Carp Chowder with Potatoes

Fish needs to be pre-cooked, chilled and then separated from the bones.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flaked cooked carp
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 1 cup diced cooked potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon shortening
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

Cook the onion and parsley in the fat until tender

Add flour, then the milk, gradually stirring until slightly thick.

Add fish and potatoes and heat through.

Like all fish, carp spoil easily. It's best to gut, gill and ice them down within a short time after catching. Be sure to remove all the blood along the backbone and from the body cavity as this blood causas faster spoilage. Some experts claim the flavor is improved by cutting the tail off and allowing the fish to bleed before cleaning it, and by removing the dark meat along its side before cooking by any method.

Since most people agree that the skin tends to add a strong, fishy flavor, you will probably want to skin your carp. The fish can then can be filleted, halved or left whole for stuffing and baking. Regardless of whether it is to be fried or baked, the carp should be "scored." Slice two-thirds of the way through the meat every 1/8 to 1/4 inch with a sharp knife. Scoring allows heat and cooking oils to penetrate and soften the fish's many small bones.

By TPWD Coastal Fisheries Staff