Best stew I ever had

originally posted by: DAVID64
a reply to: ketsuko


I fished for cats out of the Ohio River in Kentucky.
Biggest I ever caught on a rod and reel was a 52 lb Bluecat, HELL of a fight and I played him for almost an hour, cause I only had 20 lb line. I put him in a cooler with ice and when we got home, hung him from a tree branch, cut the head off and bled him out. After cleaning and rinsing him, it was great.

At least down in Louisiana blues and yellows are different. The yellows we also call mudcats. They are muddy, even the smaller ones. Blues always taste good. I don't think that they scavenge like the yellows.

originally posted by: ketsuko
In the midwest, people set lines for the big catfish. When you catch a bigun' you can't just clean it and eat it right away. A big cat like that spends a lot of its life down in the mud, eating stuff that's been down in the mud. Ergo, it tastes like mud. A lot of time, the local bait shops have large tanks you can pay to put you large cats in for a period of days. This time allows the mud taste to flush from the fish. They aren't lying in it and eating stuff steeped in it, so it's cleaned out. Another remedy my cousin swears by is to use 7-Up when cooking the fish.

I've never had the occasion to have to try any of these remedies as I never set lines for the big cats myself. I just fish rod and reel and never caught anything larger than 8 to 10 lbs which is quite enough fresh fish for the meal.

I've heard the same works for possum. You catch one, you put it in a cage for a few days and feed it nothing but corn and water. Friend of mine used to swear by it.

As far as cute things, I don't think possums count. They are ugly little suckers.

originally posted by: DAVID64
a reply to: Trueman

Ya know...I've eaten at some of the best steak houses in Fort Worth. Del Frisco's, Ruth's Chris, Cattlemen's....but I'd walk right past them to get just one more bowl of that stew.

I miss Fort Worth.

What else was in this stew? Cause I'd trap or shoot a groundhog to try it out.

a reply to: incoserv

I think you're right. The biggest blues maybe, but I think blues are more active predators. Flatheads, on the other hand, like to lay up in the mud.

never EVER try to cook a buzzard just...dayuummm. Maybe if we would had soaked the meat in teriaki sauce a few days it might had worked but.... yeah. We might had done something wrong,but i m not sure.

a reply to: 4003fireglo

Just like you'd make beef stew, just with groundhog.