Fresh Catfish in Indianapolis: How to Buy It at the Counter
Where to find real seafood in Indianapolis, and what makes it worth the trip.
Where to find real seafood in Indianapolis, and what makes it worth the trip.
Catfish shows up on a lot of Indianapolis menus fried, but buying it raw to cook at home is a different errand, and it starts at the fish counter rather than the freezer aisle. Caplinger's fresh-fish counter lists catfish alongside salmon, cod, perch, halibut, tilapia and whiting, filleted and cleaned to order, which is the difference between a counter purchase and a bag of frozen fillets: someone is cutting the fish for the person standing in front of them, not pulling a pre-cut tray.
Not every Caplinger's location sells raw fish to take home. Shadeland and Southside are the two retail seafood markets with the full fresh-fish counter; Pendleton Pike and The AMP downtown are Seafood Kitchens built around eating in, not buying raw catfish by the pound. Anyone planning to cook catfish at home should call ahead to Shadeland or Southside specifically, since what's on hand changes by location and by day. Fresh-market seafood is priced by the catch, not a fixed number on a sign, so the day's catfish price and what's actually in the case are both worth a quick call before driving over.
The catfish served at Caplinger's kitchens is described as USA-raised, which for catfish specifically usually means pond-raised rather than wild caught, the standard way most catfish sold in this country is farmed. That's a different story than a wild caught fish like salmon or halibut, and it's one reason catfish pricing tends to move less wildly than a wild caught species whose supply depends on where boats found fish that week. Even so, the counter's general rule still applies: call the specific location first, since fresh-market prices and what's actually on hand move with the catch and the day, not a printed number.
At the counter, catfish gets cut the way the customer wants it, cleaned to order rather than sold pre-packaged. On the prepared side of the business, the menu offers a sense of how the cuts get used: a catfish fillet dinner, a 2 piece whole catfish dinner, and catfish nuggets, plus a fried catfish sandwich and a catfish po'boy. A home cook buying raw catfish at the counter can ask for the same basic cuts, a fillet for pan frying or baking, or smaller pieces closer to nugget size for a quicker fry, and have it cut that way on the spot instead of working around whatever shape came in the package.
Fried is the obvious route, and it's the one the kitchen side of the business is built around: catfish there is hand breaded and fried to order. At home, a well seasoned cornmeal crust and a hot oil bath gets close to that result for a fillet or a nugget cut. Catfish also takes well to the grill or to blackening, both options the counter staff can walk a customer through, since most fish at Caplinger's can be grilled or blackened instead of fried, something worth asking about right at the counter rather than guessing at home. A firm, mild fish like catfish holds up on a grill grate better than a flaky fish like cod, which is part of why it works as a change of pace from a fried dinner.
A fish counter purchase is only as good as what happens between the counter and the stove. Catfish bought fresh should go straight into the refrigerator and get cooked within a day or two, or into the freezer if it won't be cooked that soon. A cooler bag or even a simple bag of ice for the short drive home makes a real difference in the summer months, since Indianapolis heat does a raw fish counter purchase no favors sitting in a hot car.
A short list makes the trip faster: ask whether catfish is in that day, ask for it cleaned and cut the way it will be cooked (whole, fillet, or smaller pieces), and ask what else came in fresh that day, since the case changes daily and a fish counter employee will usually say plainly what's freshest right now rather than just selling whatever is asked for. Calling the specific location first, Shadeland or Southside, saves a trip on a day catfish didn't come in.
Not every household wants to bread and fry fish at home, and that's what the Seafood Kitchen side of the business is for. Caplinger's own guide to fried catfish and fried shrimp in Indianapolis covers what to order and where to eat it already cooked, for anyone who decided the counter trip isn't for them this week. The counter and the kitchen are two different parts of the same business, and either one gets catfish to the table, just by a different route.
Caplinger's runs four Indianapolis area locations: the Shadeland and Southside markets with the full fresh-fish counter, and the Pendleton Pike and AMP downtown Seafood Kitchens for eating in. The guide to where to buy fresh fish in Indianapolis covers the market side of the business in more detail, including what else is usually at the counter alongside catfish. For hours, addresses and phone numbers for all four locations, see the locations page before making the trip.