I picked up four carp with the bow a couple weeks ago with plans to pickle them. I loved pickled Northern Pike when I live in MN and it dissolves/softens the bones.

Well they turned out excellent. Sweet, tangy, solid, just awesome. I've been eating them on a salad (a staple in northern MN restaurants, salad with pickled herring on it) and just plain out of the jar..



Leaving a couple hours to add some more carp, crappie, catfish and walley fillets to the freezer.

Bowfishing is a pretty big sport around here where I live. Most of the guys have advanced to V8 powered air boats. Waaay out of my league. But the few tournaments I went to we did manage to shoot a few fish. But the big boys would fill a 55 gallon barrel maybe twice in one evening. Also, there were lots of boats as well. I always wondered what they did with all the fish?? At the end of the tournament, the parking would be full of pick-ups and the black folks would take all the fish they could haul. One older gent told me he could cook carp and crappie and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I've never tried it. Never had a taste and lived in Oklahoma all my life.

White sucker and small pike are my favorite pickled fish.

Yes, we ate pickled pike when I lived up there. Bigger pike are easily to fillet bone free so they were fried, baked and boiled. Suckers got made into mink and Coon bait, we also canned it to use in place of canned salmon. I lived near Detroit Lakes in the 1970/80s and ran traplines from Elbow Lake to Warroad and spring beaver lines up near Orr.

How does someone make pickled carp? Whats the process and recipe?

My internet is down and am on my phone. I'll post the recipe when I can get on line. I use the Michigan Outdoors recipe for pickled northern pike another boney fish. The key is the five day soak in salt and vinegar prior to pickling.

https://frommichigantothetable.com/easy-pickle-fish/

I need to try that recipe....thanks!