smoked carp, anyone?

daveomak · Oct 18, 2011

Big Fish, Evening.... I have heard carp is a delicacy in Europe.....

The muddy taste... When I was in Kansas, the locals had cement coffin liners they kept in the yard with recirculating/overflowing lake water in them... They would catch catfish and keep them in there for months, feeding them also... don't know what they fed them but they said it got rid of the muddy taste....

Bones... I have caught whitefish that are real bony and oily.... Gutted and skinned them... scraped the fat layer from between the meat and where the skin was... Salt, pepper, onion, garlic and butter... wrapped in foil and braise until done.... the meat peeled off the bones cleanly... the oily taste was not there... very good eating whitefish....

Carp may be the same in some respects... just some thoughts to pass on... do not know about carp but I have tried to catch them on hook and line and had no success....

moikel · Oct 18, 2011

Ive seen an English guy on tv,Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall ,catch big grass carp out of a pond ,then put it in a trough that was fed by running river water.Left it there a week then poached it in a fish kettle. He has made a big impact in the UK with his take on fighting back against bad food,bad farming practices,bad fishing practices & waste. He is also a smoker so theres a few reasons to like him.

If carp was all you had I could understand the effort,but....

Bearcarver · Oct 19, 2011

DaveOmak said:
Big Fish, Evening.... I have heard carp is a delicacy in Europe.....

The muddy taste... When I was in Kansas, the locals had cement coffin liners they kept in the yard with recirculating/overflowing lake water in them... They would catch catfish and keep them in there for months, feeding them also... don't know what they fed them but they said it got rid of the muddy taste....

Bones... I have caught whitefish that are real bony and oily.... Gutted and skinned them... scraped the fat layer from between the meat and where the skin was... Salt, pepper, onion, garlic and butter... wrapped in foil and braise until done.... the meat peeled off the bones cleanly... the oily taste was not there... very good eating whitefish....

Carp may be the same in some respects... just some thoughts to pass on... do not know about carp but I have tried to catch them on hook and line and had no success....

Great tips Dave,

A guy I know was doing something similar & he was feeding them corn meal.

Also, I was never into catching carp, but they were my GrandPop's favorite sportfish (LOL--I guess because the ones he caught were so big). He always either used parboiled potatoes or dough balls with corn meal in them for bait. That was in the days of the cane pole. They had bait casting reels then, but the best way to cast was to pull the line out by hand & throw it. LOL

I found them easier to shoot with Bow & Arrow, especially when they were "skimming". A good pair of "Polarized" sun glasses makes a world of difference.

Bear

walterwhite · Dec 7, 2011

DaveOmak said:
... do not know about carp but I have tried to catch them on hook and line and had no success.

I've caught them using a dough bait made with Wheaties breakfast cereal. Add some strawberry flavor and/or anise oil for extra flavor. You would think that something made with Wheaties would soften pretty fast and come off the hook but it did not. And if you get some on your rod handle and let it dry you will need sandpaper to remove it.

I just buried the carp I caught in the garden for fertilizer. I forgot them once in a plastic bucket in the trunk of my wife's car. I was definitely not a hero that day.

One day I'll try smoking one and see how it comes out.

schmokin · Dec 8, 2011

If you fillet them, trim the red layer off the outside of the fillets then soak in salt water 24 hours. Rinse off then I soaked them in Hi-Mountain Gourmet Fish brine for 24 hours. They were very good flavor just a pain to eat with all the y bones.

africanmeat · Dec 9, 2011

Carp is a great fish to eat just it is a pain to get rid of the bones the easy way is the jowish way you fillet it and mins it like a dish called gefilte fish

http://www.jewishrecipes.org/jewish-foods/gefilte-fish.html

now you can smoke it

bigfish98 · Jan 13, 2012

africanmeat said:
Carp is a great fish to eat just it is a pain to get rid of the bones the easy way is the jowish way you fillet it and mins it like a dish called gefilte fish

http://www.jewishrecipes.org/jewish-foods/gefilte-fish.html

now you can smoke it

All I see on here is grinding it. Is that what you were getting at? Or is there something else?

bigfish

sprky · Jan 14, 2012

I have had smoke carp and actually its quite good if done correctly.........I have also had some nasty smoked carp. I haven't had any in years I was still in school the last time I had some. My granddad had a neighbor that came from down south somewhere along the Mississippi river. I would go over to my granddads house and we'd all go fishing. His neighbor would take all the carp and sucker we caught. he would clean them up and smoke them. I can't for the life of me remember exactly how he did it. I remember he soaked them for a day changed the water and soaked them again. The backs were always split and I don't remember why. I remember a lemony taste to them as well. he did the good carp I have had. The nasty carp cane from a fish market in Savannah Ill. I stopped in there once to grab a bite to eat and they had smoked carp, and took 1 bite and spit it out, the guy was laughing and told me it's an acquired taste. It had a real bad fishy/ dirty taste. Now the smoked sturgeon he had was excellent.

