Catfish kebab – 8 simple recipes

How to cook a delicious catfish shish kebab - a recipe for an amazing marinade
Shish kebabs

Valentina Kolesnikova 03/15/2020 (Updated: 02/23/2021) 20840 22 comments

Anyone who has tried catfish kebab at least once will never forget its amazing taste! Tender, juicy, fatty meat that literally melts in your mouth! And what a aroma! You can just go crazy! And in general, fish kebab is incredibly tasty!

Catfish is a magnificent fish in every way! It has no scales or small bones, so preparing it and cutting it up for barbecue is not difficult. Catfish meat is very soft, tender, fatty, with a pleasant sweetish taste. It goes perfectly with mushroom kebabs, as well as other appetizers that I usually make.

If you are not a fish lover, then a selection of very tasty and proven beef kebabs recipes. I also advise you to look at the selection of lamb kebabs recipes. You will definitely like all of them!

Well, my family loves this amazingly delicious fish! When my husband brings back another “mustachioed handsome guy” worth 10-12 kilograms from fishing, it’s a real holiday in the family! Such a giant is enough to make fish soup and, of course, everyone’s favorite kebabs!

I remember how one day I found him cleaning a huge catfish, which he carefully placed in our bathtub. The sight of blood stains, mud, sand, dirty salt and mucus almost made me faint! Moreover, not only the snow-white bathtub, but also the tiles were “decorated” with this “goodness”. I won’t even say what happened next. After this incident, I moved my fisherman into the summer kitchen, where he still successfully cleans his catch to this day. True, he complains that he is disturbed by cats who walk around him in circles and scream like crazy, begging for a piece of fish.

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How to properly clean and cut catfish for kebabs?
How to properly marinate catfish for barbecue?
How to cook juicy and tasty catfish shish kebab on the grill?
How to cook juicy and tasty catfish kebab in the oven?

How to choose the right catfish for barbecue

If you are not surrounded by experienced fishermen, you will have to buy catfish for barbecue at the market. When choosing, pay attention to the freshness of the product. Here are the main signs of high quality:

eyes are dark, not cloudy;
pink gills;
the abdomen is white, in no way swollen;
when pressing on the carcass, the resulting hole should quickly level out.

Advice! If you decide to cook shish kebab from clarium catfish (also called marble catfish), then buy exclusively live fish. The fact is that this species is capable of existing without water for two days, therefore, if you are offered fish that have already fallen asleep, then the catch is clearly not today’s or yesterday’s.

There is no need to try to buy giant-sized fish. The most delicious catfish is the young one, not yet mature enough to spawn. The approximate weight of fish suitable for barbecue is 800-1200 grams, and the length is 40-50 cm.

Next you need to cut up the catfish:

This species has no scales, but the skin is covered with mucus, which must be removed, otherwise the dish will taste like mud;
then the fish must be gutted, being careful not to damage the gall bladder;
the walls of the abdomen from the inside should be cleaned of films;
then you need to cut off the tail, fins and head.

Next, the catfish is cut into steaks or filleted, cutting off layers of fillet from the backbone and carefully removing all bones.

If you don’t want to bother with cutting fish or you don’t sell fresh catfish, then you can simply buy frozen catfish fillets in the supermarket. Then it needs to be gradually defrosted, preferably in the refrigerator.

Catfish shish kebab is usually fried on a grill. If these are steaks, then they are simply placed on the grill. The fillet can be cut into large cubes and skewered and cooked on skewers, threading pieces of fish onto them. Such kebabs are also placed on a grill, and to prevent the ends of the sticks from charring, it is better to wrap them in foil. You can cook shish kebab on regular skewers, but you will need to carefully monitor the fish. If it is slightly overcooked, the pieces may begin to fall apart.

Selecting and preparing catfish

When purchasing, you should pay attention to the following:

Appearance. The catfish carcass must be intact and without the slightest damage.
Gills - only with a pinkish tint.
The abdomen is without swelling and certainly white.
Eyes should not be cloudy.
Naturally, only fresh catfish is highly desirable.
If it is not possible to purchase a truly fresh product, then it is much more practical to buy steaks or chilled fillets.
But marbled catfish should only be purchased live, since otherwise it is considered not fresh.

