Prepared Carp

The carp is, as Izaak Walton reminds us, the queen of fish--and worth thinking about.

Don't ask if the carp is good enough for you to eat. Ask instead if you're good enough to eat carp"--as Vern Hacker says somebody once said ["Eating Carp," [Carp in North America (Bethesda, Maryland: American Fisheries Society, 1987), p. 49].

A. Texas-Oklahoma Carp Pie

2 1/2 cups cooked carp flakes
1/2 cup chicken stock, cold
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup raisins (or subst. currants)
1 cup green jalapeño peppers (diced)
1/2 cup yellow winter squash (cooked)
1 cup beef tripe (cut in one-inch squares)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, hot
1 cup cooked early russet potatoes, diced
3/4 cup cooked peas
3/4 cup diced celery
2 T salt
1 cup flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 T butter
1/3 cup cream

Make a paste by blending cold chicken stock and 1/3 cup flour. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Add to hot stock and cook over direct heat, stirring constantly until sauce boils and thickens. Add fat, if necessary, and jalapeño peppers.
Combine carp flakes with leftovers of any kind of meat of upland game birds, peas, celery, squash, tripe, and raisins. Add 2 T salt and put into buttered casserole.
Sift the 1 cup flour with baking powder and 1/4 t. salt. Cut in shortening with pastry blender. Add cream and stir until dough just stiffens.
Turn dough out onto floured board. Roll to 1/4 inch thick and cut to fit casserole or cut with doughnut cutter. Bake at 425 degrees F. about 20 minutes or until nicely brown. If chicken stock contains fat, omit the 1/3 cup additional fat. Substitute 1/4 pound salt pork, if you want to (diced) or 1/2 cup beef suet (riced).

[Helen Lyon Smooge and Hans Christian Adamson, The Sportsman's Game and Fish Cookbook (New York: Greenberg), 80.]

B. Carpe à la Juive.

Cut some medium-sized carp in slices about half an inch thick. For two carp weighing about two and a half pounds each, fry lightly in eight tablespoonfuls of olive-oil, in a large sauté-pan or turbot kettle, two large onions and five shallots chopped up. Add two ounces of flour, cook it for a few seconds, and moisten it with a pint and three-quarters of white wine and the same of fish stock or water. Season with salt and a good pinch of cayenne, add a large bouquet garni and three crushed cloves of garlic, and bring to the boil. In this sauce put the slices of carp, with their heads. Cook gently for twenty-five minutes, then take them out and arrange them on a dish in such a way as to reconstruct the fishes' original shape. Remove the bouquet from the sauce, reduce it by two-thirds, and mix with it, off the fire, half a pint or a little more of olive-oil, in exactly the same way as you would in making a mayonnaise. Pour this sauce over the carp after you have corrected its seasoning, sprinkle with parsley, and let them get cold. The sauce will become a jelly.

[Ambrose Heath, Madame Prunier's Fish Cookery Book (Selected, translated and edited, with an introduction and notes, from Les Poissons, Coquillages, Crustacés et leur Preparation Culinaire par Michel Bouzy) adapted for America by Crosby Gaige. (New York; Dover, 1971), 79-81]

C. Carp à la Chambord

For this first-class dish take, if possible, a Golden carp weighing about four pounds. Remove the skin and stick all over each side (piquer) truffles and raw mushrooms cut in the shape of little lardons. Season it and put it in a dish with very good red wine, brandy, thyme and bayleaf. Leave it there to marinate for several hours, or let it marinate overnight. Then drain it, and put it in a thickly buttered dish, add the wine of the marinade, and braise the fish very gently, with frequent bastings. When it is cooked, drain it thoroughly, arrange it on the serving-dish, and surround it with decorated quenelles, peeled and cooked mushrooms, olive-shaped truffles, little gudgeon egg-and-breadcrumbed and fried, trussed crayfish cooked in a court-bouillon, and if the carp has a roe, the roe cut in slices and cooked à la meunière. Pass the cooking liquor through a sieve, and reduce it quickly by half, then bind it with Kneaded Butter, and finish with more butter. Hand this sauce separately.

