Catfish

The catfish sits at the bottom, feeding on whatever the river bottom offers, and that's exactly why so many people mistrust it. Its meat is soft, without the tight flake you find in fish built from more separated muscle segments. Don't confuse soft with bad. Look at the fillet: it should be pale, almost pinkish-white, moist but not slimy, and it should hold together when you lift it, not fall apart in your hand. Smell it — clean water, maybe a faint mineral note, never a sharp fishy sting. That sting means bacteria have already gone to work, whether from age or from sitting too long at the wrong temperature.

Some people say catfish always tastes muddy. No! Muddiness comes from where the fish lived and how it was cleaned, not from the species itself. A catfish from clean, running water, gutted properly and with the dark lateral line trimmed away, tastes clean and mild. That misconception leads cooks to drown the fish in lemon, garlic, and spices, killing whatever delicate flavor was there in the first place. Respect the fish. Season it lightly, let the fat — and there's little of it — do its quiet work, and you'll taste why it's been feeding families for centuries.