The purchased catfish must be cut as follows:

Get rid of mucus. It has no scales, but the entire carcass is covered with mucus, which must be removed without fail. If this is not done, then the dish will not have the aromatic smell of mud at all. The mucus is removed simply - the fish is sprinkled with salt and everything is scraped off with a regular knife.
Gut it. This procedure must be performed very carefully so as not to damage the gallbladder. The walls of the abdomen should be especially carefully cleaned of the films covering them.
Remove the gills. They are removed only if the fish is fried as a whole or the head of the catfish is used in the fish soup.
Tail and fins. These parts of the carcass are absolutely unnecessary, and they are cut off without question.
All that remains is to wash the gutted fish, dry it and cut it into portions or leave it whole.

By the way, from the head, the extracted ridge, the cut off tail and fins, a wonderful ear is obtained.

The catfish carcass is ready for frying on the grill, grill or barbecue oven

To prepare the most worthy kebabs from catfish, its meat must be marinated. This will not only allow you to manipulate the flavors of the dish, but will also be guaranteed to get rid of even the slightest smell of mud. Preparing such a marinade is quite simple, but its effectiveness is extremely high. Let's look at some recipe variations.

Classic catfish shish kebab

Catfish shish kebab is an unusual but very tasty dish. Let's prepare it using the classic recipe.

2-2.5 kg of fish (weight of whole, uncut catfish);
2 tablespoons olive oil;
2 tablespoons lemon juice;
2 tablespoons soy sauce;
1 pinch of black pepper.

We clean the fish, gut it and fillet it, cutting through the flesh along the ridge on both sides. Then remove the remaining bones using tweezers.

Advice! The ridge, tail, fins and head remaining after cutting the fish should not be thrown away. These parts can be used to cook fish soup.

Prepare the marinade: mix olive oil, soy sauce and juice squeezed from lemon. Mix everything well. Pepper the fish fillet and pour over the prepared marinade. No spices other than black pepper are used in this recipe. Marinate the fish for about 1 hour.

Thread the fillet onto skewers and fry over the grill, turning often. Frying time is about 15 minutes. This same version of kebab can be cooked in the oven. To do this, we string the prepared fillet onto wooden skewers, which have previously been soaked in water. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes.

How to properly marinate catfish for barbecue?

To make the kebab juicy, soft, tender and very tasty, you need to properly marinate the catfish. For many years, our family has been using a simple but very tasty marinade recipe.

It will require the following ingredients:

50 gr. olive oil (or vegetable);
150 gr. soy sauce;
20 ml. lemon juice;
ground black pepper to taste.

In a bowl, mix olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice. If desired, you can add aromatic spices, herbs, allspice and ground black pepper, mint. Also, each piece can be first rubbed with spices, and only then poured with marinade.

We lower the pieces of fish, carefully mix everything with our hands so that each of them is soaked in the marinade. Marinate for 20-30 minutes, no longer needed! During this time, turn the pieces over to the other side several times.

To ensure that the fish remains tender, soft, tasty and does not become loose, this time is quite enough!

A quick recipe for a mineral water marinade with vinegar for catfish

Marinades are often prepared using mineral water; this marinade is also suitable for catfish.

2 kg catfish fillet:
12 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar;
1 tablespoon mustard;
4 cloves of garlic;
salt pepper;
0.5 liters of carbonated mineral water.

Mix vegetable oil with vinegar. It is better not to use regular vinegar. If you don’t have balsamic vinegar at home, you can use wine or apple cider vinegar instead. Add mustard and crushed garlic, season with salt and pepper.

Cut the catfish fillet into neat pieces and pour in the prepared marinade. Leave for 1-2 hours. You can fry catfish fillet shish kebab on skewers over the grill or on wooden skewers in the oven.

