# Carp for dinner



## Riflesmith (Jul 28, 2018)

The only picture I took is the solid 10 pound carp that my wife caught this afternoon. (meaning no cooking or eating pictures :) ) We fileted out the fish, put it on ice for a couple of hours, then sprinkled on some of Jeff's Rub, and fried it up in a well seasoned cast iron skillet.

This is the first carp I have cooked this way, and I must say, it was quite good!


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## TomKnollRFV (Jul 28, 2018)

With Carp do you have to pretty much cut all the fat off to get rid of the off taste?


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## SmokinAl (Jul 29, 2018)

Well I am a big fan of catfish, but I never really liked carp.
But that could easily be because I didn't know how to cook it properly.
But I'm willing to learn!!
Al


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## Riflesmith (Jul 29, 2018)

TomKnollRFV said:


> With Carp do you have to pretty much cut all the fat off to get rid of the off taste?



Yes, cutting off the fat definitely makes a big difference.

Cook the fish slowly, so those bones have a chance to soften, then towards the end of your cooking time, turn up the heat so you can put a little "crunch" on the fish, unless you prefer a softer texture.


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## Riflesmith (Jul 29, 2018)

SmokinAl said:


> Well I am a big fan of catfish, but I never really liked carp.
> But that could easily be because I didn't know how to cook it properly.
> But I'm willing to learn!!
> Al



Al,

the absolute best way I have found to cook carp is to pressure cook them, and make "salmon patties" out of them - IF you like salmon patties. The smell, texture, color and taste are nearly identical to that of salmon, that you buy in cans to make salmon patties out of. If you need a carp canning recipe and this is sonething you would lije to try, just let me know.


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## MeatSkull (Jul 29, 2018)

Season it, smoke it, toss the carp and eat the wooden board I was taught! However if you like it go for it!


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## HalfSmoked (Jul 31, 2018)

Yup I'm with MeatShull bake it on a shingle throw the fish away and eat the shingle is what I was always told.  :D

Warren


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## Riflesmith (Jul 31, 2018)

...and I find more often than not, people making comments like the last two have either 1 - have never eaten carp and know nothing about carp, 2 - eaten carp from someone who did not know how to properly prepare it, or 3 - what they ate came out of a muddy lake, river or pond. Them there is 4 - but that would not be nice to say on a family forum. So....... :p


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## ddufore (Aug 2, 2018)

Riflesmith, I would be interested in your carp canning recipe if you would like to share. I don't want to hijack this thread so maybe you could start another one? Thank you. Dan


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## Riflesmith (Aug 2, 2018)

Dan,

this is the recipe that my grandparents used to can carp, when my grandpa and I would go carp fishing...

Carp canning recipe - 

Fill pint jars with filleted carp pieces... 

Leave 1/2 inch space between top of jar and fish, but pack firmly... 

To each jar add the following: 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. vinegar (vinegar dissolves the bones) 2 tsp. catsup, 1 tsp. Jeff's Rub, 1 tsp. cooking oil...   

Add lids and rings, pressure cook for 90 minutes at 12 psi... 

Canned carp are prepared exactly the same way as salmon patties...


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## ddufore (Aug 2, 2018)

Awesome!!!  Thank you very much. I used to can suckers back in the day with a similar method. Looking forward to trying this.


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## R Blum (Aug 4, 2018)

Riflesmith said:


> Al,
> 
> the absolute best way I have found to cook carp is to pressure cook them, and make "salmon patties" out of them - IF you like salmon patties. The smell, texture, color and taste are nearly identical to that of salmon, that you buy in cans to make salmon patties out of. If you need a carp canning recipe and this is sonething you would lije to try, just let me know.


Love salmon patties. We also make sucker patties which are real good also. Suckers run one time a year in a creek near me which we net at night usually around midnight.


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## Riflesmith (Aug 4, 2018)

R Blum said:


> Love salmon patties. We also make sucker patties which are real good also. Suckers run one time a year in a creek near me which we net at night usually around midnight.



Now that I have never heard of! Sounds interesting for sure. What is the meat texture like? What does it taste like?


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## R Blum (Aug 5, 2018)

Riflesmith said:


> Now that I have never heard of! Sounds interesting for sure. What is the meat texture like? What does it taste like?


They look exactly like their name. Bottom feeders. The meat is white, firm and flaky with lots of bones. Most people don't eat them and use them for bait for other fish. We used to go to this bridge over a small creek around midnight and lower a big net down. But I'm getting to old to dip now. Some guys smoke them but most grind them up to make patties. Grinding them up and you don't have to worry about the bones. Very tasty. Just goes to show you can eat just about anything no matter how ugly it is.


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## KrisUpInSmoke (Aug 5, 2018)

Nice! 

And, "Way to go!," to your wife. That thing's bigger than her...lol!


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## dwdunlap (Aug 5, 2018)

I don't know anything about fried carp but do remember well "smoked carp." I didn't smoke then but receiving some was most welcome. Smoked carp, cold beer and a game on TV, OH YEA! :cool:


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## Riflesmith (Aug 5, 2018)

KrisUpInSmoke said:


> Nice!
> 
> And, "Way to go!," to your wife. That thing's bigger than her...lol!



Almost!  :)


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## Riflesmith (Aug 5, 2018)

I know several Indians who smoke carp, and they do it best!


