Carp is everywhere in Russia and all major stores have live carp in tanks to buy. Farm raised carp is a leftover from the Soviet era and after eating carp many times in Russia, I see why Russians love carp. It is just plain good…
Like almost all fish, carp spoil easily and may seem to spoil faster than most fish. I find that it is best to gut, bleed them out, scale, gill and chill them down within a short time after catching and or purchasing if alive. If dead when you get it, speed up the process, for the sooner it is bled out and cool the better. Since ice is basically unavailable in Russia most of the time, I just put them to cool in water. Be sure to remove all the blood along the backbone and from the body cavity as this blood causes faster spoilage and do not cut open the entrails sack and allow all the waste to spoil the fish. I was taught to cut the tail off and allowing the fish to bleed before cleaning it, and by removing the dark meat (also called mud vein) along its side before cooking by any method. I disagree with this method when it comes to farm raised carp and that is what we eat here in the village in Russia. Therefore unless I catch the fish in the wilds, I savor the mud vein as good eating… **
Grab these items to begin eating a great grilled carp:
1 – big fat carp, no I said a big fat carp, almost, just a little bigger and fatter, yes that is big enough and will fill the whole grill…
2 – salt and pepper and garlic in shaker
3 – shashlik grill or shish kabob grill, plus necessary items to grill…
Lets cook:
Clean the carp as you would any fish, if you do not know how to clean a fish then maybe this recipe is not for you. Once clean and head cut off (some leave the heads, but I said big fat fish remember and it has to fit the grill, so the head goes, unless it is small), I leave the tail, for I love to eat the crunchy tail after cooking. Make sure to descale, but leave the skin and do not lacerate the fish in any way…
Study the grill image and think how you will push all those shashlik sticks through the fish top to bottom and lay the fish lengthwise on the grill…
As the fish is cooking undisturbed for as long as you can manage, on the first side down you are cooking, season the up side with salt, pepper and what ever you feel like…
The idea that works and really only works in this instance, is that you handle the fish as little as possible and only turn it once. I would gather help to turn the fish, for you should have at least 6 to 8 metal rods through the fish from top to bottom… (Not lengthwise!)
Then once turned for the first and last time, season it as you did the other side earlier…
I cook it whole and cook it a long time. I burn it until the fat bursts from the fish and makes the fire sizzle and pop. Well seasoned, hot and long cooking time is mandatory and turning once to keep the fish from falling to pieces as it is cooked is also mandatory. I said big fat fish and a fish just small enough to fit the grill is perfect. Just cook that damn fish to death and have lots of stakes through it to keep it together. The metal stakes drive the heat into the core of the fish and in a good hour, to hour and a half or even two hours, you have a done fish. The outside is burnt, but the inside is tasty and delightful…
I am known to also literally cook the carp from one side only and put the best side up as presentation. I sear it on the first side and then flip it after 10 minutes. The new side is the side that cooks and burns until done. The fish looks great and you just leave the burned skin on the downside alone…
Lets flip a small grilled carp…
Carp is wonderful, cheap and good for you. All the benefits of fish in a form that is fun to catch, eat and live healthy with…
Eat a carp today, for they grow anywhere and everywhere…
Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…
** On wild carp you are better to filet it and cut out the mud vein between the top and bottom portions, before cooking and storing. In a wild carp as with many fish, it can instill a muddy flavor that upsets many people and ruins the taste…