What Does Catfish Taste Like?

If you are unsure about eating catfish, you may have some questions like…

What does catfish taste like?

Is it safe to eat?

Is it good?

If this is you, then scroll on down to learn all about catfish and what it tastes like.

What Does Catfish Taste Like?

One of the characteristics of catfish is a muddy taste. Catfish are bottom feeders; they live on murky or muddy bottoms, so it is easy to understand why many people feel they taste like dirt.

Its muddy taste can be mild or strong depending mainly on their habitat, more specifically the quality of water they live in.

Therefore, wild catfish living on muddy streams or the seafloor often have a stronger taste.

Meanwhile, farm-raised catfishes that are living in large cement tanks with no dirt on the bottom offer a milder and cleaner flavor.

However, even for wild catfish, you can completely remove its muddy taste before cooking; so, I find it quite delicious.

About how to get the dirty and fishy taste out of catfish, we will discuss more in the next section of this article.

Besides, the taste of catfish is also entirely unique depending on the type of catfish variety you choose to cook. The three most popular types of catfish you can find in supermarkets are Channel, Flathead, and Blue.

According to many eaters, Flathead fish has the best flavor because, unlike other types, it is a real predator and only eats live food and thus does not carry too strong of a muddy taste.

Meanwhile, Channel catfish have a sweet and mild flavor like salmon, while Bluefish tastes fattier.

Throw them in the deep fryer and prepare some salads, chips, and a glass of wine which sounds like the perfect meal to me.

Other Facts About Catfish That You May Want To Know

What Type of Fish Is Catfish? 

Many people cannot distinguish catfish from others because they look quite similar at first sight. However, the appearance is actually what helps identify catfish the easiest.

A unique feature of catfish is that it has mucus-covered skin instead of scales like other fishes. Its surface is very smooth with different colors.

One more thing, all kinds of catfish, from Channel, Stonecat, Bullheads, to Horned Pouts, etc. have fleshly filaments growing around the mouth which makes it easy to pick out a catfish.

Is Catfish Safe To Eat?

​Yes, you can eat catfish. However, it is best to eat farm-raised catfish because of its mild taste. In case you cook wild catfish, make sure it lives in clean and unpolluted water, since the fish will eat everything in it.

Moreover, be careful when skinning catfish because their spines can hurt you.

Is Catfish Good for You?

Another question you may have when learning about catfish is about its nutritional value. Catfish is not only delicious, but also one of the healthier foods you could eat because it contains many nutrients that are good for your health.

Catfish provides a rich source of protein, which is an essential nutrient for the growth of tissues in the body. It also has a lot of Omega-3 fatty​​ acids that can prevent Alzheimer’s and improve mental health.

However, according to food experts, you should only eat catfish monthly; children and pregnant women should not eat it. There have been several reports of mercury traces in some catfish species due to water pollution.

So, once again, make sure your catfish live in an unpolluted environment before eating it.

Catfish Cooking Tips

​As mentioned above, catfish have distinct fishy and muddy flavors, so knowing how to remove those tastes plays a vital role to have a tasty dish.

Removing Muddy Taste

There are few ways to remove the muddy taste.

• milk
• vinegar
• lemon
• white wine

The simplest way to remove the muddy taste is to use milk. After cleaning and skinning catfish, soak it in some milk and then rinse it off. Milk will help you absorb the muddiness and fishiness from your catfish and make it milder.

Moreover, you can use vinegar, lemon, white wine to remove fishy muddy from catfish with soaking.