# SUMMER HARVEST DINNER



## Sowsage (Aug 4, 2020)

Last night I got some of our catfish out of the freezer. Its been a while since we had fish and it was time to start eating some of our harvest. Now most people I know like catfish fried or smoked but my favorite way is seasoned and cooked in a lightly buttered cast iron along with some fresh veggies out of the garden. We didn't do our garden this year but I had some zuchinni that my father in law gave us out of his.

I like a Cajun seasoning on my catfish. You can make your own but this stuff is so good I dont bother.








Seasoned up real good
	

		
			
		

		
	







The zuchinni got chopped up and a layer put in a casserole dish, then seasoned with salt pepper garlic and some " vegitable grill" then a layer of shredded jack cheese. Then another layer of the zuchinni and more seasoning. The last 10 min of baking it will get another layer of the cheese to melt on top.
	

		
			
		

		
	











Catfish in the cast iron
	

		
			
		

		
	







Give them a flip
	

		
			
		

		
	







Then on to the plate with some rice(uncle bens wild rice) the cheesy zuchinni bake and a couple lemon wedges for the fish.
	

		
			
		

		
	











And of course a close up of the fish! Flakey and jucy! And perfectly cooked!
	

		
			
		

		
	







Thanks for taking a look!


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## SmokinVOLfan (Aug 4, 2020)

Fish looks awesome man! I love catfish and looks like you cooked yours perfectly. Nice job.


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## Sowsage (Aug 4, 2020)

SmokinVOLfan said:


> View attachment 457093
> 
> 
> Fish looks awesome man! I love catfish and looks like you cooked yours perfectly. Nice job.


Thanks ! It was a real good meal!


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## flatbroke (Aug 4, 2020)

Good looking vittles


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## tx smoker (Aug 4, 2020)

OMG Travis!! That fish looks fantastic buddy. Was just having a convo with a couple folks abut catfish and bingo!! There's yours. By far one of my favorites and I typically do mine pretty much the same way you did. No breading, just season them and into a skillet. Excellent job sir!!

Robert


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## Brokenhandle (Aug 4, 2020)

Excellent looking fish! Nice job.  Cooked just how we like them.

Ryan


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## xray (Aug 4, 2020)

Travis, the catfish looks great and perfectly cooked! Great plate of food!

I never heard of the Vegetable Grille, is it dry seasoning?


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## GATOR240 (Aug 4, 2020)

That is a killer meal Travis. I could eat two plates of that! Like!


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## Sowsage (Aug 4, 2020)

flatbroke said:


> Good looking vittles


Thanks fb!


tx smoker said:


> OMG Travis!! That fish looks fantastic buddy. Was just having a convo with a couple folks abut catfish and bingo!! There's yours. By far one of my favorites and I typically do mine pretty much the same way you did. No breading, just season them and into a skillet. Excellent job sir!!
> 
> Robert


 Thanks Robert ! This is my favorite way to do catfish!


Brokenhandle said:


> Excellent looking fish! Nice job.  Cooked just how we like them.
> 
> Ryan


 Thanks Ryan ! It was a great meal!


xray said:


> Travis, the catfish looks great and perfectly cooked! Great plate of food!
> 
> I never heard of the Vegetable Grille, is it dry seasoning?


 Thanks ! Its a dry mix of mostly dried herbs . it's really good on all veggies.


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## sandyut (Aug 4, 2020)

YUM!  that look righteous!


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## zwiller (Aug 4, 2020)

Man, you have no idea how good that looks to me!  NICE JOB.  Seriously, your last fish thread got me fired up so I got my license for the first time in YEARS and finally activated my OGF account.  Would LOVE to know more about how you catch and prep.  I see talk of bleeding them and only bagging smaller ones.  ANY tips greatly appreciated.


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## SmokinAl (Aug 4, 2020)

Awesome man, I do salmon &tilapia just like that, but I have never tried catfish that way, we always eat it fried. Gonna do it for sure!
Al


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## chopsaw (Aug 4, 2020)

That fish is cooked perfect . Nice meal right there . Like the baked veg too . Trying that for sure .


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## sawhorseray (Aug 4, 2020)

That is some real fine looking whisker fish you got cooked up there Travis, the baked zukes are looking real good too, nice piece of work!  RAY


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## TNJAKE (Aug 4, 2020)

Nice job Travis. I love catfish done like that. You nailed it. My mouth is watering as I type


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## HalfSmoked (Aug 4, 2020)

Now that's a good meal even better with some cornbread.

Warren


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## Sowsage (Aug 4, 2020)

GATOR240 said:


> That is a killer meal Travis. I could eat two plates of that! Like!


Thanks gator! I was kinda sad when it was all gone lol. I could have ate a pile of that fish!


sandyut said:


> YUM!  that look righteous!


Thanks sandyut!


zwiller said:


> Man, you have no idea how good that looks to me!  NICE JOB.  Seriously, your last fish thread got me fired up so I got my license for the first time in YEARS and finally activated my OGF account.  Would LOVE to know more about how you catch and prep.  I see talk of bleeding them and only bagging smaller ones.  ANY tips greatly appreciated.


