Is my smoked buffalo (carp) done?

[Tripplebeards]

I put both sides in my totem smoker yesterday at 6PM. I went out at 7am to check. This one was the side closest to the heat source in my electric lil totem smoker. It looks good to me. The piece on top of it was cracking but the fish did not have dry looking golden brown dry coat over it like this half did so I figured I'd leave it in for


https://i.imgur.com/8qhCqP0.jpg

I didn't take a pic of the one I left in. Boy does buffalo taste way better than oily carp

[Tripplebeards]

Four hours later the I pulled the 2nd half...

https://i.imgur.com/yYQqXS6.jpg

So 15 hours in snowy weather vs about 8 hours in the summer.

[MaryB]

If you used a cure it is done as soon as it comes form the brine... otherwise it needs to reach 165 internal to kill parasites... cure will kill them as will really high salt levels... not knowing how you brined this it is hard to give a straight answer

[smithnframe]

I would never eat carp!

[Tripplebeards]

I used a half cup of canning salt, a cup of Worcestershire, and a cup of brown sugar mixed in water for the brine. I brined it for almost 3 days.

[gbrown]

I would never eat carp!
About 50 years ago, Dad and I went to one of the Lakes north of us, Lake Rayburn for a weekend of fishing. I put out a trotline and let it soak overnight. We fished the next day and I took Dad back to camp and checked the trotline.
Had a 15-20 lb Buffalo on it. Brought it back and ask my Dad, "What do we do with this?" He proceeded to clean it, cutting out all the fat and bloodlines. I fried it up for lunch and that had to be some of the best fish I ever ate. Fluffy, sweet and delicious. Never had it again, but the way Dad cleaned it sure made it taste good. Trash fish can be eaten, if cleaned the right way and prepared correctly. I've made gar balls before that were also delicious.

[Winger Ed.]

Looks good.

I pressure cook filleted carp for about 90 minutes.
The 'Y' bones soften up like the bones in a can of sardines, then use it in recipes like ya would canned salmon from the grocery store.

There is some sort of bone, or stone thing in the buffalo's head that people pull out and save for some reason.

It'd be easy to look up on youtube videos about cleaning them,
or maybe one of our guys from Louisiana will come say what it is and how to get them out.

[richhodg66]

I would never eat carp!

Your loss. It's good fish with just a little bit of knowing what you're doing.

I used to bowfish all the time and smoked a lot of carp and buffalo. I haven't done it for along time. Maybe this Spring.

[trapper9260]

I buy smoke carp from a fish market and stock up on it by have them wrap each peace in paper and then freeze it for when I like to have some with crackers ,need to get my smoker set up to do some of my own and see about one to do meats . I known you need to do the smoke of fish in one and meats in the other for how the out come will be, I had smoke bull heads and catfish . Too much oil in them for me. but for carp came out ok for me for how the market done it, also pickle some redhorse too.

[Lloyd Smale]

Looks good.

I pressure cook filleted carp for about 90 minutes.
The 'Y' bones soften up like the bones in a can of sardines, then use it in recipes like ya would canned salmon from the grocery store.

There is some sort of bone, or stone thing in the buffalo's head that people pull out and save for some reason.

It'd be easy to look up on youtube videos about cleaning them,
or maybe one of our guys from Louisiana will come say what it is and how to get them out.

we do too. We net them in the spring skin them and chunk them up bone and all and pressure cook it. Its better then any tuna you ever ate. its good smoked too. Like mary said Bine them and then all your doing is smoking them for the flavor. I hot smoke them but my dad cold smokes his. He says he doesnt like the dry texture after hot smoking. Your sure look ready to eat. Wish i was there!!

[725]

Outta my zone, here. Question; Is buffalo another name for carp?

[dale2242]

I have never smoked buffalo or carp but from my experience with steelhead and salmon it looks done to me.
When the flesh opens up on fish it means it`s done to me.
My best method to tell if salmon or steelhead is done is to press down on the thickest part with your finger.
If it feels soft and mushy it needs more time.
When the flesh just firms up it is done the way I like it.
Most people get their smoked fish too dry for me.

[Dukeconnor]

smoke, mix with cream cheese, spread on crackers.

[sharps4590]

What Winger said. We used to gig carp in the winter and Momma would can them. It's as good or better than any canned salmon or mackeral you can buy....I think better because it's not as strong tasting.

[richhodg66]

Outta my zone, here. Question; Is buffalo another name for carp?

No. They look kind of similar but buffalo are indigenous to North America and carp are not. They both have th mud line that needs to be removed and also the row of Y bones which is the biggest problem to eating them.

[richhodg66]

Looks good.

I pressure cook filleted carp for about 90 minutes.
The 'Y' bones soften up like the bones in a can of sardines, then use it in recipes like ya would canned salmon from the grocery store.