[Ambrose Heath, Madame Prunier's Fish Cookery Book (Selected, Translated and Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, from Les Poissons, Coquillages, Crustacés et leur Preparation Culinaire par Michel Bouzy) adapted for America by Crosby Gaige. (New York; Dover, 1971), 79-81]

D. Carpe à la Bière.

Scale and clean a medium-sized roed carp, and keep aside the roe. Raise the two fillets, one from each side, leaving half the head adhering to each fillet. Be careful to remove the little bitter sac in the head. Now melt in butter, without colouration, two finely minced onions. Spread this onion on a dish and add a sprig of thyme, a bit of a bayleaf, a piece of celery, several peppercorns, a clove and three ounces of pain d'éspice (which can be bought in most Continental grocers' shops in this country). Cut in dice. Season the fillets of carp with salt and pepper, moisten with just enough dark beer to cover them, and cook for twenty-five minutes. Meanwhile poach the roe in salted water with a touch of lemon juice. Drain the fillets and arrange them on a dish. Pass the cooking liquor through a sieve. It will be thick enough owing to the pain d'éspice. Heat it up, butter it lightly, pour it over the carp fillets and surround them with the roe cut in slices. (A light gingerbread might be used instead of the pain d'éspice.)

[Ambrose Heath, Madame Prunier's Fish Cookery Book (Selected, Translated and Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, from Les Poissons, Coquillages, Crustacés et leur Preparation Culinaire par Michel Bouzy) adapted for America by Crosby Gaige. (New York; Dover, 1971), 79-81]

E. Izaak Walton's Carp

Take the Carp, alive if possible, scour him, and rub him clean with water and salt, but scale him not: then open him, and put him with his blood and his liver, which you must save when you open him, into a small pot or kettle; then take sweet marjoram, thyme, and parsley, of each half a handful; a sprig of rosemary, and another of savory; bind them into two or three small bundles, and put them to your Carp, with four or five whole onions, twenty pickled oysters, and three anchovies. Then pour upon your Carp as much claret-wine as will only cover him; and season your claret well with salt, cloves, and mace, and the rinds of oranges and lemons. That done, cover your pot and set it on a quick fire, till it be sufficiently boiled: then take out the Carp, and lay it with the broth into the dish, and pour upon it a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter, melted and beaten with half a dozen spoonfuls of the broth, the yolks of two or three eggs, and some of the herbs shred: garnish your dish with lemons, and so serve it up, and much good do you!

[Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler; or, The Contemplative Man's Recreation, (1653)].

F. Ben Hur's Carp

For carp weighing from four to six pounds. Cut into one to one-half inch pieces. With sharp knife remove skin, saving all skins. Remove bones. Put fish through grinder with three large onions. Save onion peelings. Put ground fish in wooden bowl and chop for ten minutes. For each pound of fish add one egg, chopping successively as each egg is added. Then chop for ten minutes. Take two cups dried breadcrumbs, sprinkle lightly over chopped fish; fold breadcrumbs into the mixture; chop again for ten minutes. Add one and one-half cups water, a little at a time, chopping after each addition. Mixture should then be fluffy. Add trifle more water if necessary. Chop for another ten minutes. Salt and pepper to taste--but rather heavily. Now take small amounts of the mixture and fill each piece of skin. if this seems too difficult, for the skin breaks easily, the chopped fish may be prepared as fish balls. Handle lightly. Prepare deep wide-bottomed pan. Spread onion peelings in bottom of pan. Put in clove of garlic, with two carrots and stalks of celery, cut up; salt and pepper vegetables, cover well with cold water and cook until vegetables are almost done. Now lay fish pieces (in skins) or fish balls, in pan; cover and cook at a slow boil for about three hours.

[Ben Hur Lampman, The Coming of the Pond Fishes (Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort, 1946), p 42.]

G. Bean Sauce Steamed Carp (Dow Ban Jiong Yu: Szechuan)

2-lb. carp or sea bass

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ginger juice

1/4 cup peanut oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 slices ginger, chopped
1 tablespoon brown bean sauce
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons sherry
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped scallion
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
anise pepper to taste.
Preparation:

1. Clean and wash a, dry with paper towel, rub with b, c.
2. Mix e, f, g.
3. Mix i, j, k, l, m.

Cooking:

1. Place a-c in dish, steam in steamer over boiling water 5-8 minutes or until done. Pour juice into another dish (may be added to h to make 1/2 cup).
2. Heat d to smoking, pour over a-c, return d to pot, heat; when hot, add e-g, stir-fry 1/2 minute, add h, bring to boil.
3. Add i-m, cook 1 minute.
4. Thicken with n. Pour over fish; add o to taste and serve hot.

[Wonona W. and Irving B. Chang and Helene W. and Austin H. Kutscher, An Encyclopedia of Chinese Food and Cooking (New York: Crown, 1970), p. 160.]