africanmeat · Jan 14, 2012

bigfish98 said:
All I see on here is grinding it. Is that what you were getting at? Or is there something else?

bigfish

at the web page there is a link Gefilte Fish Recipes press on it it will take you to the recipe or press here http://www.jewishrecipes.org/recipes/gefilte-fish/index.html

mrh · Jan 15, 2012

My Grandpa used to smoke carp too, and I enjoyed it! He just cleaned and scaled it never was fileted. Then He made a brine with "enough salt to float a egg". I know he also put some liquid smoke in the brine too. He did have a little chief smoker but what I remember he did it in the oven too. I think he added some more liquid smoke when it was in the oven. I sure wish he was still around now, so many things lost that I would like to know now! When you ar 14 not much thinking about those things. He also had a way to pickle carp that was really good and of course no recipe! He did it by taste! And it is probably in his back pocket too! I am from Iowa so they might have did it the same!

Mark

pellet · Jan 15, 2012

As a kid we ate nearly all that we caught, including carp. We never had them filleted but we were taught to eat with caution looking out especially for the small bones. Coming from parents that went thru the depression, not much was wasted with us in the early years. On the other hand my wifes elderly grandmother loved them and nearly spilled her beer and fall out of chair by the window when she would see me get out the the truck with a stringer full of carp. Her whole family ate carp. As for smoking, I think there is a scoring ofthe bones and its brined in a vinegar solution before salt and the smoking process begin as I recall with vinegar to dissolve the small bones at least to the point where they wont get crosswise in your throat if you happen to swallow one and the bigger bones are easy to eat around. There is also a boiling process to soften the small bones but not sure how to do it. I do know that vinegar is used for pickleing carp which is also good if you like pickled fish.

grabber · Jan 16, 2012

Here in WNY, we have a tourist industry of European sportsmen coming to our area creeks to fish for spring spawning carp. They can't believe that we consider them garbage fish. Carp is king in Europe and a lot of the rest of the world. Growing up, the old timers had a rule that they would eat carp and suckers only in spring. If the water was cold, the fish flesh was firm, not soft. If you want, send me a PM. I've got a instructions page from a smoked fish kit, with all the details on how to do them. I tried to put it as a attachment but it said I don't have permission to do so.

harleysmoker · Jan 16, 2012

When I lived in Ohio we would catch them for fun because they get so big and put up a nice fight, then we just tossed them back in the lake. We used rye crisp crackers from the grocery for bait. Just dip the cracker in the lake water and make into a big ball and put it on the hook, and wait. Hang onto the rod at all times my bro in law found that out as his went flying off the bank lol.

Everyone I knew did not eat these, considered trash fish, but I seen people catch them and take home.

harleysmoker · Jan 16, 2012

Forgot to mention, I did hear if you eat it it has a big mudd vein in it that needs to be removed.

werdwolf · Jan 16, 2012

Definitely remove the mud vein. They are bottom feeders so consider the source before fishing for them.

bigfish98 · Jan 16, 2012

So are catfish! They are tasty! But I do agree with you on the mud vein!

jonboat · Jun 11, 2012

"Smoked carp, anyone?" Yep, and it's good. Same situation with me - Grandfather used to smoke carp. see http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/123100/carp with all the details I could remember on how it's done.

harleyhuskerman · Jun 29, 2013

We grew up eating what ever fish we were able to catch.......... and this included carp. I used to spear them in the spring in the flood waters in Nebraska and got some pretty big ones. We fried them and ate them but the bones were the worst part. Carp have a lot of bones that are hard to overcome. It is all throughout the meat. However, one time Dad smoked the carp on a Little Chef smoker and it was great. The taste was good and the small, tiny bones in the meat dissolved in the smoking, thus leaving only the big, large bones left. So with the little bones now softened up and edible along with a much, much better flavor, yea, carp is edible and not bad to eat.

(Of course I was not picky either............ I also ate rabbit, pigeon, pheasant, raccoon, etc.) :)

bama bbq · Jun 29, 2013

When I was stationed in Italy the local fisherman all fished for Carp. The even had tournaments. We would all fish for Bass which are plentiful in Italy. Not sue how they cooked them if they did.

ravenclan · Jul 3, 2013

when i was a kid my neigbor smoked carp and passed it off as trout !!

he would remve the mud vain as talked about above then he would soak the meat in a salt and suger brine for no less then 24 hours , he also would add other ingrediants but that was a secret.

it did taste real good and if i didnt know it was carp i would of ate more of it !

smoked carp, anyone?

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