Originally Posted By: yotehunter57 I've never eaten a freah carp, I've been told they taste like CRAP ( carp, crap, get it? ), but the old timers allways canned them.
I have eaten lots of fried buffalo in the past and don't want anymore.
I did can some buffalo the other day to see how they are. Right now I'm canning the scraps of the carp and buffalo to seeif they can be used for coon bait in live traps.
The canned carp DOES make excellent fish patties. The buffalo is yet to be seen.
Shayne
You may or may not have been told wrong. I've eaten a few fresh, early in the year before the water warms in the shallows. Most of them in the 3 - 5 lb. range. Fileted them out and tossed them on the grill with a little Lowrys, just a hint of garlic powder, and lots of lemon pepper. And, honestly... they were pretty tasty.
Have eaten a bunch of them smoked. Again, stay with the smaller ones, nothing more than 5 - 6 lbs. Brine them, let them set for 24 hours, change the water and let them soak in fresh water for about 8 hours, then smoke flesh side down first, so you cook the oils out of them. THEY'RE EXCELLENT!!
In both cases there... you're using a cooking method that allows the oils to be cooked out of them. Frying wouldn't allow that. In both cases, the fish we cooked were taken early in the year, from water that was probably in the 50 - 60 degree range. I know we about froze wading the shallows shooting them.
Likewise, canning cooks the oils out of them.
I'm sure you probably did, but be sure to cut out all dark meat on the outside of the fillet. Slit the filet either side of the lateral line at the tail, and gently pull to peel the fillets apart along the lateral line to remove it. That will remove most of your stronger flavor, oils, and any chemical or heavy metal contaminants they have absorbed into their system.