Traditional catfish shish kebab with herbs

What do you need:

catfish fillet – 2 kg;
lemon juice – 60 ml;
refined vegetable oil – 60 ml;
dried Provençal herbs – 10 g;
granulated garlic – 5 g;
lemon zest – 10 g;
dry adjika or hops-suneli – 5 g;
salt - to taste.

How to cook:

Cut the catfish into fillets. Cut it into pieces 4-5 cm in size. Place in an enamel bowl or pan (you can also put it in any container made of glass or food-grade plastic).
Sprinkle the pieces with salt and dry seasonings and stir.
In a separate container, mix the oil with lemon juice.
Pour the resulting marinade over the fish. Toss with your hands until the lemon juice and oil mixture coats each piece.
After half an hour, thread the pieces of catfish fillet onto skewers.
Place them on the grill.
Fry the kebab for 15 minutes over the coals, turning the skewers every 2-3 minutes so that the pieces of fish do not burn.

You can serve catfish kebab with tomato sauce, pickled onions, and fresh vegetable salad.

Catfish kebab in mayonnaise-sour cream marinade

You can use another version of the marinade for fish. We will marinate the catfish in mayonnaise and sour cream. You can fry on a grill or on skewers.

2-3 kg catfish;
4-5 onions;
5 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
1 lemon;
100 gr. mayonnaise;
100 gr. sour cream;
salt with a set of spices to taste.

Clean and gut the fish, cut into steaks about 4 cm thick. Cut the onion into quarters. Place the onion slices in a deep bowl, add vegetable oil and a little seasoning.

How to cook juicy and tasty catfish kebab in the oven?

What to do if there is no barbecue? Use the oven! It is clear that the kebab will not smell like smoke and fire, but I assure you that even at home it will still turn out very tasty!

We will need:

ordinary skewers or iron skewers;
a baking sheet onto which the fat will drain;
marinated catfish steaks.

What marinade is best for fish kebabs that are cooked in the oven?

It should be thick!

Liquid sauce will not work here. When you grill shish kebab on the grill, the top layer gets baked very quickly due to the intense heat and the sauce does not have time to drain. In the oven, this process takes longer. While the top layer is browning, the liquid marinade will simply drain.

Here's a great marinade recipe just for the oven:

250 gr. mayonnaise;
250 gr. sour cream;
½ lemon;
1-2 tbsp. l. mustard;
0.5-1 tsp. honey;
salt;
a mixture of spices and herbs to taste.

Mix all the ingredients until smooth, squeeze the juice from half a lemon, add spices and mix thoroughly. Let the sauce brew a little and marinate the catfish.

Coat each piece thoroughly with marinade and place in a bowl, pour in the remaining sauce.

Leave to marinate for 1-2 hours, periodically turning the pieces so that they are better soaked.

Place a baking sheet on the very bottom.

Thread the catfish pieces onto skewers. You can also add mugs of fresh tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and eggplant.

We insert the skewers into the special holes that are usually found in any oven.

Fry the kebab at a temperature of 180-220 degrees. Be sure to monitor the condition of the fillet and reduce or add heat if necessary.

You can cook shish kebab on regular wooden skewers. Thread the fillets onto them and place them on any container the width of which will fit the length of the skewers.

By the way, you can put raw potatoes and onions cut into large pieces on the bottom. You will get a kind of potato or onion pillow on which the kebab will be fried. The juice and fat from the fish will drain onto it and you will get another wonderful dish.

You can also simply place the skewers on a wire rack or on a baking sheet lined with foil.

Catfish kebab should be eaten right away, as they say, piping hot! But even when cooled down, it is still incredibly tasty, tender and very juicy!

Be sure to prepare it and, as my grandson says, have a blast!

If you have any questions for me, be sure to ask them in the comments. Also, if you liked the recipes for catfish kebab and marinade, please share the link to this article. I will be very grateful to you! Best regards, Valentina Kolesnikova

Catfish kebab in tomato paste, cooked on the grill

You can prepare catfish kebab by marinating it in tomato paste. We will cook it on the grill.

