Catfish Stew

A camp stew of the plainest sort: bacon fat, fish, onion, canned soup. The whole thing hinges on not stirring the pot once the fish is in.

• The catfishA 4-5 lb whole catfish, skinned and gutted, yields something on the order of 2 lb of meat. Cut it into large steaks or thick chunks on the bone; boneless fillets fall apart before the 20 minutes are up. Farmed channel catfish sold today is generally milder than the wild river fish this was written for.
• Bacon quantityThe bacon measure has lost its fraction in this printing. A quarter pound (about 4 thick slices) is the proportion that suits a fish this size and gives enough fat to keep nothing from sticking; a full pound would make it bacon stew.
• "Fry a little"Render the bacon just until the fat runs and the edges firm, not to crispness. It goes on to cook another 20-30 minutes in liquid, and bacon browned hard first turns leathery.
• LiquidOne standard can of condensed tomato soup (roughly 10 to 11 oz) is not enough liquid to stew 2 lb of fish. Add water or fish stock to the same volume as the soup, or a little more, so the pieces are just covered.
• Do not stirOnce the fish is in, shake the pot or lift it with a spatula rather than stirring. Catfish flakes readily and a stirred stew becomes a thick tomato mush with bones in it.
• Timing and donenessTwenty minutes is right for bone-in chunks over a good fire; thinner pieces are done in 10 to 12. The fish is ready when it slips off the bone at the thickest point. Long simmering does nothing for it.
• The sugar"A little sugar" means about a teaspoon, correcting the acidity of the canned soup. Taste before adding more; canned condensed tomato soup already carries sugar of its own.
• The iron potA Dutch oven or heavy 5-quart pot. Cast iron holds heat steadily over coals, which matters more here than it would on a stove burner.
• YieldServes 4 to 6 as a main dish, with bread or crackers and nothing else.