The reason why Catfish are getting a bum rap:
I grew up eating catfish & bullheads freshly caught out of the Mississippi River between Wisconsin & Illinois on the east and Iowa on the west. Many folks don't care for the taste of Catfish & Bullheads because they both have a much more "fishy" flavor than other fish such as Cod, Pollock, Haddock, etc. Mississippi River Catfish seem to have an especially "fishy" flavor, more so than Catfish caught in the 7 lakes in Cherokee Village, Arkansas for example.
There is a way to prepare Catfish & Bullheads to eliminate the "fishy" taste but leaving behind a delicious taste of the fish ... a cornmeal batter that my husband learned how to cook from his leading chef during the years that my husband used to own a restaurant. This batter can be used when frying or baking or broiling or deep fat frying or grilling, when making Catfish Balls, and much more.
The batter is a little yellow or white cornmeal or a mixture of yellow & white cornmeal, a little milk, an egg or two, a little tiny dab of creamy horseradish sauce to give it a little zing (the heat cooks out, the flavor remains), a little freshly ground kosher or sea salt & a little freshly ground black pepper. A little Cayenne Pepper can be added to give the batter a Cajun touch if desired.
This batter works well on any seafood item, not just on Catfish or Bullheads ... lobster, scallops, oysters, clams, shrimp, crawfish, any variety of fish, etc. and it's 100 times better tasting that the batter used by Long John Silver's restaurant.
