These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. Leviticus 11:9
From my Grandma Duffek I inherited much of my attitude toward food. I love growing it, cooking it and eating it. I also inherited her sturdy, well-fed form. She had a great appreciation for others who enjoyed food. As I outgrew my skinny little girl's frame, she'd grab me by the shoulders and say in her lovely accent, "Oh my, what a sturdy girl!" From Grandma Duffek I learned that one of the best ways a woman can show love for her family is to cook well.
I didn't get to have the woman to woman conversations with my grandma that I would have liked, but my mother has helped fill in the gaps. One thing she often talks about is Grandma canning carp. Here in the south carp is dismissed as a useless trash fish. Historically, though, it was brought from Europe in the early 1800's specifically for a food fish. Today, the Czech Republic is a leading producer and exporter of fish and among those fish carp plays a large role, so maybe my grandma knew what she was doing.
As I've stated in previous posts, the quickest way to get me to try something is to tell me I can't or even that I probably shouldn't. Last week my son-in-law, knowing that I'd been brewing this idea for some time, brought me a 5-pound carp that he caught while camping. Cleaning it was a bit challenging, as it is full of substantial bones. I found that my large, heavy Oriental cleaver was the perfect tool. (6lbs of carbon steel hand forged by some little Asian blacksmith, $6.00 at the Asian market. It rusts now, but it's super easy to sharpen and I expect it to patina with age.)
Scaling Mr. Bones required a butcher knife, as the scales are large and tough. I actually read about a Czech fishmonger's wife who decorated a dress in sequins cut from carp scales. They are actually quite pretty. My husband and son-in-law advised me to fillet it which would have made the whole process a bit easier, but I didn't want to waste any meat so I compromised and filleted out the sections that had the ribs after I got it scaled and cut into manageable pieces. It was at that point that I determined I ought to skin it. I don't know if this can be done with the scales still on or not, and the men in my house were suspiciously out of pocket during the entire operation. I suspect the entire family was whispering among themselves, "Uh Oh, Momo's doing it again."
I soaked the meat in a brine of 1 cup salt to 1 gallon of water for about an hour, before packing it into pint jars. I had a couple of pieces like big steaks from the rear section of the fish that packed well as they were. I rolled the thinner side meat to the inside of the ones from the section just behind the ribs, and I rolled the filleted rib section pieces. After researching several recipes, I added 1 teaspoon cooking oil and 2 tablespoons vinegar to each jar, topped with lids and rings and pressured for 90 minutes at 12 pounds pressure.
An hour and a half later I expected to have the odor of a blackwater slough hit me when I removed the top of the canner. I was surprised that there was no smell at all. Canning pork or venison is much, much smellier. The 3 jars in the experiment all sealed. So far so good.
Today I decided it was time for the final test. I opened the jar containing the large rear section of the fish backbone intact. It smelled like salmon. Just for comparison I opened a jar of bass that I'd canned as an experiment a month or so ago. The bass went straight to the cats, and not because it was bad. It just stank like fish bait. All the carp bones, including the backbone, were soft like canned salmon bones. Continuing on I mixed up and fried a batch of "salmon" patties. Still no bad odor. I set them on the table and they were gone in minutes. My daughter said, "Wow, this is better than salmon" and Oran and I had to agree.
From the research I did I concluded that in a year with less bountiful rain than we've had this year, it might be prudent to keep carp live and give them several days in a clearwater tank to clean out. Other than that, I was tickled to have found another source of good food for my family in the days to come. I also read that carp can grow at a rate of 6 pounds per year, making aquaculture something I'll have to explore.
Tidbits:
- My recipe for fish patties (was my recipe for salmon patties)
Mix canned fish with cracker crumbs (maybe 1:3 crumbs to fish), herbs of choice (I like dill and sage), pepper, finely chopped onion and enough egg to bind. Fry till brown in 1/2" of oil
- Another interesting reading site,
Historical Publications of the Kansas State Ag Experiment Station
- And just to get you thinking, (while you're reconsidering things you'ld never do, like eating carp)
Till next time, Blessings,
Judy
5 comments:
very cool, the white flesh looks like a good Cod. I love fish, never had Carp before. The look of the canned carp though, would not make me want to eat it but that could be a pregnancy thing. Most of us would rather taste the finished product first... good for you for experimenting!
The biggest fish I ever cut was a 22" carp when I was in middle school. I'd never filleted a fish before, and I was confounded by the bones (and the lack of a fillet knife.) I ended up chopping off the head and putting it in the garden. The last sight of the fish was the fish head and 2" backbone wiggling at the bottom of the hole. I just about jumped out of my skin.
If we're hungry enough, we'll eat it. I'm afraid hungry times are coming.
I have thought about doing that so many times... I appreciate this post!
Around here, they will tell you that the best way to eat carp is to cook it on an oiled board and eat the board...lol
Hmmm....the Chinese have been eating carp for several millenia. They might have a good thing going. ;)
~Anna
I grew up eating canned carp/buffalo fish. Try skinning the carp or buffalo fish, then fillet it. The strong fish smell is primarily in the skin, so when it is removed, even that smell is all but gone. You skin them like you skin a catfish. We used quart jars instead of pints. And the oil you are adding, try extra virgin olive oil or Macadamia nut oil, to boost the heart benefit of your fish.
I agree though, if you like salmon patties, you will love carp/buffalo patties. I understand the grass carp are just as good our native carp, though I haven't had canned grass carp yet.
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