eat carp

[buckwheat]

has enyone ever eaten carp?????? :-? :-? :-?

[CyBasser]

has enyone ever eaten carp?????? :-? :-? :-?

Yep! They are not nearly as bad as people think. There are two main issues with eating carp though: a:Their flesh is rather soft and has a weird touch of "sweetness" (for want of a better word). b: they are full - and I mean full! - of bones. In order to really enjoy carp, they have to be decent in size, at least 10lb, so that you can readily remove the bones (which in such sized fish are quite large). These bones are not confined to the backbone, but also throughout the flesh.

The two best ways to prepare them (in my opinion) is to either grill them over charcoal with plenty of oil and lemon, or even better, bake them in the oven with onions and tomatoes. If you are lucky to be able to get carp from hard-bottom lakes where they feed mostly on invertebrates rather than plant material, the flesh is both firmer and tastier.

Although I have eaten carp a few times, I am not really a fan of them. But they are an important table species for people from several central and eastern European countries. In Poland carp is the traditional Christmas fare!

[bass109]

carp.com has info on carp fishing. A carp as a bottom feeder is as only good as the area it lives. So if a carp lived in fresh water area  river in canada compared to carp living in missouri river. I think you can tell the difference.

[CK14]

i never have, but i have seen people keep them.... it's better then just killing them for no reason and letting them rot on the shore (what a lot of people do).

[Daniel My Brother]

I grew up eating carp and never thought twice about it. At Friday fish fries during Lent our choices were carp or catfish and I would always choose carp. The best way to get around all the bones is to fillet the fish, then score the fillet vertically every 1/4" or so , then the bones just 'cook out'.

When you deep fry them the scored meat really holds on to the crunchy coating. Good and greasy, that's probably why I liked it so much. Haven't fished for carp or seen 'em on a menu in a long time.

[Dan:]

I know some southeast asian countries eat them, but I don't think I would.

[Bream Master]

They are very popular in the Asian communities, especially amongst the Vietnamese and Laotion people.  I don't like it though.  Like what some of the others have said, way too many bones.  I wouldn't feed it to kids.  And the meat falls apart too easily.  After you cook it, it's just a pile of broken up peices.

[ga_hawghauler]

I did know this guy who eats carp. He would clean them and somehow grind them up, then he would make patties out them( like people do can salmon)and eat them with biscuits. I never dared to try one though.

[RiskKid.]

One time about 40 years ago. Came out of the Delaware River in the northern part of PA. It probably was not fixed properly but once was enough for me  ;D

[tugabasser]

It's like Cybasser said: not as bad as people think! In Portugal there are two main ways of cooking it: in fish soup and vinegar grilled. To do the fish soup, you'll need to cut'em into pieces and boil them in water with tomato slices, garlic, onion, bread slices, salt, parsley and some river minth/oregano and, if you enjoy something a little stronger, some black pepper or hot chilli.

To vinegar grill them, you'll need to make a few deep cuts along the sides and leave the in vinegar for about two/three hours, so that the vinegar might soften and dissolve some of the smaller bones. After that, just put'em in the grill.

While the fish soup can be made with smaller fish, (up to two pounds), vinegar grill is better with larger fish like this one  

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I wouldnt be opposed to trying it, havent as of yet. I think there is a pre-conceived notion that carp are "dirty" because they are considered "trash fish" in the states. Europeans view the carp a little differently as it is a "sport" fish over there...

Someone get me some carp!!!

Wayne

[RODBENDER]

I've eatten them on the grill , they ain't too bad . Have heard of people boiling them till the meat starts coming  off the bones , pick out the meat and scrambling them with eggs like salmon out of a can .

Served with hot biscutts and molases it can't be too bad ..

[Tom Bass]

Carp is a fish that has stigma to it here in the USA. In many places in the world it's considered a food fish. It's also considered a Sport fish. If you've never fought a carp on a cool night fishing from a bank with friends you haven't lived. I don't care who you are. A 3' long carp will certainly provide you with a bunch of excitement even though the "hit" will be slow and uncertain. Set the hook and hang on! ;D

My neighbor has been bugging me to go carp fishing recently. I think I'll take him up on it soon.

[RoLo]

I got reeeeal close one day, and brought a 20 pounder home.