About 2 kg of catfish;
300 gr. tomato paste;
1 lemon;
2 onions;
1 bunch of fresh basil or 1.5 teaspoons of dried basil;
1 tablespoon of dry fish spice mixture;
salt, pepper to taste.

Clean and gut the catfish. Cut the fish into steaks about 3 cm thick. Sprinkle them with fish spices and leave for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, grate or chop the onion in a blender and mix with tomato paste. Add about a tablespoon of lemon juice and begin gradually adding warm water until you get a mass that resembles the consistency of tomato juice. Add salt to the liquid, pepper well, mix with finely chopped or dry basil.

Pour the prepared marinade over the fish and leave for 1 hour. Then place on barbecue grates and fry over hot coals until cooked, turning the grate periodically.

Marinades for catfish barbecue: 9 recipes

Catfish for barbecue is marinated not only (and not even so much) to soften its meat. The main task is to rid the product of the unpleasant smell of mud that it possesses. To a lesser extent, this is typical for young catfish weighing up to 1.2-1.3 kg, and to a greater extent for adult large catfish. We have made a small selection of marinade recipes that are most suitable for catfish kebab, regardless of whether you grill it over coals or in the oven.

Soy marinade for catfish kebab

What do you need:

soy sauce – 120 ml;
lemon juice – 40 ml;
refined vegetable oil – 40 ml.

How to cook:

Connect the components.
Whisk.

Place the prepared pieces of fish into the sauce and mix with your hands. Marinate it for 30 to 90 minutes. This version of the marinade is quite mild.

Lemon marinade for catfish shish kebab

What do you need:

lemon – 2 pcs.;
onions – 0.3 kg;
garlic – 4 cloves;
salt, ground pepper (black and allspice or a mixture of peppers) - to taste.

How to cook:

Rub the fish pieces with salt and pepper.
Cut the onion into thin half rings, crush it with your hands to release the juice.
Add onion and finely chopped garlic to the fish. Stir.
Pour in the juice squeezed from the lemons and stir again.

Marinate the catfish for 30-60 minutes. Before grilling over charcoal, be sure to shake off the pieces of garlic from the fish, otherwise they will start to burn, producing a not-so-pleasant smell.

Vinegar marinade for shashlik and catfish barbecue

What do you need:

grape vinegar (6 percent) – 50 ml;
boiled water – 50 ml;
lemon – 1 pc.;
sugar – 20 g;
onions – 0.2 kg;
salt, ground black pepper - to taste.

How to cook:

Cut the onion into thin half rings.
Sprinkle the fish with salt, sugar and pepper. Add onion. Mix everything, kneading the onion with your hands.
Separately combine vinegar, squeezed lemon juice and water (you can also use mineral water).
Pour the resulting liquid over the catfish pieces and mix them with your hands.

Leave the fish in the marinade for 20-40 minutes, after which you can cook shish kebab on the grill or in the oven.

Classic marinade recipe for catfish kebab

What do you need:

olive oil – 40 ml;
soy sauce – 40 ml;
lemon juice – 40 ml;
seasoning for fish - to taste.

How to cook:

Combine soy sauce, lemon juice and olive oil and whisk.
Add seasoning and stir.

Cover the catfish pieces with the mixture and marinate for 30-60 minutes.

Wine marinade for catfish shish kebab

What do you need:

dry white wine – 100 ml;
refined vegetable oil – 60 ml;
soy sauce – 60 ml;
sugar – 40 g;
ginger root – 30 g;
salt, pepper, cilantro or parsley - to taste.

How to cook:

Peel and grate the ginger root.
Chop the parsley or cilantro with a knife.
Combine all liquid ingredients of the marinade. Then add sugar, pepper and salt to them. Whisk.
Add chopped herbs and ginger to the sauce and stir.

Fry the catfish kebab by marinating it in wine sauce for 30-60 minutes. Before frying, do not forget to clean the pieces of fish from any herbs and ginger adhering to them.

Orange marinade for catfish

What do you need:

oranges – 0.5 kg;
refined vegetable oil – 20 ml;
dill seeds – 10 g;
onions – 150 g;
salt, pepper - to taste.

