I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

FWIW.

nancy

"Nancy Young" wrote in message
...
I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

FWIW.

nancy

Perhaps, I'll have to give it a try for catfish, which in all my
tries has tasted "muddy". Would something really acidic, like
lemon juice, perhaps diluted, work? Buttemilk is not something
that I keep around.



--
Jim Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

"James Silverton" wrote

"Nancy Young" wrote

I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

Perhaps, I'll have to give it a try for catfish, which in all my tries has
tasted "muddy". Would something really acidic, like lemon juice, perhaps
diluted, work? Buttemilk is not something that I keep around.

They said that the lemon water left the texture of the fish somewhat
mushy. But if you have lemon and you have milk, you can make
your own buttermilk.

nancy

"Nancy Young" wrote in message
...
I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

FWIW.

nancy

Nance, thanks for the trip down memory lane.......my father used to go
catfishing in the PeeDee and bring home some whoppers. He would nail them
to a tree, skin them and cover them with buttermilk. When asked why, he
would mumble about having to 'soak the shit outta 'em'......After eating
farm raised versus fresh caught bottom feeding catfish, I now know what he
meant. Soaking them takes the 'bottom' out of the taste. They don't taste
like shit eaters anymore.
-ginny

"Virginia Tadrzynski" wrote

"Nancy Young" wrote

I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

Nance, thanks for the trip down memory lane.......my father used to go
catfishing in the PeeDee and bring home some whoppers. He would nail them
to a tree, skin them and cover them with buttermilk. When asked why, he
would mumble about having to 'soak the shit outta 'em'......After eating
farm raised versus fresh caught bottom feeding catfish, I now know what he
meant. Soaking them takes the 'bottom' out of the taste. They don't
taste like shit eaters anymore.

Haha, that's funny. He had a way with words, I like that. I had
tilapia once, and I guess it was muddy because I really didn't like
it, I just didn't put a name to why it tasted like crap. Heh. I never
noticed a problem with catfish, though. Seems like maybe I got
lucky.

nance

On Apr 8, 10:37*am, "Nancy Young" wrote:
"Virginia Tadrzynski" wrote

"Nancy Young" wrote
I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. *Soak for an hour before
cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.
Nance, thanks for the trip down memory lane.......my father used to go
catfishing in the PeeDee and bring home some whoppers. *He would nail them
to a tree, skin them and cover them with buttermilk. *When asked why, he
would mumble about having to 'soak the shit outta 'em'......After eating
farm raised versus fresh caught bottom feeding catfish, I now know what he
meant. *Soaking them takes the 'bottom' out of the taste. *They don't
taste like shit eaters anymore.

Haha, that's funny. *He had a way with words, I like that. *I had
tilapia once, and I guess it was muddy because I really didn't like
it, I just didn't put a name to why it tasted like crap. *Heh. *I never
noticed a problem with catfish, though. *Seems like maybe I got
lucky.

nance

I don't usually buy farm-raised fish because of various problems with
them. The catfish my son brings home get a soak in salt water for a
few hours at the minimum. This tends (for me, anyway) to take away
the "muddy" taste. I rinse them really well, bread and fry as usual.

N.

On Apr 8, 8:07*am, "Nancy Young" wrote:
I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. *Soak for an hour before
cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

FWIW.

nancy


I have noticed the "muddy" taste occassionally with tilapia. In the
past much of the tilapia was coming from Ecuador, but more recently,
it's been coming from China, and that' when I noticed the muddy flavor
more.

There was a report awhile back about tilapia from China, not being all
that safe. I've curtailed buying most anything I can, which emanates
from that country, until they get their quality control act together.

Myrl Jeffcoat

Marl wrote on Tue, 8 Apr 2008 09:25:09 -0700 (PDT):

MJ There was a report awhile back about tilapia from China,
MJ not being all that safe. I've curtailed buying most
MJ anything I can, which emanates from that country, until
MJ they get their quality control act together.

I suppose traditionally raised tilapia might well have a muddy
taste since they were grown in the shallow muddy waters of rice
paddies before the fields were drained to ripen and harvest the
rice. It's really a very efficient use of space.