H. Baked Carp

This is usually the most tasty way to handle these rough fish. Clean, wash and dry the fish. Remove as many large bones as possible without mangling the body rub inside and out with salt and stuff with this dressing:
1 cup breadcrumbs, dry
1/2 cup butter
little minced parsley
1/2 cup onion, chopped
salt and pepper
hot water to moisten

Sew up opening in stuffed fish, brush outside with lemon juice and then with butter and sprinkle with pepper. Dredge with dry flow and lay on a rack in baking pan. Pour in 1/2 cup of hot water and 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (or use butter) and bake 1 hour in moderate heat. Baste with liquid in pan bottom every 10 minutes.

[Art Reid, Outdoors with Art Reid's Favorite Recipes for Fish, Birds, and Wild Game (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University, n.d.), p. 5.]

I. Euell Gibbons' Carp

It was my brother who finally devised a method of cooking carp that not only made it fit for human consumption, but actually delicious. First, instead of merely scaling the fish, he skinned them. Then, taking a large pinch, where the meat was thickest, he worked his fingers and thumb into the flesh until he struck the median bones, then he worked his thumb and fingers together and tore off a handful of meat. Using this tearing method, he could get two or three good-sized chunks of flesh from each side of the fish. He then heated a pot of bland vegetable shortening, rubbed the pieces of fish with salt and dropped them into the hot fat. He used no flour, meal, crumbs or seasoning other than salt. They cooked to a golden brown in a few minutes, and everyone pronounced them "mighty fine eating." The muddy flavor seemed to have been eliminated by removing the skin and large bones. The forked bones were still there, but they had not been multiplied by cutting across them, and one only had to remove several bones still intact with the fork from each piece of fish.

Euell Gibbons, "How to Cook a Carp," in Stalking the Wild Asparagus: Field Guide Edition (New York: David McKay, 1962), p. 258.]

J. Camp Carp

4-5 cups water (or 2-3, depending on desired texture)
1-2 packages soup mix (any flavor or combination)
Freeze-dried vegetables (peas, carrots, etc., any amount)
Dry minced onion, bean sprouts, etc. to taste
4-5 chunks garlic (2-3 T dried garlic powder)
One freeze-dried carp (average size), broken up
Salt, pepper, curry, etc. to taste
Instant or minute rice, instant mashed potatoes, corn starch, blue corn meal, wheatena, ralston, etc. (optional)

Put water on to heat. Add soup, vegetables, and carp. Add seasonings listed or whatever. At the stage of cooking indicated by package directions or experience, add rice, instant mashed potatoes, blue corn meal, or whatever. Stir, mix, knead, roll, or otherwise combine. (This depends on choice of ingredients.)

[P.K. Hnnnghhhh, Pack Foods for the Nineties (Billings, Montana: Outdoors Press, 1993.]

K. Camp Carp Glop

3-4 cups water Large fist-full noodles or two fistfulls rice
One fresh carp, entrails and skin removed, cut in 1-inch cublets
Freeze-dried vegetables (especially green peppers, celery)
One cup dry onion, minced or chopped
1 package gravy mix (any flavor)
Salt, pepper, oregano, thyme
Margarine
Large lump cheddar cheese, chopped or slivered
Dried egg mix or freeze-dried eggs

Heat water. Add noodles or rice. Add carp, vegetables, gravy mix, flavorings, and margarine. Boil till all ingredients are tender and carp flakes; stir occasionally to keep mixture from sticking on the bottom of the pot. Before serving, stir in enough cheese and powdered egg mix to thicken and make wholesome. [Note: dried carp can be used. Be sure to reconstitute before adding to the mixture, or the final mixture will be dry and hard to stir.)

[P.K. Hnnnghhhh, Pack Foods for the Nineties (Billings, Montana: Outdoors Press, 1993.]

L. Carp Tacos

1 lb. ground carp
3 T vegetable oil
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1/2 c water
Sliced tomato
12 white corn tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Shredded cheddar cheese
Taco sauce
Sour cream (or substitute Thousand Island Salad Dressing)
Pine nuts
Green olives (chopped)

Cook the fish until well done. Add taco seasoning and water. Cook until dry and flaked out, stirring occasionally. Heat tortillas as directed on the package. Fill tortillas with fish mixture, add cheese, taco sauce, lettuce, tomato, pine nuts, and green olives. Top with sour cream or Thousand Island dressing.

[Fred "Little Red" Smerz, Carp in America (Skweetch Bay, MD: American Fish Press, 1987.]

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