Sucker

[Wayne SW/MO]

The problem with carp is there is such a huge amount of red meat vs white meat

Its been a while, but I don't remember them having any large amount of red meat, certainly no more than say, a Wiper or a Spoonbill?

You can take any bony fish, Carp, Buffalo, Drum, Sucker,and the infamous Trout! Cut it into chunks, put it in a smoker or the cold side of a grill and give it a shot of wood smoke. can it according to direction and you will have a hard time telling it from Salmon.

[Terry Beeson]

I think the amount of red meat depends somewhat on the condition of the water it is taken from. I could be wrong, but just seems like better water tends to mean more white flesh...

[gonefishin]

Its been a while, but I don't remember them having any large amount of red meat, certainly no more than say, a Wiper or a Spoonbill?

You can take any bony fish, Carp, Buffalo, Drum, Sucker,and the infamous Trout! Cut it into chunks, put it in a smoker or the cold side of a grill and give it a shot of wood smoke. can it according to direction and you will have a hard time telling it from Salmon.

Spoonbills certainly have a ton of red meat on them. Last one I cleaned was 35% white meat. Last carp I cleaned was the same 35%. A 50 lb spoonbill will dress out about 17 lbs of bone free white meat a 10 lb carp will dress out about 3 lbs of very bony white meat. Plus carp are a lot harder to dress than spoonbill. Wipers/Hybrids I just throw back. I dressed one and it seemed to be about the same if not worse than a carp for having red meat and just like carp they have a lot of bones.

No matter what I catch I chuck the red meat, head, tails and other cleanings in my compost bin. Makes great garden fertilizer.

[duckydoty]

The big heads are very good to eat. Get rid of the red and the rest is very firm and white. I've fed lots of folk big head and they've all liked it

duckydoty

[gonefishin]

The big heads are very good to eat. Get rid of the red and the rest is very firm and white. I've fed lots of folk big head and they've all liked it

duckydoty

I have heard bighead are quiet tasty. I would like to try them sometime.

[Wayne SW/MO]

The big heads are very good to eat.

I understand that there is a revival in commercial fishing in Illinois for this very reason. A commercial market wouldn't hurt anything thats for sure. And with no regulations except to protect native species, I would think it could be profitable.

[gonefishin]

If there is a market for them and numbers start declining it won't be long before there are laws protecting them.

This is the same point I was trying to make for common carp. For them to get respect there needs to be some sort of market for them.

[Kayser]

For Buffalo, you need to "fleece" or "skin-scale" the fish, slicing the scales off and leaving the skin on the fillet. Then just fillet the fish as you normally would, and cut the fillet into 3x3(?) chunks, and score the chunks 1/8" apart right down to the skin. Spread the slices of meat apart by holding the sides and pressing on the skin, then roll in your fish breading. With fish smaller than 12 lbs or so, the Y-bones will "fry out" of the fish, and you are left with a bunch of "fish chips" that you can peel off the skin and eat. The red meat usually stays on the skin. Oh yeah, carp should be the last of the minnows or suckers considered for eating, because they have the most red meat.

Rob

[gonefishin]

Sounds tasty. I feel a fish fry coming on.

[Crippled Caddis]

gf wrote:

<The problem with carp is there is such a huge amount of red meat vs white meat. By the time one trims the red meat there is very little edible meat left, so a person is likely to starve to death before enough carp can be cleaned to obtain even a meager portion of edible meat.>

OK---I hope no PETA-philes are reading this. To properly process a Carp to eat you need to cut off the tail with a cleaver or hatchet while still alive and hang them by their head to 'bleed out'. (Do this over your wife's flowerbeds for a bumper crop of blooms the following year) When bled out fillet them just as you would a bass, then lift out the band of red flesh along the lateral line by undercutting it with a vee notch. You can fillet out the Y bones along the backbone or score them before cooking---your choice. Soak overnight in a weak saltwater bath in the fridge for the final touch. There will be little loss to 'red meat' by this method and the flavor will be enhanced.

When I prepared a big bunch this way my wife's comment after her first dinner of Carp cooked just like Catfish was "You can stop bringing home those Bass and Trout". Yep----they're that good!