Let's be honest, I don't like the texture of tilapia even ones
I've selected from those swimming in a tank.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Apr 8, 8:07*am, "Nancy Young" wrote:
I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. *Soak for an hour before
cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

Thanks for the note. I don't read CI as religiously as I used to and
would probably have missed this. I gave up on tilapia after two tries
-- neither taste nor texture were good, imho. Though I don't doubt
the buttermilk soak makes an improvement I'll probably stick to other
fish I know I like. -aem

"aem" wrote

On Apr 8, 8:07 am, "Nancy Young" wrote:

I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

Thanks for the note. I don't read CI as religiously as I used to and
would probably have missed this. I gave up on tilapia after two tries
-- neither taste nor texture were good, imho. Though I don't doubt
the buttermilk soak makes an improvement I'll probably stick to other
fish I know I like.

I'm with you. The one time I tried tilapia, there was a texture thing
that I didn't like. Of course, I'm not much for eating fish, I like
flounder and cod, with the occasional wild salmon.

And there isn't enough buttermilk to make me eat bluefish again.

nancy

On 2008-04-08, Nancy Young wrote:

cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

Argghh!...... leave the b-milk on and bread it. Why waste good b-milk?

nb

"notbob" schrieb :
On 2008-04-08, Nancy Young wrote:

cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

Argghh!...... leave the b-milk on and bread it. Why waste good b-milk?

Because the muddy taste is now in the b-milk.
BTW : The same method is used for game (eg. wild boar).

Cheers,

Michael Kuettner

Myrl Jeffcoat wrote:

On Apr 8, 8:07 am, "Nancy Young" wrote:
I see people talk about muddy tasting catfish and tilapia.
Today I got my Cook's Illustrated and they discussed this.
Long story short, they recommend an acid soak first, and their
acidic soak of choice is buttermilk. Soak for an hour before
cooking ... rinse off the buttermilk, pat dry and proceed with
the recipe.

FWIW.

nancy

I have noticed the "muddy" taste occassionally with tilapia. In the
past much of the tilapia was coming from Ecuador, but more recently,
it's been coming from China, and that' when I noticed the muddy flavor
more.

There was a report awhile back about tilapia from China, not being all
that safe. I've curtailed buying most anything I can, which emanates
from that country, until they get their quality control act together.

Myrl Jeffcoat

I'm with you there! I'm very wary of any edible product from China.
Heck, the product doesn't even have to be edible. If possible, I'd
rather buy 'local' to support businesses here instead of across any
large 'pond.'

Yesterday while at the grocery store, I looked in the freezer case for
fish. Every single selection/brand was marked "product of China"! I
didn't buy any, not that there was a large variety to choose. I think
I'll stick with (local) shrimp.

Sky, who rarely eats fish anywhoo

--
Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice

Nancy Young wrote:
"aem" wrote

snip

I'm with you. The one time I tried tilapia, there was a texture thing
that I didn't like. Of course, I'm not much for eating fish, I like
flounder and cod, with the occasional wild salmon.

And there isn't enough buttermilk to make me eat bluefish again.

nancy

O.k., now I understand. . .you like flounder, cod and salmon. I couldn't
figure out why you wouldn't like tilapia. I don't like flounder, cod and
salmon. It's a texture thingy. I do believe, though, that almost any kind
of fish can have that muddy taste. I think you have to know and choose your
sources first of all and then after that I think it is a crap shoot.
Janet

"Janet Bostwick" wrote in message
...
Nancy Young wrote:
"aem" wrote

snip

I'm with you. The one time I tried tilapia, there was a texture thing
that I didn't like. Of course, I'm not much for eating fish, I like
flounder and cod, with the occasional wild salmon.

And there isn't enough buttermilk to make me eat bluefish again.

nancy

O.k., now I understand. . .you like flounder, cod and salmon. I couldn't
figure out why you wouldn't like tilapia. I don't like flounder, cod and
salmon. It's a texture thingy. I do believe, though, that almost any
kind of fish can have that muddy taste. I think you have to know and
choose your sources first of all and then after that I think it is a crap
shoot.
Janet

I have never tasted this alleged "muddy" taste, and I make catfish
regularly. Mine is always fresh and clean tasting. I do leave off those
gross little fatty strips that have that super fishy taste. I rinse, cut the
filets into plump chunks along the natural divisions, coat them with
Louisiana Fish Fry and deep fry or pan fry. They are perfect every time.



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