jars of canned fruits and vegetables.

A little can of tomato sauce and a little can of tomato paste. Same thing. Or you could just use two cans of chopped tomatoes.

One onion the size of your fist. Chop this coarsely, like 1/4 to 3/8 chunks.

Five or six green onions. (Or scallions, if you must…) Chop these, too.

Celery. Chop a couple of stalks, maybe less. Too much celery overpowers the dish.

Bell pepper. Chop a half of a big one.

Garlic. A clove. Or two. Or three. Chop this finely.

Salt, black pepper, red pepper.

Oil or grease. I use saved bacon fat. This is imminently authentic.

Procedure:

You’ve got everything chopped, right? Cans opened, right? Get your five quart stew pot, and if you’re serious, this will be cast iron. Set it on a burner over medium-high heat and melt a couple tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot. Just as it starts to smoke, dump in the onions, celery and bell pepper. Saute this stuff until the onions are translucent. Then add the garlic and stir it in for a minute or two. Now dump in the tomato stuff. Stir it in for a couple of minutes, then add enough water to make the mass fluid. Bring it to a boil and then cut it back to a bare simmer. Go do something else for the next couple of hours, passing by the pot every now and then to stir the sauce. Salt and pepper it to taste, remembering that you can always add more, but you can’t take it back, especially with the red pepper.

Okay, a couple of hours has passed. You now possess a slightly lumpy but still fluid courtbouillon. At this point in time, start your pot of rice. Then dip a couple of cups of your courtbouillon out of the pot and set aside for a minute. Now take your catfish, cut into serving-sized pieces of course, and set it on top of the surface of your barely bubbling courtbouillon. then take the courtbouillon you just dipped out and pour it over the catfish, covering the top. And now you DON”T stir, because the catfish is going to poach and if you stir, you’ll break it up.

Okay. Rice is ready? Then grab a plate, dump a big scoop of rice in the middle of it, and ladle on a generous portion of the courtbouillon and a chunk of catfish on top. Add a vegetable for a side dish, and you’re set.

A cold beer goes very well with this, and if you prepare it over an open fire on the bank of the bayou while you catch the catfish that goes in it, you get extra points.

dale in Louisiana

[Artful]

Dang, that's a big one. And on 15# no less - good work.

[Fishman]

Leadman that is a great fish and everyone knows flathead is the best eating catfish

Dale, I have to try that recipe. Sounds awesome. Thanks for posting it.

[Mk42gunner]

Fishing has been a little slow at our favorite lake since they are dropping the water level by 10 feet to perform dam repairs. I had caught a couple of small bluegills so decided to try for catfish with one.
Ended up catching a #35 flathead that was about 41" long. Took me an hour and 40 minutes to get it in the boat on #15 test line.
Filled 7 guart bags with the meat from this fish. Sure tastes good!

Nice little flathead. Congratulations on landing it on such a light line.

I have always had better luck catching flatheads in moving water, my favorite bait for them is a perch about the size of my hand (on considerably heavier line).

Robert

[HighHook]

What a great catch!!!
This week your hook is higher then mine...

[MaryB]

I release anything over 10 pounds. The toxic metals accumulate in them and the older they get the more there is. Plus fish that size are the breeders, they repopulate the lakes and rivers.

[HollandNut]

the down river side of a dam is the place our monsters are , I've caught several 60# + here ..
Couple hours north of me , a fellow caught 110# 'er several years ago

[Bzcraig]

A 'fish story' with pics to back it up!

[rondog]

Catfish courtbouillon. That's "coo-bee-yon" for you non-Cajuns.

And yes, I have a recipe:


Catfish Courtbouillon – A Recipe

One of the sad things about life on the road is the that I don’t get good Cajun food. When I get home, I’m looking for Cajun staples: Rice and gravy. Gumbo. Sauce piquant. The stuff I used to find on Mom’s stove.

This is one of them.

