How to Clean a Catfish
- 1). Locate the catfish's adipose fin. It is on top of the fish, back near the tail.
- 2
Use the fillet knife to make an incision into the skin behind the adipose fin. Cut the skin along the back, under the adipose fin, toward the fish's head using a single stroke until the blade reaches the dorsal fin. This is the second of the two fins on top of the catfish, and is located just behind its head. - 3). Cut downward behind the head through the fish to the backbone. Remove the knife from the fish.
- 4
Bend the catfish's head downward to break the backbone. Apply just enough force to cause the spine to break without removing the head completely from the fish. - 5). Insert a forefinger into the fish by reaching over the end of the spine and into the ribcage. Grip the area very firmly.
- 6
Slowly begin to pull the fish's head toward its tail. The skin remains attached to the head, so a steady, continuous pull will peel away the skin, head and viscera, freeing them from meat. - 7). Place the fish on a flat surface so that it's lying on its side. Make a fillet cut the length of the fish to slice the meat from the backbone.
- 8). Repeat Step 6 for the other side of the fish. Carefully examine both fillets for bones. The bones of the catfish are thin and very sharp.
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