Eat those Drum!

[netboy]

Back in Corpus Christi they were known as bay snapper. The meat was as good as red snapper and sold for $8-$10 a pound filleted. The drum down there fed mostly on small clams they got out of the bottom. Easy way to find where they were feeding was to look for what they called "drum noodles" those were many small dimples in the bottom where the drum would blow out sand when they scented the clams. Looked like a bunch of small craters.

[MoCarp]

2 hours ago, MOPanfisher said:

I have eaten several drum.  Always seemed like one or two out of the bunch would be rubbery and rkugh, while the rest would be just fine, taste was mostly dependent of what you seasoned it with.

They are easy to over cook, once the meat goes from translucent to white it’s done most people over cook it just like over cooking shrimp 

[fishinwrench]

Here's the thing.......People have been eating all sorts of things for many MANY years.   If drum were considered even remotely decent as a food fish I'm pretty sure we'd already know about it. 

Here's a few more ideas if you wanna discover newfound delicacies.....  Throw a Sculpin in your Ramen noodles.

Boil a bat from the Wuhan wet market, and serve over steamed bamboo shoots. 

Toss a few Spring Peepers in your corn flakes.    

Slugs in your creamed corn. 

Yum!

[MoCarp]

2 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

Here's the thing.......People have been eating all sorts of things for many MANY years.   If drum were considered even remotely decent as a food fish I'm pretty sure we'd already know about it. 

Here's a few more ideas if you wanna discover newfound delicacies.....  Throw a Sculpin in your Ramen noodles.

Boil a bat from the Wuhan wet market, and serve over steamed bamboo shoots. 

Toss a few Spring Peepers in your corn flakes.    

Slugs in your creamed corn. 

Yum!

You don’t have to try them, yet you don’t know what you are missing.

pound and one half sized drum are as good as any typical fish people eat here

like any fish cut the gills and put them on ice, fillet and prepare them the way you like any fish

[Sam]

Here's an article in Game and Fish Magazine with some drum recipes - it's pretty well known that they're good eating.  We've tried the one that involves boiling bite-size pieces of drum fillets in Zatarain's Crab Boil, cajun-style.  Good stuff!

https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/freshwater-drum-recipes/330372

In other news, I didn't catch any drum at Stockton Lake today, but I DID catch a bunch of crappie and my personal best-ever walleye, a male just over 25" long.  We were slow-trolling 1/8 oz. white jigs tipped with minnows along rocky banks in 17-20 feet of water.  I was lucky to get it in the boat on a light crappie pole with 4 lb. test line, and I'm still grinning about it.  ☺️

[Johnsfolly]

@Sam congrats on your PB walleye catch on a Crappie setup. I can believe that you would still be excited about landing that fish!

[Terrierman]

My drum eating experience was not positive.  Rubbery texture.  And I'm funny, one bad experience and I'm done from here on out with whatever it was.  Don't ask me about eating Fuddrucker's hamburger.  A really ugly story.

[Kayser]

Drum are delicious, but require a different approach to cooking since anything over 1.5# or so gets rubbery- or just plain tough.

If you want it fried, then slice it thin against the grain into chips or nuggets. DO NOT OVERCOOK.

But it's fantastic on the grill, especially with blackened redfish seasoning- holds up really well on the grates. I've boiled it like shrimp, and it's good, but there's better. Made into a creole/stew with tomatoes, peppers, onion & garlic is pretty tasty. Braised low & slow in the oven with butter and onions is to die for.

It's a shame so many people fry whole fillets and then assume it's no good to eat since it got tough. Treat it right, and you'll never throw another one back.

 

Edit- I forgot to add, that in a side-by-side taste test of fried crappie, big bluegill, 3 species of catfish, drum, and white bass- the drum nuggets were always the first to disappear. Always.

[Travis Swift]

I've been eating them for years.  I have a giant fish fry every year and I mix a plenty drum right in with crappie, bass and walleye.  I fry them up all the same with Andy's Red and I promise no one has ever said a peep about it except I make the best fish they have ever eaten.  If you have never eaten drum your missing out I promise you that.  Just keep the smaller to med size ones as they are the best

[Sam]

On 7/16/2021 at 12:00 PM, Kayser said:

Drum are delicious .......... it's fantastic on the grill, especially with blackened redfish seasoning- holds up really well on the grates.

Thanks for mentioning that.  My family got me a Pit Boss Pellet Grill/Smoker a couple of years ago, and I absolutely love it.  From pizza to tri-tip roasts to burgers to cornbread to whatever, I've made about everything on it.  I even baked a peach pie that turned out good.

Next drum I bring home, I'm gonna try me some drum filet nuggets on that wood pellet grill!