First, let’s you and me have a talk. It’s pronounced “coo-be-yon”, light on the “n”. And a courtbouillon is a term used in classic French cuisine to denote a savory liquid in which one poaches mild-flavored meat, fowl or fish. Ah, the French and “classic cuisine”. The chef would go through all the trouble of making a savory (onions, garlic, herbs, etc.) broth and poach a fish in it, then toss out the liquid and serve the fish. Shades of “Let them eat cake!”

My ancestors, the Cajun part of me, haven’t been French since the 1600′s when they left those bozos behind for the New World. After leaving France, getting tossed out of Acadia (now Nova Scotia and thereabouts) by the British and deciding that the French who lived in New Orleans were the same people they left France to escape, my ancestors settled in the prairies of south central and southwest Louisiana. Those Cajuns were frugal people. So somewhere along the line a Cajun cook was poaching a fish in a courtbouillon made with tomatoes, onions, celery, garlic, and bell peppers and said, “Mais, I ain’t t’rowin’ dat stuff away! Make a pot of rice!” and Cajun Catfish Courtboullion was born.

The Recipe:

A couple of pounds of catfish. Or three. If you can get a wild-caught catfish for this, all the better. Mom made ours from catfish we wrested the same day from Black Bayou and Coulee Hippolyte. Wild catfish has a flavor not found in the farm-raised variety. You could make do with other fish, preferably something white.

A 15- ounce (or so) can of chopped tomatoes. Ro-Tel works well here, as does any other variety. Canned tomatoes? Any old Cajun cook worth her salt canned tomatoes. Pantries were filled with jars of canned fruits and vegetables.

A little can of tomato sauce and a little can of tomato paste. Same thing. Or you could just use two cans of chopped tomatoes.

One onion the size of your fist. Chop this coarsely, like 1/4 to 3/8 chunks.

Five or six green onions. (Or scallions, if you must…) Chop these, too.

Celery. Chop a couple of stalks, maybe less. Too much celery overpowers the dish.

Bell pepper. Chop a half of a big one.

Garlic. A clove. Or two. Or three. Chop this finely.

Salt, black pepper, red pepper.

Oil or grease. I use saved bacon fat. This is imminently authentic.

Procedure:

You’ve got everything chopped, right? Cans opened, right? Get your five quart stew pot, and if you’re serious, this will be cast iron. Set it on a burner over medium-high heat and melt a couple tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot. Just as it starts to smoke, dump in the onions, celery and bell pepper. Saute this stuff until the onions are translucent. Then add the garlic and stir it in for a minute or two. Now dump in the tomato stuff. Stir it in for a couple of minutes, then add enough water to make the mass fluid. Bring it to a boil and then cut it back to a bare simmer. Go do something else for the next couple of hours, passing by the pot every now and then to stir the sauce. Salt and pepper it to taste, remembering that you can always add more, but you can’t take it back, especially with the red pepper.

Okay, a couple of hours has passed. You now possess a slightly lumpy but still fluid courtbouillon. At this point in time, start your pot of rice. Then dip a couple of cups of your courtbouillon out of the pot and set aside for a minute. Now take your catfish, cut into serving-sized pieces of course, and set it on top of the surface of your barely bubbling courtbouillon. then take the courtbouillon you just dipped out and pour it over the catfish, covering the top. And now you DON”T stir, because the catfish is going to poach and if you stir, you’ll break it up.

Okay. Rice is ready? Then grab a plate, dump a big scoop of rice in the middle of it, and ladle on a generous portion of the courtbouillon and a chunk of catfish on top. Add a vegetable for a side dish, and you’re set.

A cold beer goes very well with this, and if you prepare it over an open fire on the bank of the bayou while you catch the catfish that goes in it, you get extra points.

dale in Louisiana

Damn - I'm gonna come visit ya! That sounds awesome.

[Col4570]

Dale you have made me hungry,are you a Chef by trade,your description is book worthy.I spent some time in the USA (6 months) in 1974.Worked from Baton Rouge up to Canada and places between (Engineering).Some of the time I worked with a guy who would come up from Louisiana,after a couple of weeks he would start to miss the Cajun Food and craved for Rice and gravy.
Regards.

