Fishing Forum

I was watching some YouTube vids and came across filleting and cooking fish. In particular carp. They all swore carp when cooked are great tasting and you just have to watch the bones. So, has anyone on here actually tried filleting and cooking carp? If so how was it? I'm half considering giving it a shot this summer if I can get my foot healed up and get me back on the water.
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I cooked one up this winter. It actually wasn't bad. I cooked it in beer and onions, it had a really different texture. Also take your time to cut the brown meat away from the red. Iv got planned to try again just don't like dealing with them.
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I havnt eaten any, but I can pass on some info from people who have.
That dark brown "meat" that is attached to the inside of the skin is high in fat, and imparts the "off" flavor, so just cut that stuff out.

They don't have any more bones than any other fish, there just bigger and more noticable. The lateral bones are easy to find and remove. They are found above the rib cage and follow the lateral line. I make a cut, straight down into the meat, on both sides of the bone line. Its like filleting the bones out.

Proper field care. I'm told for carp to taste good, they need to be killed and iced imediately after you catch them. When they get stressed and die they release some sort of chemical, maybe it's adrenaline, that makes them taste "off". I got that information from an Australian article. A guy was trying to commercialize carp, and found they taste better chilled after they're dispatched which includes gutting, so ice can chill the inside out. That advice is true with any fish not just carp.

Water quality. I don't buy into muddy water makes muddy tasting fish. I have eaten plenty of muddy water catfish that tastes great. However if the water smells bad then the fish probably will taste like it. Kinda like how store bought tilapia taste like rotten aquarium water.

Let us know how it goes. I have always wanted to try, but I do stay busy and full with panfish.
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It has been awhile, but, yes, I've eaten carp. Here is a post from some years back:



Re: [Bardic] alexander problem? [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=623186;#p623156"]In reply to[/url]
All right this is going to sound weird to most of you, but yes I am confessing, I have cooked and eaten carp.

First step is choose a fish from CLEAN, cold water.

Second step is bleed the fish immediately and then put it on ice.

Third step is to fillet it (and debone it) and remove ALL of the dark meat close to the skin.

Fourth, and this is just my preference, I soaked the fillets in a brine for about 30 min. to an hour. I just used a salt and brown sugar mild brine. This is something I generally do for most game meats, and I thought it might remove any overly strong flavors. I don't know if it was necessary as I didn't leave any fillets out to try and see if there was a difference. I should have, I am curious if it makes a difference.

I then grilled them just to get the actual flavor and not the flavor of a breading.

Actually it was quite good, very mild in flavor. Not like perch or other white fleshed fish. It was a light color and more closely resembled the texture of trout or salmon. Closest description would be the flavor and texture of a reservoir trout.

The main problem with carp is the massive amount of bones in it. They have floating Y bones like pike do. I think that smoked or canned would be a good option with them. Canned would probably be the easiest way to get away from the bone problem.

There is a set of 3 youtube videos on dealing with the bones and filleting carp that are excellent. They are about the silver or flying carp, but the ideas are the same for common carp or pike. Here is the link to the third one on deboning:
[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhGkjwxm_0o&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/...&feature=related[/url]

I suggest that you watch at least it and the first one. The flying carp are fascinating. What a pest! The second one shows an easy way to cut it up for frying. Leaving the large Y bones in.

[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1NVUV8yhmU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1NVUV8yhmU[/url]

[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB-fmA07gZ8&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/...&feature=related[/url]

Also I should say, that they have a massive egg sack. I have heard that it is prized and eaten in Asian cultures. Also I have heard of caviar being made from it. I imagine that it could be made into some great fish bait for the bait fishing crowd.




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(5177 posts)

11/10/10 7:42 AM
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Hey, I am glad I am not the only one with the courage to say that they can be good eating. Congratulations to your wife on her catch.

I think that most people who tried it and didn't like it, didn't skin the fish and remove the dark meat. I also think that the problem with the Y bones is that many end up cutting them in half which leaves twice as many smaller bones in. Leave them whole and they are easily removed or eaten around.

Carp are an amazing fight on a fly rod. They are often referred to as fresh water or golden bonefish, as many fly fishermen hunt them out to hone their casting skills on before going to the Gulf. I haven't ever fished for actual bonefish so I can't compare, but carp are sure fun!

Another misconception is that they are easy to catch and will eat anything. I certainly haven't found that to be the case. They spook very easily and are extremely picky about my fly and presentation. I don't know that I would be able to catch very many to make much of a dent in the population.
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If anyone needs any carp just let me know..... I have more carp than I know what too do with most week's from Bowfishing. And yes I have also have eaten Carp, there actually not bad, I prefer the carp over Bass/Catfish any day. But I pretty much just eat perch. Or if anyone would like too go out on a boat bowfishing or you can try your hand at catching them on a fly out of the boat give me a PM, all I ask is help too pay for gas/diesel. HnH has had some fun snagging 1 a time or two out of the boat. []
Matt
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Thanks for the input guys. Glad to know some people are adventurous and willing to try new stuff. Ducks layer, I may have to take you up on the offer to target carp once I'm up and mobile again. What part of the state are you located in?
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Wow, watched some videos on bow hunting carp and it looks like a blast! Defiantly on bucket list now. Thanks [fishin]
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I've tried it on a few occasions and can say that properly prepared it can taste very mild and is actually good. Too many people just regurgitate what they've heard from others who probably never actually tried it either.

When I say properly prepared I mean filleted, skinned, boned. They taste no stronger than bass or trout, but with the y-bone structure they can be a pain to prepare. Because of the pain of deboning (and not the taste or texture), I prefer to use them as bait, but every year I keep one to cook just to be sure that I hadn't just got lucky in the past.

The advise about bleeding and icing them is spot on, and the advise about cutting the red meat out of the fillet is true also. The pain is in the bones only so there are a couple of ways to deal with those. One way is to carefully cut the Y-bones out of the fillets (just look on YouTube). Another way is to score the fillet across the fillet every 1/8-1/4" almost all the way through and then get your breading or corn meal down deep into every cut. Done this way the oil will follow the breading and soften the bones enough to be able to eat them without noticing them. This method works great with suckers also.

How you feel about the taste of them will really depend on how you feel about the taste of fish in general. If you only tolerate fish, and it has to be a perch or walleye in order to stomach it then carp won't be for you, but if you like trout, bass, catfish, etc. then you will will probably like carp if you can sort the bone issue out.

Also, I'm so glad that this thread didn't have reference to that asinine, often repeated joke that we've all heard a hundred times about cooking it on a board and eating the board. They are useful as food as well as bait and it makes me feel a little better about killing them if I can use them for some purpose.

Mike
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Homedale, Idaho area....
Matt
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