06-24-2011, 10:46 PM
This is from a post I did about a year ago:
Generally treat the carp as you would any other food fish. I really recommend the filleting and boning videos that are linked further down in my post. Carp are a good food fish, you just have to take some extra steps to debone them.
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.
The fish 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 very large 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.
Otherwise the pigs should love it, or it will make some great fertilizer if you can bury it to avoid the smell. --- A field far far away!
I just hate to see it go to a land fill, and least of all do I want to see(or smell) any on the banks, or floating belly up in the water!
[signature]
Generally treat the carp as you would any other food fish. I really recommend the filleting and boning videos that are linked further down in my post. Carp are a good food fish, you just have to take some extra steps to debone them.
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.
The fish 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 very large 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.
Otherwise the pigs should love it, or it will make some great fertilizer if you can bury it to avoid the smell. --- A field far far away!
I just hate to see it go to a land fill, and least of all do I want to see(or smell) any on the banks, or floating belly up in the water!
[signature]