Carp...Here we just throw 'em away or bury them!

[bgill]

Here in the United States the Asian Carp is considered a lowly trash fish and is very much undesirable...We kill them just for sport...And to rid our lakes of what is considered by most everyone HERE in this country to be a nuisance trash fish. There are bow-fishing tournaments where literally TONS of them are killed in a day or two...All just go in a dumpster. I know in many countries they are considered the "greatest of sport fish"...That will NEVER happen here though I'm sure.

However, I have noticed that many foreign people will fish/spearfish for them - not only for sport but for food too. Many times foreigner's are MORE than happy to take them off of my hands. I try to give them away before just tossing them out. But this has got me wondering lately....How are they as tablefare? And how are they prepared? Are the small ones considered better eating than bigger ones?

We have SEVERAL species of carp here... All are considered a nuisance except for the Buffallo Carp (a native carp)...But even they are considered trash fish by most people. These (the Buffalo Carp)are actually sold in some inner city grocery stores when "in season". Its also rumored that the McDonald's famous 'Fillet 'O' Fish" sandwich is actually carp...The ingredients say white fish - TWO WORDS!...Not Whitefish....Hmmmmm? So I'm told...An internet search says they are Cod...I'd say thats more feasible for sure.

I will still kill them (carp) for sport though. It is entirely legal to do so - As long as you make use of or dispose of them properly - Not to mention they can get HUGE! They are also suposedly voracious eaters of gamefish eggs and thier fry. If I had a good recipe and liked them (carp) I would be inclined to eat one once in awhile instead of throwing them in my fire pit to burn or throwing them in the garbage.

Any recipes from you carp afficianado's/lovers?

 

[octpora]

With enough:friday

Some of my freinds here in md used to eat the carp from our river. They would let the fish swim in the bathtub for a week to help clean the mud taste. Then they would bake it heavily spiced; not too bad. The problem here is the spear.

Have also heard of fish cakes made from them with eggs, crackers, green onions, garlic, and, once again, heavy spice.

Then there is gifelte fish available in the Kosher Jewish food category. It is mostly God's retribution before judgement day.

But, hey, its all protein.

 

[trux]

Look at this thread for number of carp recipes: http://forums.deeperblue.net/recipes-cooking/66005-carp-recipies.html

 

[bgill]

Thanks trux....I'll actually try one or two of them recipe's...Maybe even around Christmas time! Here in Wisconsin we'll cut a hole in the ice to go freediving! Or go in where there is a warm water discharge area that keeps an area ice free. The carp also gather there! The only problem being is I hardly ever see a carp under 10 pounds!

I would'nt want to eat on of these big guys! See pic below...Shot yesterday & DUMPED in my firepit...Burned them earlier today with a bunch of scrap lumber. They crackled & popped nicely! I did pull off a very small peice once they were thouroughly cooked..Tasted like any old freshwater fish to me!

 

[Felcman]

I think when you kill the fish only for fun are you not clever boy.that I say very soft I think.

 

[bgill]

Felcman - Here in the U.S. Carp are considered a nuisance and unwanted species. They are NOT a native species to our waters. Many lakes and rivers have become over run with them. They eat all of the oxygen producing vegetation, and silt over and eat other fishes eggs too.

We have many other types of fish that are considered much more sporting by hook & line guys...Carp are killed here in this country by the thousands almost everyday. They are commercially netted for use as fertilizer and other things as well.

Most riparian landowners will gladly give you access to the water if you explain you are afer carp.

I will however cook & TRY to eat the next smallish carp I kill that comes from clea water.

 

[iparcell]

lol the mcdonalds filet of fish is made from hoki

 

[Whopperhead]

Carp here have no Predators - therefore Mulitply and overtake rivers, streams and lakes- This stream by my house USE to be the best spot for Bass, Northern and Trout- NOW it's almost all Carp! I use to go there and catch 10-15 Bass any day of the week- Now If I catch a Bass, I consider myself lucky. Not only are all the game fish gone, but It used to also be a very clear stream and now is pretty murky.