How to cook:

Squeeze the juice out of the oranges.
Grind the dill seeds in a mortar.
Finely chop the onion and crush.
Mix the prepared ingredients with pepper and salt.
Marinate the fish in orange juice (1 to 2 hours).

After removing the pieces of catfish from the marinade, brush them with vegetable oil and only then fry them on a grill, on skewers or in the oven.

Pomegranate marinade for catfish

What do you need:

pomegranate juice – 0.5 l;
refined vegetable oil – 50 ml;
salt, khmeli-suneli - to taste.

How to cook:

Rub steaks or catfish fillets with salt and khmeli-suneli, pour over half the recipe amount of oil.
Pour pomegranate juice over the fish. Place a small weight.
Marinate the catfish under pressure for 30-60 minutes.

Using a pastry brush, coat the fish with the remaining oil and grill the kebab.

Fruit marinade with sour cream for catfish kebab

What do you need:

grape juice – 0.2 l;
pomegranate juice –0.2 l;
lemon juice – 100 ml;
sour cream – 0.2 l;
onion – 0.3 kg;
garlic – 4 cloves;
laurel leaf – 1 pc.;
salt, pepper mixture - to taste.

How to cook:

Grate the onion, pass the garlic through a press, and squeeze the juice out of the vegetable puree.
Mix vegetable juice with fruit juice.
Combine the juice with sour cream, powdered bay leaves, salt and pepper.
Immerse the catfish pieces in the sauce and marinate them for 1-2 hours.

The kebab made from catfish marinated in fruit and sour cream sauce turns out amazing.

Tomato sauce for catfish kebab

What do you need:

tomato paste – 0.3 kg;
basil – 30 g;
seasoning for fish – 10 g;
lemon juice – 40 ml;
table mustard – 10 ml;
onion (preferably purple) – 0.3 kg;
salt, pepper - to taste.

How to cook:

Mix tomato paste with mustard, lemon juice, chopped basil, salt and seasoning for fish dishes.
Add steaks or pieces of catfish fillet to the tomato sauce. Stir.
Add onion, cut into half rings, stir.

The fish should be marinated in tomato sauce longer than usual, namely 2-3 hours.

All marinade recipes for catfish kebabs are based on 2 kg of steaks or fillets.

Catfish kebab in pomegranate juice

Catfish kebab marinated with pomegranate juice turns out delicious. It is best to use freshly squeezed juice rather than store-bought juice.

3 kg catfish;
700 ml pomegranate juice;
2 tablespoons vegetable oil;
spices (khmeli-suneli, ground coriander, black and white pepper) and salt to taste.

Clean and gut the catfish, cut the fish into steaks 3 cm wide. Place the steaks in a bowl for marinating. Salt, sprinkle with spices and pour pomegranate juice. Gently mix with your hands and pour in vegetable oil. Mix well again.

Cover the fish with a flat plate and place a weight on top. Leave in the cold for 3 hours. We string the steaks onto skewers; for one steak we take 2 skewers, otherwise the fish will turn over when frying. Cook on coals until done for about 15 minutes.

Catfish shashlik cooked on the grill

To prepare a delicious kebab on the grill, you need to take the marinated fish and carefully place it on skewers, while observing the following rules: large pieces go on one skewer, small pieces on another, and thin pieces on a third.
The coals should be hot and evenly distributed inside the grill. The fish will fry quickly and evenly, but it is best if the skin of the pieces is carefully wrapped, in which case the fish oil will begin to be absorbed, giving the meat juiciness and flavor.
The fish must be carefully monitored. Periodically turning the skewers. It is important that. The fish meat did not fall apart and continued to remain elastic even under the influence of heat.
The preparation time for such catfish is about 50 minutes; the total calorie content of the dish, depending on the marinade, will vary from 150 kcal to 300 kcal per 100 grams.

Catfish kebab is delicious straight from the fire! Sizzling, juicy, smelling of smoke and incredibly aromatic fish!

