Carp, are they edible ??

[Jonboy_]

     Over here, they stir fry some chopped up onions, soy, salt,hot pepper,and oil.  Cut into the sides of the fish a few times, pour that sauce you just made over it and cook it in the wok for about 10 or 12 minutes.  Remember though, you got to put the lid on the wok or it won't steam up and cook. 
     Oddly, you only eat the topside; if you turn it over on the serving plate, your boat may capsize.  I don't know about the boat part, but the fish tastes OK. 

[homeshow]

Fill an old cooler with water. Carefully place an unbroken raw egg. It will sink. Add regular old table salt until the egg floats. Soak your carp in this saltwater solution for 24 hours. Remove the fish and rinse very well. Smoke the fish belly side down until done. This works well with any fish or red meat. Keep in mind the red meat will retain more salt than the fish. Use the hardwood of your choice and enjoy.

dude had to throw out that +1 on the recipe i need a fishing pole now

[smith06]

We used to occasionally sell them to out-of-towners.. LOL.  I have never ate it, but I've been told if you cut the "mud vein" out and then smoke it, it tastes awesome.

In a SHTF situation I'd try it.. About like possum.. I just haven't been that hungry yet.

[nelson96]

I watched a show the other day where they were cutting the ribs out of Buffalo fish (looked like a carp).  I guess they were pretty tasty (according to those that ate it on the show).

[Nicodemus]

In my opinion carp, prepared the right way, is an OK fish to eat, but I'd not seek it out as the first fish I'd want on my plate.

It's just not one of those fish you can use in any recipe and expect that it will taste good. It's kind of like calamari, it's all in how it is prepared.

Watch out for those little bones.

[Perfesser]

There are all kinds of carp - especially now with all the invasive ones. I'm guessing they won't taste the same.
Silver carp are the jumpers. I hear Grass carp are good eating.

[oldcountryboy]

Makes me wish I had gotten the method a neighbor that has passed away used. See would take all our scrap fish we caught and pressure can it. It tasted as good as any Pink Salmon you got in a can back then. So much information has been lost. I am trying to pass onto my daughter what little I remember. Was raised a farmer living off the land but spent to many years working for the other man in a public job. So much of the forum has helped me to remember and update. I want to thank all those that contribute and monitor it.

[AlanB]

In Germany Carp are a delicacy as well.  There is a season and many of the Gasthauses have a tank and serve them up fresh, heads and all (so you know you got the whole fish) I could never stand that part.

They put a light breading on it, (cream of wheat) salt and pepper and then deep fry it.

They are probably cleaner because they are essentially farm raised, and they do have the numerous small bones, but many folks love them.

SWMBO said it is mostly a regional dish from Bayern.

[Howard Wallace]

From a restaurant in Beijing.



$1 ~ 6 RMB

[TimSuggs]

I love seeing these old threads still alive and floppin around!

[rikkrack]

 

[Smoky Hills]

My great-grandfather took both carp and catfish and put them in a stock tank full of fresh water. If memory serves me right, he'd keep them in there for a couple of days or so. Basically whenever he was ready to clean them and eat them that week. Other than dealing with the small bones, carp was quite tasty. The fresh water might of serve as a simple form of detox for the fish. Maybe somebody here can give it a try and report back their findings.

[GudrunHrafn]

Most definitely edible - as others above have mentioned, its all about how they're prepped and cooked. Don't blame the meat, blame the cook -- you'd be surprised what becomes good fare when its prepared well.

From a prepper perspective though, carp are also quite valuable since they are often considered a nuisance species. As such most state DNR's do not impose any possession limits and are quite happy to have you harvest as much as you can. So, stock up! -- canned, frozen, smoked, etc... -- with no concern about limit.

[viking]

I remember hearing that my grandma used to pickle carp.
I heard this an  adult after she passed. I'm not sure how they tasted.

[racer038]

My mother, born in the early 1930's, told that during the spring spawn, the church she attended would "drive" the Highfins (a type of sucker fish) up the creeks in the Kentucky Appalachians.  Once they would reach a sandbar, they would throw nets, spear, snag, or use any method to remove the fish from the water.  The church people would then clean and cook the fish by canning them.  After the canning process there would be no bones.  Church members participating would get to prepare their own canning jars with the fish to take home.  The church kept everything else and would dispense during the following winter to townspeople with little or no food. 

My experience with canning fish related to the carp found in the streams of Central Kentucky.  During the spring floods, rivers would overflow banks into the bottoms.  Men and women in flatbottom boats would bow-fish or gig the carp in the flooded fields.  Hundreds of pounds of carp and other rough fish would be harvested.  The fish were cleaned with the "mud vein" removed and then pressure canned.  Many older folks actually preferred the canned carp to storebought salmon and tuna.

These two stories are a generation apart and a generation removed from today.  However it shows that knowledge and the willingness to put in a little work can pay dividends. I found this video of canning carp and while I do not know the video maker, it accurately describes the canning process as I remember it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjcBzCVLiMI

[karim18]

Here is a site DEDICATED to eating invasive species:
http://eattheinvaders.org/

They have quite a few Carp recipes that look pretty good to me.

[Olympic Wanderer]

Here is a site DEDICATED to eating invasive species:
http://eattheinvaders.org/

They have quite a few Carp recipes that look pretty good to me.

Very cool website. It's going in the bookmarks for sure.

On the carp, though, I've never eaten them but growing up we caught/speared lots of them. Used them as crab bait... I'd take a bad Dungeness Crab over a good carp any day

[polyglot12]

 I have eaten small carp when younger. Simply clean well and remove the mud vein for baking or smoking. The older ones will be stronger since they are bottom feeders and can get a strong taste but the young ones of about 2 pounds should be fine so long as they aren't caught in an urban setting. If older, smoking is suggested.

[cajun68]

A friend gave me a pint jar of bighead carp she had canned. It was great, wife made patties with it. When I ask her how she canned it she told me she just cut it up in chunks to fit in the Jar and pressure caned it.  It is some I will start to fish for.

[Crazy Fox]

I don't know if he has a special Chinese recipe, but my officemate loves carp. 

[danimal]

Yes. And people in the Middle East (I know Iraq and Jordan) have been doing this for a LONG time. Dept of State has spent hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars to help rebuild or start carp fish farms in Iraq. And I know that a Purina distributor makes a handsome living selling fish food in Iraq.

I ate carp straight out of the Tigris and I am still alive (barely) to tell about it!

Here's the Iraqi Carp BBQ....

[Nophix]

Here is a site DEDICATED to eating invasive species:
http://eattheinvaders.org/

They have quite a few Carp recipes that look pretty good to me.

Thanks for that link!

Actually,  we home school our son, and this just opened up a whole new lesson plan for us. We're researching each invasive species, learning about its natural habit and why it's invasive where it's at. Add in learning how to identify them, and prepare a tasty meal from them, all good info for him!

[AxeMan]

I grew up eating carp. They are actually tasty if you clean them right. Fillet them in coldsalt water, then lay the fillet out on a flat surface. On the bottom of the fillet there will be a streak of dark-ish meat that runs the length of the fish. Slice the the fillet of just above the dark stripe, then pitch the dark meat. Cook as you would a normal fish.
I guess that dark stripe is where they store the "stink oil" or something.

Great tip about that dark meat. Lots of carp near me too and I feel bad not taking advantage of easy sustenance. I might have to give them a try now.

[LVWood]

They're bony, and too much trouble.
Depending on the species it might taste bad too.
I heard Asian Carp are better tasting than common carp.