All the Carp I shoot are for FOOD - Food for the Birds and Fertilizer for my Fields. And AlWAYS will be. The other fish I shoot- Panfish- are eaten by me or my family. Trust That!

 

[Fondueset]

Lets be clear about the type of carp we are talking about - the 'Native' carp - at least in Lake michigan is the common or european carp - which has been here since the 1870s. In Lake Michigan they are not much of a problem - in fact I'm pretty sure they eat zebra mussels and there is a growing catch and release interest among anglers. I think the Buffalo carp gets to be a problem in inland lakes - moreso over in Wisconsin as I've not heard much about them here. The european carp are not common in inland lakes here as far as I know. The fish in the picture Bgill posted appear to be european(common) carp - not asian or buffalo.

It's worth noting that Eurocarp prefer cool, clear waters - though they can and do live damn near anywhere. Here they often range at mid-depth and feed opportunistically on crayfish, zebra mussels and gobies - the latter two of which are invasive species - as well as settling to the bottom to feed in the silt. FYI - this year - in Grand Traverse Bay - I am seeing more and larger smallmouth than ever. I've seen some that are simply HUGE! I think it must be all the gobies.

The 'Asian carp' (generic term) that are of biggest concern are of two sorts - Silver Carp and Big Head Carp. These are completely different fish and do not resemble european carp in appearance or feeding habits. They have very fine scales and are filter feeders with no stomach. They are currently being kept out of lake michigan by an electronic grid. The concern is that these very fast growing and reproducing fish will super filter lake michigan - badly taxing phyto-plankton and all that micro-ecology stuff and totally wacking the food chain.

Interestingly some commercial fisherman along the Mississipi are making more money than ever catching these fish and selling them - particularly to the domestic and, increasingly, international asian market. Another problem carp is the Grass Carp - which is not a filter feeder .

Over there in Wisconsin I think you are spearing european and buffalo carp. I think you have infestation problems in some of your inland lakes and rivers from what Jon has said.

Silver Carp:

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bighead_carp"]Wikipedia on Bighead Carp[/ame]
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_carp"]Wikipedia on Silver Carp[/ame]
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_carp"]Wikipedia on Grass Carp[/ame]

Your standard European or Common carp:

 

[BennyB]

In Australia carp are very much a pest and I believe that it is illegal not to kill them if you are fishing. They have completely choked and destroyed whole river systems and they have special branches of National Parks and Wildlife / Fisheries that deal with the pest and try to keep it out of certain ecosystems.

If the carp tasted any good then i'm pretty sure we wouldn't be having this problem, but hey - for every crap food around there's probably 10 recipes for it. The Silver Drummer in Australia is viewed as almost inedible but the Portugese guys line up for them so I guess the moral of the story is that we've got to learn to cook better

Cheers,
Ben

 

[Jon]

I was under the, possibly misguided, understanding that Buffalo carp were native to the state and the other variety (Asian?) were introduced here in the 1930's as a cheap food source during the Great Depression- who later escaped from their pens and overpopulated the place. Either way, they trash our local waters and displace native fish so are a nuisance.

Small carp, taken in the winter months, taste quite good. the big, fat, ones taken in warm water i would not touch. One of the ladies that I used to play underwater hockey with would smoke some of the smaller ones for us- to eat at the bar after a night game. My Grandfather used to smoke carp, and sell them to good customers, in his small town grocery store back in the 40's and 50's. He said that a, good, smoked carp tasted much better to him than a smoked trout. I know that he had my grandmother pickle them, along with small pike, but I was never a big fan of pickled food.

My mom is pretty big into the whole genealogy thing and has traced our roots back to a community in the Czech Republic. From what I understand it looks like our relatives were carp farmers over there- no kidding!rofl

Here's a few shots of some of the carp we see around here.

Jon

 

[Whopperhead]

Here's a shot of Carp from this late spring- And I've seen worse- I once filled the front half of my canoe with carp from shooting them with my Bow.

:martial

I Plan on buying a smoker and maybe even smoke some of the 10# carp or smaller- But those aren't easy to find- It's the big ones that Stick out to me