Barbel/Catfish!!!

[alisonb]

So the guys went fishing over the weekend and came back with a monstrosity of a Barbel :shock: . Just like little boys, they had huge ideas about the preparation and eating of the fish - it was eventually put in the freezer for further thought and discussion . Should it be curried, steamed, barbaqued, salted and dried, and so it went on and on...... :help: . For all I'm cared they could just as well have let the poor bugger back into the water, what a scary looking fish....and they want us to eat it :shock: .
We refer to it as Barbel here, I think it is what you call a Catfish? Does anyone have any ideas on how to prepare this fish or should the girls just make it disappear :lol: ?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

We raise channel catfish. They are superb eating.
Ours will range from 4-12# (we love to go fishing!)
I take the fillets & cut them into about a 4" long piece, batter it & fry it. Hmmhmm good.
There are lots of different kinds of catfish.

 

[dun]

So, is it a catfish or a carp?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbel_(fish)

 

[alisonb]

I took this pic off the web, (the guys fish was just a lill' smaller :mrgreen it is described as a sharptoothed catfish.

Here is a homemade lure that they use, a shell, cork and some tassles - notice the match next to it.

 

[alisonb]

Jeanne - I'm thinking batter as well . Do you raise them commercially or just for yourselves?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Just for ourselves. We have 2 ponds. The original one is about 1/4 acre and that's the one we stocked with channel catfish. Originally, we purchased the catfish & fathead minnows to feed the catfish. Well, after the first year the fathead minnows multiplied so much, my husband teased and kept saying the minnows were eating the catfish. Well, we finally read that the channel cats don't start eating live bait until they were 3 years old. The spring that they turned 3 yrs - absolutely not 1 fathead minnow - gone! And there were "billions" of them (well maybe not). There were so many, we would put a minnow trap in the pond with dog food in it - wait 15 minutes, and when you pulled it out it would be full of minnows.
The newest pond is about 2.5 acres and we stocked it with large mouth bass, crappie, perch & sunfish (along with clams, snails, crawdads, frogs & fathead minnows. This is also for our fishing pleasure.

 

[TexasBred]

I would like to make reservations for a weekend fishing on Lake # 2 when the weather warms up. :welcome:

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Come on up!!! We have a "make-shift" fireplace. We clean them & cook them right by the pond. Lots of fun! Fishing isn't very "challenging" - they pretty much bite at anything.
Let me know when you'll be here. And yes, weather has to warm up - I'm not into ice fishing!!!

 

[alisonb]

Jeanne, sounds fun - so it's not all beef that you're about then ;-) .

I have found some recipes for pickled fish on the web, I think we should can it :banana:

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Jeanne, sounds fun - so it's not all beef that you're about then ;-) .

I have found some recipes for pickled fish on the web, I think we should can it :banana:

No - not all beef. I am a deer hunter and a fisher-lady. But, I don't EVER claim to be a "dolly-domestic". I would rather be out in the barn cleaning pens than in the house cleaning or cooking :shock:
We actually have a hand made wooden canoe that we go out to the small lakes around & love to bass fish.

 

[hillsdown]

Jealous, :mrgreen: wish we had a pond here or even neighbors with a pond or two .I would love to come catch Bass at your place sometime Jeanne . The lakes around us are not really good anymore to fish in. We used to be able to go out west and catch tons of rainbow trout but sadly those days are gone too.

Whatever you decide Alison, I am sure it will be great. I am partial to blackened catfish, don't know how to make it myself though. Had the best ever blkn'd catfish in Alabama, was phenomenal. I also had a really good catfish dish years ago in Nashville, it was served with avocado and some very tasty herbs and spices..

Pics please of what you come up with.

 

[KNERSIE]

Why not just buy a snoek?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Why not just buy a snoek?

OK - I'll bite - what's a snoek?

 

[alisonb]

The lakes around us are not really good anymore to fish in.

HD- why is that, are they just fished out?

Knersie - now you are talking, a man after my own heart. How do you usually prepare your snoek, braai?

Jeanne - it's a long slender sea fish that occurs in the Southern Hemisphere, quite oily and has a very distinctive taste, rather large bones. Very popular to South Africans and a very versatile fish. I am crazy about smoked snoek.

I wonder if any of our Aussie friends know it and if so what they call it?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Is it like a snake - we have fresh water eels (built like a snake) but it's a fish. I say that - but - I'm not sure there are any here in NY. I used to catch them in Rhode Island when I was growing up.

 

[KNERSIE]

Knersie - now you are talking, a man after my own heart. How do you usually prepare your snoek, braai?

Usually braai, but I smoke them as well. How readily available is snoek in Papgooiers Valley?

 

[KNERSIE]

Is it like a snake - we have fresh water eels (built like a snake) but it's a fish. I say that - but - I'm not sure there are any here in NY. I used to catch them in Rhode Island when I was growing up.

Nothing like eel, its part of the baracoutta family, see below

SnoekScientific name: Thyrsites atun
Other/Common names: Cape Snoek, Barracouta (in New Zealand and Australia)

Distribution: Found in temperate waters from the West Coast to the Eastern Cape. It's also prevalent off the coast of Australia, South America, New Zealand and other islands in the Southern hemisphere.

One of the Cape's most popular exports, these large-schooling predators are highly nomadic and often move around unpredictably. This, coupled with its fast growth, makes it a very resilient species, and its seasonal movement – better known as the “snoek runs” – varies considerably.

Growing up to 200cm in size (and weighing up to 6kg), it's also known as Barracouta (which shouldn't be confused with the game fish called Barracuda). Snoek forms schools near the bottom or midwater, and prefers water between 13° and 18°C.

Although it's a treat to buy this fish fresh, Snoek freezes incredibly well and is available all year round.

Snoek can be baked, poached, fried or smoked, but the traditional way to serve it is grilled over the coals with boiled sweet potatoes. Some followers of this regional speciality also insist on brushing apricot jam on the fish before grilling it.

 

[plumber_greg]

Sara, my plumbergirl, grew up as a river rat. Her mother used to tell her and her brother to get the gell out of the house, you got a whole river to play in so go down there. Her father is a fishing fool, he catches fifty pound flatheads and blues and channels like I catch bluegill. Every year their family has a fish fry and eat what they have caught feed 150 people. In the entrance to the town they hang fish skeltons on the welcome sign, pretty impressive bunch of stinkin' heads hung up there. gs

 

[dun]

Is it like a snake - we have fresh water eels (built like a snake) but it's a fish. I say that - but - I'm not sure there are any here in NY. I used to catch them in Rhode Island when I was growing up.

Comes in both fresh water and salt water varieties according to wikipedia

 

[alisonb]

How readily available is snoek in Papgooiers Valley?

:lol: :mrgreen: You do know i'm gonna get you for that.
I have family and friends dotted all around the coast so get quite a nice variety of seafood including snoek