 Thanks zwiller! I keep just about all the catfish we catch reguardless of size. No need to bleed them out. Usually I cut the skin all the way around just behind the head and peel it back with pliers. Peels right off. Then just fillet as you would any other fish. Catfish have the added bonus of the belly meat as well. The larger older ones I will discard some of the darker parts of the fillet. I also soak the fillets in salt water for a few hours in the fridge, rinse them off and pack in Ziploc bags filled with water to freeze. Maybe i should do a thread on how I clean them next time I get the chance!


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## Sowsage (Aug 4, 2020)

SmokinAl said:


> Awesome man, I do salmon &tilapia just like that, but I have never tried catfish that way, we always eat it fried. Gonna do it for sure!
> Al


Thanks Al! I would say if you like the tilapia that way the catfish would be very similar! Hope you give it a try!


chopsaw said:


> That fish is cooked perfect . Nice meal right there . Like the baked veg too . Trying that for sure .


Thanks chopsaw! I'll be honest....the veggies almost stole the show. They were awesome and real simple to do!


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## smokin peachey (Aug 4, 2020)

Nice plate. Everything looks good


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## Sowsage (Aug 4, 2020)

sawhorseray said:


> That is some real fine looking whisker fish you got cooked up there Travis, the baked zukes are looking real good too, nice piece of work!  RAY


 Thanks RAY! That zuchinni was real real good! And super easy!


TNJAKE said:


> Nice job Travis. I love catfish done like that. You nailed it. My mouth is watering as I type


Thanks Jake ! It was delicious!


HalfSmoked said:


> Now that's a good meal even better with some cornbread.
> 
> Warren


 Thanks Warren! Corn bread would have went with this perfectly! Next time I'll make some in the cast iron .


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## Sowsage (Aug 4, 2020)

smokin peachey said:


> Nice plate. Everything looks good


Thanks peachey! Was a very nice meal!


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## jcam222 (Aug 4, 2020)

Brother that catfish is MONEY!! Big like! I love good catfish. Out of clean water I find it to be very mild sweet fish.


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## Steve H (Aug 4, 2020)

This is a very nice looking meal. I used to have catfish a lot when I lived in Arkansas. Which I caught myself. Haven't had it in many years. But, with all these threads on it. I might risk buying some frozen fillets and trying it.


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## Sowsage (Aug 4, 2020)

jcam222 said:


> Brother that catfish is MONEY!! Big like! I love good catfish. Out of clean water I find it to be very mild sweet fish.


Thanks jcam! And your right its a very mild fish. One of our favorites!


Steve H said:


> This is a very nice looking meal. I used to have catfish a lot when I lived in Arkansas. Which I caught myself. Haven't had it in many years. But, with all these threads on it. I might risk buying some frozen fillets and trying it.


 Thanks Steve! Frozen would be fine but check Wal-Mart where they have the non frozen fish. Ive seen catfish in that section before. Looked to be pretty nice ones. And you dont have to buy a big bag of them that way.


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## HalfSmoked (Aug 5, 2020)

Just be careful of the fish from Wallyworld it may be from the dirty ponds of other nations.

Warren


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## Sowsage (Aug 5, 2020)

HalfSmoked said:


> Just be careful of the fish from Wallyworld it may be from the dirty ponds of other nations.
> 
> Warren


This is true. Especially with tilapia...check the source for sure!


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## zwiller (Aug 5, 2020)

Ok let's talk more Ohio boys.  

 Sowsage


 jcam222
 Sandusky Bay cats?  Yea/nay.    I plan to at least try some, bleed a few, and experiment.  I think the locals still remember the Bay when it was real bad...


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## Sowsage (Aug 5, 2020)

zwiller said:


> Ok let's talk more Ohio boys.
> 
> Sowsage
> 
> ...


I can say in the last 4-5 years ive caught plenty of channel cats out of Erie while walleye fishing. But usually up around the islands. All have been good clean fish.


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## HalfSmoked (Aug 5, 2020)

Sowsage said:


> This is true. Especially with tilapia...check the source for sure!



They have a cat fish they call Swahi from Vietnam. Not sure if I seen it some where here on the forum or just where but only catfish raised in the USA can carry the label catfish all others have to be under a different name such as Swahi then say catfish.

Warren


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## zwiller (Aug 5, 2020)

Good info Warren!  Mom loves swai but does not eat local catfish unless smoked...  This could be interesting.


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## HalfSmoked (Aug 6, 2020)

Thanks for the like zwiller it is appreciated.

Warren


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## JLeonard (Aug 6, 2020)

Oh Man that looks good! Double plate me.
Jim


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## Sowsage (Aug 6, 2020)

JLeonard said:


> Oh Man that looks good! Double plate me.
> Jim


 Thanks Jim! I wish i had made more! I would have had a double plate!


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## Smokin' in AZ (Aug 7, 2020)

Fantastic lookin' plate Travis!

Not a catfish fan but would try some of yours...

LIKE!

John


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## Sowsage (Aug 7, 2020)

Smokin' in AZ said:


> Fantastic lookin' plate Travis!
> 
> Not a catfish fan but would try some of yours...
> 
> ...


Even the veggies? Lol!


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## Smokin' in AZ (Aug 8, 2020)

Sowsage said:


> Even the veggies? Lol!


Sure, just don't expect me to finish them....


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