How to Clean, Fillet & Cook Carp

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Whole carp fillets can also be smoked. Fig. 3 shows a simple smoker we built into the side of a bank. It's made from a 55-gallon drum, the end of a large wooden cable drum, a length of stovepipe, a small, rusty heater stove, and an old oven rack. Since hardwood is scarce in Washington, we use bush maple branches for fuel. After two to eight hours of smoking at a low temperature, the carp can be eaten plain or else frozen or canned. (See MOTHER NOS. 21 and 22 for more smoking directions . . . and see also James E. Laubacher's letter on page 3 of MOTHER NO. 23, which warns against the use of refrigerator racks to hold food in a homemade smokehouse —MOTHER)

Much as we enjoy fresh fried carp, we prefer to can this meat because it makes the bones soft and digestible (a wholesome calcium bonus). Just cut the fresh or smoked fillets into strips and pack them tightly to within an inch of the top of pint canning jars. Add half a teaspoon of salt and two or three tablespoons of hot salad oil if desired. Put the cap on each jar and screw the band down firmly. Process the fish in a pressure cooker at 10 pounds for 100 minutes or at 15 pounds for 80 minutes. The finished product can be used in any recipe that calls for tuna.

That's a lot of good eating from an easily caught fish. . . and—once the messy business of filleting is over—the rest of the preparation is simple. Now that we've tried it, we think the lowly lake carp can't be beat as a source of free protein.

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