There is some sort of bone, or stone thing in the buffalo's head that people pull out and save for some reason.

It'd be easy to look up on youtube videos about cleaning them,
or maybe one of our guys from Louisiana will come say what it is and how to get them out.

You're thinking of freshwater drumm, commonly called sheeps heads that have the stones in their head, much different kind of fish. They fight on a line very hard and are strong. They also are good eating, no Y bones or mud line. The stones look like dome shaped peices of quartz, not bone.

[farmbif]

never had carp but love smoked fish grew up on smoked mullet and king fish.
where's the like button

[MaryB]

I used a half cup of canning salt, a cup of Worcestershire, and a cup of brown sugar mixed in water for the brine. I brined it for almost 3 days.

So hot smoke to 165... a good instant read thermometer is your friend. I have 3 Thermapens...

[MaryB]

I usually smoke 5-6 pounds of carp in spring when they are cleaner. Try to get 4 pound and under fish for this, larger the mercury/pcb level gets a LOT higher. That river is slowly flushing to the Mississippi but it will take time to get rid of all the pollutants in the muck.

[Lloyd Smale]

smoke, mix with cream cheese, spread on crackers.

yes sir! I like a bit of crushed walnut in mine.

[Winger Ed.]

I would never eat carp!

They've gotten a bad reputation in the US, mostly from folks that never ate any.
In many other countries, they raise them for the same reason we do pigs & chickens.

Look at 'Asian carp' videos on youtube. They're pretty amazing.
Tons and tons of them are caught and processed for export, mostly to Japan and China.

[DanishM1Garand]

I would never eat carp!
We went fishing as kids with my dad. My brother caught a carp and dad didn’t want to eat it. Brother dug his heels in and dad cleaned it and fried it. He fileted it as any other fish and cut out the mud line. It was as good as my bass.

[Thundarstick]

Looks delicious!

I was raised on them both! Buffalo are more of a silver color where yellow carp are golden. A carps mouth points down, and can be line caught, Buffalo mouths point forwards and aren't generally line caught. The jumping carp are another thing all together, are actually very good eating, and if could be line caught would put bass tournaments out of business! I'm quite fond of Buffalo fish baked. Like many other "trash fish" the water it comes from and what they are feeding on make a HUGE difference in how they taste! Someone mentioned fresh water drum (sheep's head) don't ever try and eat a big one, don't ask me why, just don't!

[Winger Ed.]

As a kid in the 60's when we visited my Aunt & Uncle's ranch in East Texas,
a cousin and myself would go work at his part time job.

We'd ride bikes down the road a mile or so and fish with oatmeal balls dried on hooks for carp.
We'd hold them from the handle bars as we went back home.
We never made it more than half way before someone in a car would stop and pay us 50 cents for each one.

In 1967, for a 11-12 year old kid, that was some big bucks for us just going fishing!

[tomme boy]

The only thing asian carp here are used for is fertilizer. I know several commercial fisherman that work for the state of Il. One of them their family owns a large fertilizer plant. They get all the carp they want for free from the state. They just have to show up with their trucks to transport them. They are making a lot of $$$$$

And carp have something similar to what we would call y bones in a walleye or pike. But they are more of a y bone on steroids. There are bones coming off of other y bones. One very easy way to cook them if the fish is up to 4lbs or so is to descale and gut them. Then cut them from the top to the bottom every 1/4" then coat and deep fry. The cuts will let the oil get between the cuts and it cooks the bones so they actually dissolve. But the fish has to be small.

[Winger Ed.]

The only thing asian carp here are used for is fertilizer. .

I guess its different at different points along the water ways.
There is a few of the of the processing plants:

I was watching a youtube video called, 'Asian Carp processing plant in Kentucky'
A Chinese lady owns it, and they export tons of daily back to China.
The folks over there prefer the wild caught American ones to their own farm raised carp.

There is other processors out there, and 20 cents a pound for them alive looks like the going rate.
for both of the 2 varieties of them.

The commercial fishermen aren't getting rich, but they're doing pretty good running long gill nets for them.

[Tripplebeards]

I ended up removing the meat from the skin and removed the red line. I could tell the meat around the redline was tough and stringy so it wasnt cooked properly. I wrapped the fish in tin foil and baked in the the oven at 350 at a half hour. The meat was moist and steamy. Just wanted to make sure they were completely cooked through. I made a couple of fish tacos with it and the rest I made dip using cream cheese, sour cream, and added a little dill. Buffalo is all white meat. Carp is read and oily. I've boiled and pan fried buffalo. Its just as good as bass and walleye.

[Thundarstick]

https://www.wvlt.tv/2021/01/19/man-catches-more-than-20000-pounds-of-carp-in-middle-tenn-lake/