First smoke will be tomorrow......carp....any pointers appreciated & will

[slapaho_injun]

My 81 yr old neighbor has a 16' spear from when he was a kid, he got to use it again today. 6 nice cold water carp are cleaned, chunked and sitting in a cooler of iced Saltwater brine. I'm going to let it sit 24 hrs in the brine and then attempt to smoke it in my wood fired vertical smoker. Any help is appreciated. After the 24 hr brine, I will rinse , pat dry, baste with garlic powder, brown sugar & honey. I'm thinking a CC temp of 200-225 to an IT of 175 degrees and hold it there for 6 hrs. First time smoking meat in this new wood fired smoker.

 

[ksblazer]

I have never smoked carp. But I'm not sure about your temperature of the fish? I'm thinking if salmon is done around 150 to 160 degrees. Carp may be as well.

Or are you thinking of making them as fish jerky or maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are trying to do.

But I'm thinking if you get them to 165 and another few hour after that. They will turn out more like jerky.

I don't think it will take that amount of time if you are just trying to reach 175 when you are smoking them at the temp you mentioned. 200 to 225.

 

[SonnyE]

I tried to BBQ a Carp... once.
I admit I did not have a clue how to do carp with a Carp.
I tried to BBQ skin on. After a while, it was like a fish shaped skin of cooked mud.
I will let them suck mud till they are as big as a torpedo.
I'm more apt to BBQ a rat than to attempt a Carp again.
I wish you far better luck than I had. :p

 

[slapaho_injun]

Well I'll give it hell today. I've done one carp before. A single fish. Don't remember how I did it aside from prep and brine was the same as I've done for these we got yesterday. The cook time and temps I didn't write down ......and I had a little electric MB smoker then. This is a whole other beast. I have read 170 to 180 internal temp for carp and to hold it for 6 hrs ? Seems like a long time but? Anyone with carp smoking knowledge, please let me know what works best.

 

[gmc2003]

Nobody I know eats carp. Around here it's basically considered a garbage fish and tossed aside. Occasionally someone from the far east will take them off your hands to use in a fish chowder. Sorry can't be anymore help.

Chris

 

[bdskelly]

Nothing ventured nothing gained. This could work! Keep us posted on the results please. Good luck! B

 

[zwiller]

I remember hearing that if smoked correctly they are delicious but if done wrong they are disgusting. Marianski has an entire chapter on fish and does them a few ways. IIRC carp are very fatty and gamey and I think that a cold smoke prior to a hot one a good idea. Found a few good threads and the one post about how the poster's Grandfather made them is how I expect it was done around here. Very salty brine, very long smoke, to almost jerky. Flakes served on top of crackers and cream cheese with plenty of beer. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/smoked-carp-anyone.112221/

 

[daveomak]

My understanding of bottom feeding fish is.... If there is a dark layer of meat/fat, remove it... it has a muddy foul flavor... the white meat is delicate in flavor... Salt, pepper, garlic and onion for seasoning... skip the salt as it has been brined.. I would cook/smoke it at 160-170 ish until it turns from translucent to a "solid" whiteish color.... I would baste it in butter or some other oil to keep the moisture in the fish...
I did some salmon and basted it in a brown sugar glaze that the brown sugar was dissolved in rum... use as little rum as possible to get a very thick sugar glaze... that kept the salmon moist, very moist... overcooked fish sucks... You can smoke it on peach butcher paper or parchment... either should work well.. You will need the surface of the fish to dry into a pellicle for the glaze to stick...

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[slapaho_injun]

Well I got it done. First smoke with my new smoker was a great success. I had the carp cleaned w/ fins cut off, gutted, heads cut off, mud vein scraped and rinsed again, chunked them and brined for 24 hrs in a brine solution of 1 1/2 cup canning Salt per gallon of water. Then I rinsed thoroughly, patted dry with my wife's dish towels, haha......then I set the fish on drying racks on the kitchen table, under the ceiling fan and got the sticky pellicle in an hour and a half. Then I mixed a baste of honey, brown sugar and a tbsp of garlic powder. Put em in the preheated smoker at 200f....... Used cherry and apple wood only. Finished at 6 hrs and IT temp was 180f . I til have some tail sections on the bottom rack that may be a little overcooked but the rest looks delicious. I did try one tail piece and the flavor was dang good. My dog will still get most of the tail meat after I debone it.

 

[bdskelly]

Impressive. Nothing ventured nothing gained

 

[slapaho_injun]

Lots of work but I’ll have a bunch of smiling family & neighbors as I pass it out this weekend.

 

[zwiller]

Anything worthwhile is a lot of work. Congrats! Phenomenal color.

 

[slapaho_injun]

Just had the 81 yr old neighbor , whose 16’ spear we used to get the carp, over for the official taste test and the old boy approves. He says I get an “A” on the carp so I’m happy with that!

 

[kawboy]

Looks good! That's what I started out smoking, all my dad ever smoked. Used to shoot a ton of carp and buffalo around here. Usually kept the smaller ones for smoking.

 

[slapaho_injun]

My understanding of bottom feeding fish is.... If there is a dark layer of meat/fat, remove it... it has a muddy foul flavor... the white meat is delicate in flavor... Salt, pepper, garlic and onion for seasoning... skip the salt as it has been brined.. I would cook/smoke it at 160-170 ish until it turns from translucent to a "solid" whiteish color.... I would baste it in butter or some other oil to keep the moisture in the fish...
I did some salmon and basted it in a brown sugar glaze that the brown sugar was dissolved in rum... use as little rum as possible to get a very thick sugar glaze... that kept the salmon moist, very moist... overcooked fish sucks... You can smoke it on peach butcher paper or parchment... either should work well.. You will need the surface of the fish to dry into a pellicle for the glaze to stick...

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Thanks. You sure got some good color on your fish too! I’ve done salmon in my old MES last year and it was good but I can’t wait to do some in this new wood fired rig I got. I mop salmon with pure maple syrup too.

 

[cooker613]

Grew up eating carp. My grandmother would get a live fish that would swim around in the bathtub for a week or so with some corn meal in the water. She said it cleaned up the flavor. Then one day I’d come home from school and it would be swimming in a big pot on the stove having been turned into gefilte fish. Fantastic! And bearing no relationship to the dreck in a jar or can. With fresh grated horseradish...a taste of my childhood. Delicious.