carp

[rackaholic89]

i know this is probaly goin to sound dumb but can you eat the carp

[Fishhunter]

yes. commons are good, bigheads are better, grassies and silvers are great. Just make sure that you get ALL the red meat off, and don't cut the bones. There are several different methods described somewhere around here. Here is how I do it.

When you fillet the side off the fish and lay it skin down, you are looking at two fillets - top and bottom separated by the mud vein. The y-bone ends are sticking up near the surface of the meat, appearing like two rows of bone ends. Along the very top and very bottom you can cut out boneless strips, and along either side of the mud vein. You can often get a big piece of boneless from off the tops of the y-bones - with the skin-side down, there's usually a bit of meat on top above the y-bones. Don't go too deep or your cutting the ends of the y-bones. If the fish is big enough, you can go between the y-bones as well. It's not a quick-slice technigue, and you end up with pieces about the size of your pinky, but the eating is incredible. It's like pop-corn fish. Of course, I cheat and marinate it first, but it's still good as is.

[The Rev]

I guess you could eat a carp, but WHY? I like to cut them up and use them for Blue Cat bait.

[Fishhunter]

Silvers, bigheads, and grassies have beaten cat in every single taste test. And both were prepared and cooked identically.

[huntndemducks]

who was doing the testing??????????????????

[Fishhunter]

Which time? Over several years, with three to four fish fries each year feeding around 100 people each. I was asked to fry carp for the local sporting goods store in conjunction with their annual sale. Before that for the pro-shop. Big 3rd of July Bash each year. Always the catfish was left over. Then there was the taste-test at the USGS lab by Carptracker. Beat even bass.

Of course, we're talking about silvers and grassies, not common carp. though a couple who own a restaraunt in Branson and sworn they'd never eat carp did try to get my recipe once they tried some boneless common carp.