Gourmet shish kebab in wine marinade

You can also marinate catfish in wine before preparing shish kebab; the taste of the dish will be exquisite.

500 gr. catfish fillet;
100 ml dry red wine;
50 ml soy sauce;
50 gr. fresh ginger;
1 lemon;
1 clove of garlic;
salt, mixed pepper seasoning, aromatic herbs - to taste.

Cut the fillet into large pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and leave to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Next, grate the ginger on the finest grater and mix it with grated garlic. Lubricate the catfish fillet with the mixture and leave for another half hour.

Then pour soy sauce and wine over the fish and stir. An hour after filling, you can start cooking. Thread the fish fillets onto skewers. Since we cut it into large pieces, it is better to use 2 skewers per kebab at once so that the pieces do not turn on the skewers. Fry the kebab over hot coals for 12-15 minutes.

Catfish kebab on a grill with basil

Fish is cooked on a grill in a barbecue or grill; there are also special grills with clamps that can be used to cook on a grill or over coals from a fire. It is more convenient to fry fish on a grill, since in this case there is no danger that some piece will fall apart or fall on the coals.

Ingredients:

som – 2000 g,
tomatoes – 10 pcs.,
wine vinegar – 120 ml,
sour cream – 100 ml,
vegetable oil – 100 ml,
green onions – 2 bunches,
basil – 2 bunches,
ground red pepper – ½ tsp,
salt - according to individual preference.

1. Clean the catfish, gut it and rinse it. Cut the carcass into pieces of equal size.2. Mix sour cream with vinegar and pour this marinade over the catfish using enamel or porcelain dishes. Marinate for half an hour.3. During this time, prepare a side dish of vegetables. Cut the tomatoes with a cross, scald them and immediately cool under running water. Remove the skin and cut into cubes.4. Wash and chop the green onions.5. Mix onions and tomatoes, salt and pepper them.6. Wash the basil, chop finely and add oil.7. Place the fish on a grill, which must first be heated and greased with vegetable oil.8. Cook the catfish until a crust appears, periodically basting with the remaining marinade.9. Place the finished pieces of catfish on a bed of tomatoes, and pour basil sauce on top.

Catfish kebab correct recipe:

Catfish kebab in soy sauce, baked in the oven

Let's prepare shish kebab from catfish marinated in soy sauce. We will bake the prepared fish in the oven.

1 kg catfish fillet;
2 tablespoons soy sauce;
2 tablespoons mustard beans;
1.5 teaspoons fish seasoning;
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

Cut the catfish fillet into neat rectangular pieces. Sprinkle the fillets with dry fish seasoning and stir. Leave for 10-12 minutes so that the fish absorbs the aroma of the spices.

Prepare the marinade: mix soy sauce, mustard seeds and vegetable oil. Pour the prepared marinade over the fillets and stir. Cover the bowl with the fish and put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Soak wooden skewers in cold water. After 20 minutes, remove, dry and grease with oil. Thread the marinated fillet onto skewers. Place on a heat-resistant form so that the ends of the skewers rest on the sides of the form, and the strung fish is suspended above the form. Bake at 200 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Catfish kebab cooked in the oven

To prepare a delicious fish kebab at home using a conventional oven, you will need to take the following:

marinated catfish steaks;
baking tray;
skewers for shish kebab.

How to cook catfish kebab in the oven:

Thread catfish pieces onto skewers;
Insert the skewers into the oven into special recesses (these are available in any oven);
Place a baking tray on the lowest level of the oven so that the dripping juices fall on it.

Catfish barbecue sauces

Additionally, it is worth preparing sauce for catfish barbecue. We offer several cooking options.

Here's how to prepare tomato sauce::

I wash about 800 gr. fresh tomatoes, blanch them in boiling water and remove the skin;
grind the tomatoes in a blender and rub it through a colander;
cook the juice over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally;
then add finely chopped parsley, cilantro and basil, add 1 teaspoon of spicy adjika;
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

White sauce based on yogurt is very good for fish; this is a very simple and quick recipe:

200 gr. thick natural yogurt and crushed garlic (3 cloves);
add salt and pepper;
season with finely chopped herbs and add pickled cucumber, chopped into very small cubes or grated.