After I removed the skin, the rib cage reminded me of a dog carcass.

I'm afraid that put the kabosh on my 'Carp Ala Elegante' :-/

Roger

[Other.]

I did know this guy who eats carp. He would clean them and somehow grind them up, then he would make patties out them( like people do can salmon)and eat them with biscuits. I never dared to try one though.

Yea thats kinda like cafeltafish (I know i spelt that wrong) Ground up carp with the bones and all, its slimy from the gelloten the bones produce i dont know how people eat it  

[Clayton]

i ate it once.  I pulled the ribs out and deep fried it.  Delicious!

[VekolBass]

I've never tried it myself, but I hear they are pretty good smoked. My mom and her brothers used to fish for them and spear them during the Great Depression--take them into town and sell them. I think the brought in about a nickel a piece.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I heard   you take a piece of wood any kind will do as long as the fish fits on it  bake it till the fish is done depending on size of course now this is important slowly take it out the oven slide the fish into a bag take the fish to ur dog or hog or w-e creature u have set it down for um on the ground and run cause w-e pet u have will hate u for doin this then go ahead and eat the wood !!! anyone heard this ;D

[boondocks]

I heard you take a piece of wood any kind will do as long as the fish fits on it bake it till the fish is done depending on size of course now this is important slowly take it out the oven slide the fish into a bag take the fish to ur dog or hog or w-e creature u have set it down for um on the ground and run cause w-e pet u have will hate u for doin this then go ahead and eat the wood !!! anyone heard this ;D

I have heard this and agree with it. I do the same with duck. You guys can eat your carp. I'll stick to walleye fillets. yum yum yum.

I must say bowfishing for them is a hoot, for carp that is.

[Nicky Greece]

i never have, but i have seen people keep them.... it's better then just killing them for no reason and letting them rot on the shore (what a lot of people do).

   I always thought an over-abundance of carp could destroy the Bass population in a lake...no??

[Redlinerobert]

There are HUGE carp in one of the private lakes that I fish.  The owner asks that we leave carp on the bank to die that we catch.  

[BucketmouthAngler13]

IMHO Carp have every right to be bolth eaten and released as bass do. So what if carp hurt the bass pop? If one native speices wipes out another and makes it instinct, then that is complety natural and shouldn't be prevented by bass fisherman. Yes, carp are not completly natural, but they have been around here for 100 years and the bass fishing is still good, So I say they are natural. Carp are amazing fish and figh much harder and longer pound to pound than bass. I rather catch a 40lb carp than a 10lb bass for sure.

[TravisLovett]

Well, I myself collect Japanese Koi which are just carp that have been through an amazing amount of selective breeding.  I would never eat a carp just because I would think of my koi and I love those big softies out there.  Though in Japan if a guest of honor comes to your house it is a honerable gesture to serve him your most valuable koi.  Im not sure if any of you know but that can be extremely expensive gesture!

[Dan:]

IMHO Carp have every right to be bolth eaten and released as bass do. So what if carp hurt the bass pop? If one native speices wipes out another and makes it instinct, then that is complety natural and shouldn't be prevented by bass fisherman. Yes, carp are not completly natural, but they have been around here for 100 years and the bass fishing is still good, So I say they are natural. Carp are amazing fish and figh much harder and longer pound to pound than bass. I rather catch a 40lb carp than a 10lb bass for sure.

I agree with what you're saying but I think a lot of people discount catching carp because they are relatively easy to catch so fishing for them gets dull. I also think that because there is less of a market for selling carp baits because they won't eat the variety of shapes, colors, and hardware that a bass will eat. If companies can't make as many kinds of baits for carp than they can't make as much money so they won't promote carp fishing as much as bass fishing because they can make more by promoting bass. I think it's a shame to discount the fight and size of carp, but I honestly think they can get a bit boring. There is no figuring them out, you just throw some sort of food out there and they come to it and eat it. With bass, you have to take lots more into consideration like water temp, sky cover, frontal conditions, structure, vegetation, forage, bait selection, retrieval speed, etc. THere's a lot more outsmarting the fish and I think people would rather have that challenge than sit and wait for a carp to start tearing line away from your reel.

[Siebert Outdoors]

I've never tried it or even clean one, isnt this something that I could fillet?