How to Sell Catfish

Selling any food product requires steadfast attention to food safety protocol, none more so than seafood. Fish, like catfish, are exceptionally prone to developing food-borne illness. To sell catfish safely in the marketplace, you must exercise extreme caution at every step of the process. From the moment you catch the fish you must prepare, package and store it properly to ensure that you deliver a healthy, high-quality product to your customer. By following proper guidelines, your great catch can become someone's next great meal.

Things You'll Need

• Bleach and water solution
• Towel
• Antibacterial soap
• Paring or slicing knife
• Pliers (optional)
• Kitchen scale
• Packing material (plastic, trays)
• Labels and writing utensil
• Ice
• Transport container
• Freezer (optional)

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Instructions

• 1

  Clear a large work space on which you can butcher and package the catfish. Sanitize the area with a bleach and water solution. Mix 1 tsp. of chlorine bleach with one quart of water. Dip a clean towel in the solution. Wipe the entire work surface. Allow the surface to dry for one to two minutes before placing food on it.

• 2

  Remove any other food product or chemical from the area, to avoid cross-contamination. Wash your hands with antibacterial soap. Wash your tools with the sanitizing solution. Keep all of the necessary cutting and packing supplies nearby, so that you do not have to leave the fish unattended.

• 3

  Butcher the catfish properly to remove the head and skin. Cut from the tail end of the fish, down the back until you reach the back of the head. Cut down to the backbone. Remove the knife. Insert your finger at the backbone. Bend the head down to break the bone. Pull the head toward the tail to remove the head, skin and viscera from the flesh.

• 4

  Trim away any remaining pieces of skin still on the flesh. Portion the fish, if you are not selling a whole one intact. Remove the bones with pliers, if you are selling boneless catfish.

• 5

  Discard any fish that does not smell fresh or have firm flesh, regardless of how recently you caught it.

• 6

  Weigh a portion of fish on a kitchen scale before you wrap it. Note the weight.

• 7

  Wrap the fish for transport and sale. Use clear material so that the customer can see the product when they examine the selection. Place the fish in an airtight plastic bag or on a food safe disposable tray, like a foam one. Cover the fish tightly with plastic if it is not in a self-sealing bag. Eliminate as much air from the container as possible when you seal it.

• 8

  Label the package with the date of catch and weight of the contents.

• 9

  Store the wrapped product on ice while you finish packing the rest of the catfish. Keep it on ice during transport until you deliver it to the next merchant or sell it to a customer.

• 10

  Store the fish in a freezer below the frost line, if you are freezing the product before sale. The frost line is the point in a freezer where there is no frost on the side of the freezer. It is always near the top or bottom of the freezer, if it is present at all. A lack of frost indicates that area of the freezer is too warm. It is common in large, upright freezers such as a grocery store freezer case.