Benefits, harms, calorie content of catfish kebab

Catfish is often served in expensive restaurants, so its usefulness can hardly be debated. This fish is truly a valuable product because it contains vitamin B12, Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, thiamine, phosphorus, selenium, as well as other vitamins, minerals and a lot of protein.

With such a rich composition, the calorie content of meat is only 105 kcal per 100 grams of product. This product can cause harm to the body only if it is consumed in unlimited quantities, fried heavily, or the rules for storing carcasses and ready-made dishes are neglected.

Nutritional value of catfish

In soy sauce, baked in the oven

You will need:

gutted catfish – 2 kg;
vegetable oil - two tablespoons;
a pinch of pepper;
a quarter cup of soy concentrate;
juice from half a small lemon.

Step-by-step instruction:

It is not necessary to remove the skin from a carcass of this size, but you should clean it of mucus with a knife. Cut through the flesh on both sides of the ridge from the back and carefully separate the fillet from the bone. Dissolve it into “kebab” size pieces, about four centimeters long, with a slightly smaller width.
Simply mix all the components of the marinade; for very fatty catfish, you can slightly reduce the amount of oil, proportionally increasing the portion of lemon juice. Apart from pepper, we don’t use any other spices, but you can sharpen the taste of the kebab by adding a spoonful of zest to it. Don't forget to remove it before baking.
Soak the catfish slices in the marinade for a couple of hours. If you put the fish in the refrigerator, you don’t have to worry about barbecuing all night. Twenty minutes at 200 degrees in the oven is enough for the fish to bake. If the oven is equipped with a grill, turn it on and reduce the time to a quarter of an hour.

Watch this video on YouTube

Select catfish

The best option is to buy from a fisherman friend, as we did. If you don't know a fisherman, go to the market.

Fish spoils quickly and the issue of quality is acute. It is better to buy live fish so as not to guess about the quality.

When purchasing, inspect the catfish:

The eyes are not cloudy;
The gills are pink;
The belly is not swollen;
If you press on the side, the dimple from the finger is leveled.

Catfish can reach several meters (up to 5). And such trophy specimens are of no use to us or you: where are the guests who will eat so much? Choose specimens 1.5-3 kg. Moreover, before the age of spawning, the fish tastes better.

If you don’t want to bother with cutting fish or you don’t sell fresh catfish, then you can simply buy frozen catfish fillets in the store. Then it needs to be gradually defrosted, preferably in the refrigerator. But it will come out worse than fresh, you will feel.

How to deliciously cook catfish shish kebab

River catfish is a tasty and healthy product that is loved by almost all gourmets, because it not only has a lot of meat, but is also rich in amino acids and other useful substances. It can be prepared in different ways, however, catfish kebab turns out incredibly tasty. Buying this fish on the market is not at all difficult, but you still need to have some knowledge about exactly how to choose catfish and how to cut it in the future.

Catfish kebab: marinade and grilling

To prepare a delicious dish, you can use catfish fillets, small whole carcasses or steaks. In fact, to prepare barbecue, it doesn’t matter what form the fish is in; The roasting time is determined based on the size of the pieces.

Fish is marinated not only to give the meat a spicy taste, but also to eliminate the smell of mud.

After you have cooked the fish (cleaned and washed, dried with a paper towel and portioned), you can proceed to preparing the dressing.

Note that the marinade for catfish kebab can be completely different, it all depends on your taste preferences (from a traditional set of spices to preparing special marinade sauces with a wide range of spices).

Traditional spices and seasonings for catfish include: onions, coarse salt, vegetable oil (both olive and sunflower), aromatic vinegar or lemon juice, and a set of aromatic spices.

By the way, many chefs do not recommend using black allspice, as it can overwhelm all aromatic and taste sensations.

We cut the onion into four parts, keeping the “spouts” and “butts” (large pieces are convenient to string on a skewer), and then soak in oil. You can add a little salt.