[leadman]

This was caught on Bartlett Lake. Actually this fish weighs half as much as the state record caught about 3/4 of a mile from this one. The record of over 70 pounds was caught last year.
The bluegill was about 3 1/2 inches long and it was hooked with a #2 baitholder hook thru the top of the mouth as I knew I was going to be trolling.
The lake was dropping fast and there was an unmarked rock about a foot or so under the water that I was manuvering around when it hit .The rod was in one of those nylon rod holder and I thought it was going to get jerked off the boat. The line I had put on the reel is probably 20 years old. Some old Shakespeare line that changes color every 3 feet or so. I normally fish with #4 or #6 but had lost several big fish last year and at the last minute set this rod up with the only heavier line I had.
The reel is an old Zebco Cardinal 4 that was made in Sweden and has a real sweet drag system which is probably why I was able to land it.
I did get the cheek meat and did cut the fillets into steaks. Last year a guy gave us a smaller flathead and I did not cut the fillets into steaks and it just did not cook up right. No problem this time as it tastes very good.
We do have some heavy metal warnings on some of our lakes, mostly mercury, but so far not on this lake. Our fish tend to grow faster here since the water never gets real cold.
I have caught many crappies over 15" and a friend caught a 16" crappie a couple weeks ago.

We are going back to the lake Thursday and you know I'll have a bluegill out the back of the boat!

[Dale in Louisiana]

Damn - I'm gonna come visit ya! That sounds awesome.

You might not have to come visit. If I lose another house to a hurricane, I'm moving north and opening a restaurant.

dale in Louisiana

[Dale in Louisiana]

Dale you have made me hungry,are you a Chef by trade,your description is book worthy.I spent some time in the USA (6 months) in 1974.Worked from Baton Rouge up to Canada and places between (Engineering).Some of the time I worked with a guy who would come up from Louisiana,after a couple of weeks he would start to miss the Cajun Food and craved for Rice and gravy.
Regards.

Nope, I'm an electrical power guy, non-degreed engineer. I learned to cook in the shadows of a Cajun family, great-grandmother, grandmother, and mom.

I understand your friend's cravings. I've been in a several places around the world and if I stay too long, I get the same cravings. I made seafood gumbo in Korea, and all manner of Cajun feeds, including rice and gravy, in Germany.

I am putting together a compendium of my recipes from my blog. It's one of those projects one starts, then sets aside, but it IS a project.

dale in Louisiana

[aspangler]

Dang! Now I have to get the rods out and get them ready for this weekend! We get big Blue's here in East TN. Not uncommon for them to strip a reel of 2-# and break it at the reel.

[jonp]

I think everyone should cruise into Dales for a weekend cookout!

Thats a nice fish for sure. A small mill here makes some slightly spicy breading mix. It's perfect for rolling fish in and deep frying the fillets.

[dave roelle]

My Daddy caught a big catfish from a farm pond near Amarillo.
The Polaroid picture weighed four pounds ...

i wrote that one down for later Charlie

Dave

[Nicholas]

I release anything over 10 pounds. The toxic metals accumulate in them and the older they get the more there is. Plus fish that size are the breeders, they repopulate the lakes and rivers.

Concern about older fish bioaccumulation of toxins is appropriate here on the Mississippi river. A better reason for releasing big blues and flatbread is to develop trophy fishing. Both species, and especially blue catfish can reach phenomenal sizes under trophy management.

[starmac]

Dale sounds like a 14 karat cajun. I always said they could make chicken feathers taste good. lol

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Leadman that is a great fish and everyone knows flathead is the best eating catfish

Dale, I have to try that recipe. Sounds awesome. Thanks for posting it.

If I knew what this 36lb feller (that my daughter hooked) tasted like, I would have let him go, instead of butcher him. I just pan fried the steaks (rolled in cornmeal) in butter...NOT GOOD.

If the Blues aren't as good...that's all I need to know, they'll get released then.

I'll stick with Walleyes, Perch, and Sunnies