# Are carp good eating fish?



## GatorDude

Do people eat carp? I see some huge ones in some golf course ponds.


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## Jerry D Young

Carp was a staple for our family when I was young and we lived on the river. It is very good eating. It does taste like fish, unlike some more bland types of fish. Also cans up well for storage. Can use just like salmon.


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## The_Blob

surprisingly, yes, they are pretty darn tasty if prepared correctly

there are quite a few Korean-style carp dishes


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## doc66

I've never eaten carp that I know of, but my understanding is that you should keep them live in fresh water for a while before eating, apparently some people think that they can taste like the muddy water they've been living in. Like mussels, it helps to clean out the system and adds to flavor. 

Rumor, I know, but that's what I've heard.


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## GatorDude

Thanks for the info! We've been staying in a nice community with a golf course and I've been amazed to see absolutely huge carp in the ponds. I'd estimate that some of the fish are 30 to 60 pounds and seem nearly as large as a man's leg. In case of an emergency, I'd consider eating some of these fish. My major concern would be that they'd have absorbed the lawn chemicals used for golf course and lawn maintenance.


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## sailaway

Ah Sewer Bass, a true delicacy if prepared correctly. My cousins great uncle was a real farmer and out doors man. He used to catch and smoke carp. I remember they tasted real good as a child. We looked forward to Uncle Louie bringing them over at Christmas. I believe that they do taste better than the negitive publicity they have been given:congrat:


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## Expeditioner

Not my fish of choice but if I need a food source, I wouldn't hesitate to eat it. Same for croaker and mullet if I was living in a coastal region.


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## Sonnyjim

Well for all of those out there who like to eat carp, go nuts on the Asian carp before they completely overrun the Great Lakes. Chicago river poisoned to block feared Asian carp - Yahoo! Canada News


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## TechAdmin

Sonny Jim couldn't make your link work.


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## jawtrey

My cousin and I used to go fishing pretty much every day. It never failed that this guy would show up everyday carp fishing. While we were getting catfish and bluegill, all he wanted was carp. We would catch 100 bluegill sometimes, and the guy would get 1 good sized carp and go home. He never fished for anything else, we asked him why one day, expecting some type of "its big, and will feed my family for the night" answer....the answer we got was "because it's good".


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## Sonnyjim

Yeah I guess they pulled the story on me there. It was about how the asian carp are heading up the rivers to the great lakes and how they will eventually take over. They have been poisoning the rivers with their migration to kill them before they hit the lakes.


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## bunkerbob

Sonnyjim said:


> Yeah I guess they pulled the story on me there. It was about how the asian carp are heading up the rivers to the great lakes and how they will eventually take over. They have been poisoning the rivers with their migration to kill them before they hit the lakes.


The national news this morning did a short on it, they poisoned the river and killed everything 'but' the asian carp:nuts:


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## marlas1too

here in wv most people hate the carp but i like them and some of them get over 4 feet long and a friend of mine take them and makes fish jerky out of them --their very tasty


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## TomChemEngineer

OK, anybody got a good way to fix them? With catfish, I let the fillets sit in milk for an hour or so before broiling or frying or whatever. It seems to take the musty taste out of the catfish. I figure it would do the same for carp. Anyone know firsthand?


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## JCfans

When you fry the fillets you want to score the fillets so the oil can get in an melt the tiny bones in there. I read an article on canning carp last fall and am going to try that this year. They did a blind taste testing comparing it to canned tuna and most people chose the carp over tuna. You also want to cut that dark meat out of the fillet and that will take any muddy taste out.


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## bunkerbob

Met a fella once that lived on a lake I worked at. My buddies and I would catch carp and then just cut them up for bait, and throw the rest away. He, this fella watched us for a while and yelled, "why don't you let me have some of those, I eat them" what the...? yuk!. So he told us that he would clean them, cut off the head and put it in a pressure cooker until all was soft including the bones. Remove the 'meat', strain out the liquid, grind it up bones and all, then mix the 'meat' with bread crumbs and spices, lots of spices, then make into patties and fry them up. He also ate mud hens, double yuk!!.:nuts:


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## NaeKid

bunkerbob said:


> He also ate mud hens, double yuk!! :nuts:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Coot

They look yummy!!!


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## robert

Carp tastes like chicken, or is it rattle snake ?


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## bunkerbob

NaeKid said:


> American Coot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> They look yummy!!!


Mud hens eat fish only, their meat is very dark and oily, yuk.


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## Expeditioner

bunkerbob said:


> Mud hens eat fish only, their meat is very dark and oily, yuk.


Sounds like last resort eating to me!!!!


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## ditzyjan56

Carp is good eating, we let it sit overnight in salt water then rinse it before we eat it. It is easy to can for winter use too. We usually grind it up to can it and use it like canned salmon.


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## rpervin

*Carp*

We have a lake here that is completely full of Israeli carp. There are so many that it is dangerous to run a boat very fast through there. I have had carp jump into the boat and hit me, and I have had to beat them to death with a paddle. My buddy was driving the boat and one hit him in the throat and the boat almost went out of control. These things are wicked fast, and they jump at the boat and the wake of the boat. On the good side, they would be great fun to bow fish for, and if you did want to eat them, the guy who was talking about pressure cooking them was right on track. There are a bunch of folks around here that eat carp. These carp are shaped like a salt water fish, really streamlined, and they are quite large. The one I beat to death was probably 15 or 20 pounds, and I saw much larger ones. 
I live in West Tennessee, by the way.


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## lanahi

doc66 said:


> I've never eaten carp that I know of, but my understanding is that you should keep them live in fresh water for a while before eating, apparently some people think that they can taste like the muddy water they've been living in. Like mussels, it helps to clean out the system and adds to flavor.
> 
> Rumor, I know, but that's what I've heard.


It's true. They are bottom feeders, which is why they have a muddy taste. Put them in fresh water alive, like above, for a few days. They have a lot of bones too, which is a nuisance, but they really do taste good if treated right.


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## Woodchuck

The best smoked fish that I have ever eaten was smoked carp. Only bad thing was it was oily and I learned not to put it in a suitcase with my clothes.


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## dawnwinds58

*Flying fish*

Asian carp can be eaten, should be eaten with how big they can get. Each one has a dark area, a mud vein, just cut it out and toss it. Then we marinade and eat them like any other fish. It doesn't take much searching to find asian carp, or flying carp videos. Makes me want to get a fish zapper amd a net to see all that freezer meat flying around!

Bad thing is what they eat, starves and kills off other fish like catfish, bass, and many others. Then their huge growth puts them in a position to have nothing bigger to eat them...ahem... except us of course.

Save the Mississippi ! Have you killed your carp today?


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## OldCootHillbilly

Cool water ones in the upta 5 lb range er great brined an smoked. Ya gotta cut the mud strip outa them because well, that tastes like mud! Smoked there better then salmon. Round here some folks pickle em to just like herring.


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## rhrobert

ditzyjan56 said:


> Carp is good eating, we let it sit overnight in salt water then rinse it before we eat it. It is easy to can for winter use too. We usually grind it up to can it and use it like canned salmon.


Exactly what we do, can it...then make Salmon (carp) patties with it..crushed crackers, egg, canned carp, onions, spices...fry it up...mmm mmmm good


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## Expeditioner

To each his or her own I guess. I have don't care for carp but will eat it as a last resort.


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## Emerald

It would at least be good for feeding my cats, they would probably love it! I love fish of almost any kind and would probably take a shot at eating it.


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