07-11-2016, 01:22 PM
[quote 1sthound]Is it just me or do those carp strips look tasty, In a strange way of course?[/quote]
[#0000FF]Carp are good eating. They are a prize food fish in many cultures...and even among a lot of USA folk. They have good firm flesh that is great for cooking or smoking.
The problem with Utah Lake carp is the PCB content. That, and the muddy environment. Water quality can ruin the delectability of any species...including trout, bass, bluegill, catfish, etc.
The other problem...for most folks...is the bony thing. Carp have a couple of rows of Y bones that must either be removed from the fillets before cooking or picked out after cooking. They may also be cooked in a way that renders the bones soft and edible...like pressure cooking, long slow baking or pickling.
Carp are ugly and scaly...and in their whole state they have a nasty "carpy" smell. But if you fillet and skin them the nasty smell goes away and they don't smell any worse than a filleted trout. And when cooked they don't have any kind of unique smell that would tell you they are carp.
I compare them to northern pike. Northerns are slimy and stinky when you first catch them. And they also have pestiferous Y bones in the flesh. But fillet and skin them...and remove the Y bones...and you end up with some incredibly edible flesh.
I have eaten carp prepared several ways. They are always as good as the recipe and the chef. They are especially good when smoked. When I lived in Sacramento...and usually had a supply of smoked salmon and steelhead...my buddies would always raid my stash when they came over. On one occasion I put out some smoked carp. They snarfed it down and proclaimed it to be the best smoked salmon I had ever made. Only one or two of them gagged when I divulged what it really was.
Howsomever, I usually have plenty of other more socially acceptable fish to dine upon so I seldom keep carp except as an enticement for kittyfish. But, as shown in the pics, I fillet and skin it before cutting it into bait strips and freezing it. Careful handling during the fillet and skinning process helps avoid the scale-snow factor all over the kitchen. Even better is to fillet and skin the carp elsewhere and to bring home only the skinned fillets.
There is one other note for processing carp for bait this way. That is to avoid rinsing the fillets. Leave all the blood and natural flavor in the flesh. Makes better bait. And I only put in a small amount of water in the plastic bags and squeeze out the excess...to help prevent freezer burn. Fresh tasty carp works well for cats. But even these gluttonous beasts sometimes turn up their noses at bait that has been in the freezer too long or has freezer burn.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
[#0000FF]Carp are good eating. They are a prize food fish in many cultures...and even among a lot of USA folk. They have good firm flesh that is great for cooking or smoking.
The problem with Utah Lake carp is the PCB content. That, and the muddy environment. Water quality can ruin the delectability of any species...including trout, bass, bluegill, catfish, etc.
The other problem...for most folks...is the bony thing. Carp have a couple of rows of Y bones that must either be removed from the fillets before cooking or picked out after cooking. They may also be cooked in a way that renders the bones soft and edible...like pressure cooking, long slow baking or pickling.
Carp are ugly and scaly...and in their whole state they have a nasty "carpy" smell. But if you fillet and skin them the nasty smell goes away and they don't smell any worse than a filleted trout. And when cooked they don't have any kind of unique smell that would tell you they are carp.
I compare them to northern pike. Northerns are slimy and stinky when you first catch them. And they also have pestiferous Y bones in the flesh. But fillet and skin them...and remove the Y bones...and you end up with some incredibly edible flesh.
I have eaten carp prepared several ways. They are always as good as the recipe and the chef. They are especially good when smoked. When I lived in Sacramento...and usually had a supply of smoked salmon and steelhead...my buddies would always raid my stash when they came over. On one occasion I put out some smoked carp. They snarfed it down and proclaimed it to be the best smoked salmon I had ever made. Only one or two of them gagged when I divulged what it really was.
Howsomever, I usually have plenty of other more socially acceptable fish to dine upon so I seldom keep carp except as an enticement for kittyfish. But, as shown in the pics, I fillet and skin it before cutting it into bait strips and freezing it. Careful handling during the fillet and skinning process helps avoid the scale-snow factor all over the kitchen. Even better is to fillet and skin the carp elsewhere and to bring home only the skinned fillets.
There is one other note for processing carp for bait this way. That is to avoid rinsing the fillets. Leave all the blood and natural flavor in the flesh. Makes better bait. And I only put in a small amount of water in the plastic bags and squeeze out the excess...to help prevent freezer burn. Fresh tasty carp works well for cats. But even these gluttonous beasts sometimes turn up their noses at bait that has been in the freezer too long or has freezer burn.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]