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## Riflesmith (Aug 6, 2018)

Several guys I know that live up north, take these common carp and fry them, and say they are as good as most any other fish. This is how they cook them -

Fillet the carp and cut off the fat and red meat...

Score the fish on both sides, and make the score lines 1/2" apart from each other, from end to end. Score the fish a little over half way through and on both sides...

Once scored, soak the fillets in buttermilk all day or over night...

Rince the fillets and put them on paper towels and pat them dry...

Coat the fillets in seasoned corn meal, and fold the fillets over to open up the scores, and get the cornmeal down in all the cuts and on both sides...

Heat up a cast iron skillet, with a good eighth inch of bacon grease in the bottom of it...

Put the carp fillets in the skillet, and depending on size, fry for 5 to 7 minutes per side. You don't want to cook them too fast, as you want the fish to cook all the way through...

If you have the cooking time correct, the bones will be soft and you won't have to be bothered with picking them out...

I cooked 2 two pound fillets like this today, for lunch after church, and I was really surprised at how good they were! Not as good as bass or catfish, but since I like fish, I thought it was pretty dang gone good!


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## broomstick (Jan 14, 2022)

Caught a lot of carp this holidays. Ended up smoking and making dip out of it to have with crackers or on toasted rye, ingredients below: 

200g smoked carp deboned and chopped
250g cream cheese at room temperature
2 tablespoons Aioli
1 medium red onion, diced
270g jar slice Jalapenos, diced
8 pickled cucumbers (polski ogorki - Krakus brand or Westmont pickles dill sour flavour), diced
1 teaspoon Tabasco Habanero
1 teaspoon Worstershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt


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## mr_whipple (Jan 14, 2022)

Never eaten carp in my life, but about 8-9 years ago I worked with a guy born and raised in Nebraska. He told me he grew up eating fried carp sandwiches and was always looking forward to the next one.


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## Nefarious (Jan 14, 2022)

Riflesmith said:


> ...and I find more often than not, people making comments like the last two have either 1 - have never eaten carp and know nothing about carp, 2 - eaten carp from someone who did not know how to properly prepare it, or 3 - what they ate came out of a muddy lake, river or pond. Them there is 4 - but that would not be nice to say on a family forum. So....... :p


Another point to make is, I have never seen carp on any menu at any restaurant I have ever been to, or for sale at any store I have ever been to. 

When I was a kid we would fish for carp just to see if we could land them.  We caught lots of them, notched the tail so we knew how many times we caught them, and threw them back.  I never knew of a person who actually ate them. 

I think it is great that you like them, found a way to eat them, I doubt I could, even if server at a 5 star restaurant.


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## HalfSmoked (Jan 14, 2022)

Nefarious Thanks for the like I appreciate it.

I can't get past the Hindy hold look for a mouth.

Warren


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## DougE (Jan 14, 2022)

Nefarious said:


> When I was a kid we would fish for carp just to see if we could land them.


I also did a lot of carp fishing when I was a kid. They put up one hell of a fight and were fun to catch, but I didn't eat them either. We just tossed them back in the water.


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## bill ace 350 (Jan 14, 2022)

R Blum said:


> They look exactly like their name. Bottom feeders. The meat is white, firm and flaky with lots of bones. Most people don't eat them and use them for bait for other fish. We used to go to this bridge over a small creek around midnight and lower a big net down. But I'm getting to old to dip now. Some guys smoke them but most grind them up to make patties. Grinding them up and you don't have to worry about the bones. Very tasty. Just goes to show you can eat just about anything no matter how ugly it is.


Spearing them used to be a big thing around here, but illegal now.


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## jcam222 (Jan 14, 2022)

broomstick said:


> Caught a lot of carp this holidays. Ended up smoking and making dip out of it to have with crackers or on toasted rye, ingredients below:
> 
> 200g smoked carp deboned and chopped
> 250g cream cheese at room temperature
> ...


I love smoked fish dips. I’ll bet this is good. Like others when I was a kid I fished for carp a lot because the were huge, easy and fun to catch. The one pond loaded with the I fished was owned by a little old lady. She would always have us bring her a small one to bake. It was excellent. I’ve also had smoked carp and it’s tasty for sure.


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## 1MoreFord (Jan 14, 2022)

While I've never eaten any carp either it's considered a delicacy in much of Europe.  They have carp fishing tournaments too boot!  It's my understanding they have carp catching discussions like we do bass, walleye, and trout. There's also many recipes for them.

BTW, if y'all are going to go by how a fish looks to decide if you want it to eat it's a good thing most of ya have never seen some of the salt water fish consumed in the world.


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## AWS (Mar 26, 2022)

Carp shooting is coming up shortly and I love smoked carp and have baked them in the past.  I found a recipe for pickled carp that I'm looking forward to as I'm a fan of pickled northern and herring.  Fried carp is very good also, I usually cut them up into boneless chunks before frying.   I spent a while in Taiwan and carp were on most menus.


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## mike243 (Mar 27, 2022)

Like anything else there are good ways to make and then there are the others,  If I per chance catch 1 less than 5lbs sometime in the this summer I will keep it, no bones or red/fat will be left on it. would bet they would work well for taco's . Caught a 34"  bull redfish a few years ago, needed a chainsaw with that thang, was disappointed in the amount of meat I had left after trimming , will keep a few in the slot to try if I ever get a chance at them again


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