Yes people actually eat drum.

[Team M&M]

Actually the freshwater drum is not bad at all. I personally kept one we caught several weeks ago, and decided to try it out in an experiment to see if it was as bad as people say it is. I cooked it exactly as I did the crappie, marinated in hot sauce and rolled in Louisiana fish fry batter. It fried up good, and the meat was white as can be. Several members of my family tried it at our fish fry that day, and all came to the same conclusion. It does not taste bad or fishy, but it is chewy or rubbery in texture. That alone turned some of my family members off and I too did not find the rubbery texture to be pleasant.
I wont personally eat anymore of them, but it did not taste bad. It was just not flaky like other fish meat.
It's ironic though, that I love fried Alligator and that is chewy in texture.
Oh and Saltwater drum tastes soo much better. It really does taste sort of like chicken and has the same consistency.

[kygorski]

Any fish can be eaten if prepared right, I have even heard of folks eating gar.As for me, I ate them once, didn't know what they were.Its just personal taste, I wont eat cat fish , and trout come in third place with me. As far as rough fish are concernerd, any fish that will grab an artificial lure is a prize, and those drum sure like those hot n tots.

[Marshrat]

I have even heard of folks eating gar.As for me, I ate them once, didn't know what they were.Its just personal taste, I wont eat cat fish.

Gar is very good, it can be fried, bbq'd, baked, or pot roasted. I prefer it pot roasted over rice.

As far as the catfish go you must be kin to my wife....:rolleyes:


Warren

[GRIZZ]

I heard a good way to cook them. Get a board and put all your spices on it, the more the better. Lay the goo (that's what we call them) on the board and cook it for 4hours at 375 degrees in the oven. Carefully pull it out, throw the goo (drum) out in the yard and then eat the BOARD!!

No thats for carp. With drum you use a stick over an open fire. The stick tastes better than the board and has less ribs.

[Jeff213]

One of my co-workers gave me a secret asian carp recipe... cut out the darker red oily sections of the meat, fillet it, prepare it like you prepare beef jerky, throw it in a food dehydrator, and then deep fry it afterwards to make it crunchy.

Next time I catch a big carp in clean water, I think I am going to try it.

[wannalearn]

I ate Drum many many many times before, although I never cooked them, my mother did that.
Like mentioned above, it prepared right, they're very tasty.

[hnd]

drum CAN be good, if you catch it in clean water and prepare it irght...i've had it once and it didn't taste bad....thats really all i have to say about it...

[joejv4]

Never tried drum (called "sheepshead" around here), but will try most any fish before ruling them out.

Now carp, the only way I've eaten them was smoked - in a good old fashioned smokehouse, just like a ham... and they taste just like ham.

If drum have tough meat, they might make good cut bait for catfish.

[DC Crappie Kid]

I've cleaned and eaten drum several times. If they're big enough to have red meat in them, cut that out and get rid of it. Just cover it in Louisiana fish fry mix and deep fry. No special treatment. I've even thrown it in with the crappie/bass/catfish at my big fish fry for family and friends. No one has ever noticed. I used to seperate the different kinds of fish, but then I realized that most people can't tell the difference; they just ate the crappie 'cause it has the reputation for the best taste.

[rtorhead18]

Redfish and drum have very similar meat---next time try blackening for a real treat---until "blackened redfish" was discovered, many thought redfish a "cull" fish.