Let's visit..... (Helena: network, small, sheriff)

[Rickers]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Rickers caught a pair of feet!!
I wonder if he ate them too.

No my feets is too stanky too eat and I never even heard of Feet Tacos.

Here is the Smallie I caught. It was exactly fourteen inches long.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9a8nDInPVGE/TGszceMWCFI/AAAAAAAADX0/fcMBwfvqjX8/s512/IMG_0954.JPG (broken link)

[Rickers]

Right after I put in I took this picture of "The Big Hummer". I talked to one of the head honchos and I may be able to get a tour. I'm not sure if they will even let me in or take pictures but I think I may be able to talk them into it. I know that the Hungry Horse Dam gives tours.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9a8nDInPVGE/TGoJWgfoutI/AAAAAAAADUk/dr6ilMJkFCQ/s512/IMG_0935.JPG (broken link)

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by rickers

No my feets is too stanky too eat and I never even heard of Feet Tacos.

Hmm. Sounds like they're a variety of carp. Did you throw them back, then?? Would be a waste when you could cook them same as you would carp:

Hickory Planked Carp
===============
This is a great recipe passed on to me by the Cousins.
You have to catch your own carp as I have yet to see them available commercially.
Once said carp is dispatched, scale and clean leaving it whole.
Rub the inside with chopped garlic, fresh thyme, salt, fresh cracked pepper, and half of a lemon.
On the outside season with salt, cayenne, fresh oregano, and the other half of the lemon.
I like to put a few habaneros in the mouth of the carp for a spicy sweet aroma.
Lay carp on a hickory plank that has soaked thoroughly in a solution of 2 parts water, 1 part apple cider vinegar, and 1 part bourbon. Did I mention that I really like the Cousins?
Then you lay another plank on the fish like a hickory plank and carp sandwich.
Using butcher's twine truss the "sandwich" securely.
Place in an oven pre-heated to 425.
Let this roast for about 25 minutes per pound.
When done remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes.
Cut the butchers twine and remove planks from the fish.

Throw out the carp and serve the hickory planks with wedges of lemon and tartar sauce.

[Mt-7]

Oh my...

You had me going with this one, carp is a trash fish..LOL
Rickers you and peek are good company here..

[Walter Greenspan]

Poached and chilled carp is delicious.

But, all those tiny bones!

[Walter Greenspan]

Native to China, carp had been introduced to Eastern Europe during the 17th century, in part by Jewish traders working the silk routes. Jews, who were excluded from most of the traditional European guilds, quickly seized on this new opportunity and began to breed carp in specially managed ponds in Poland. Among Jews, carp was often served cold on the Sabbath, not just in gefilte fish but in other preparations as well, including jellied carp -- carp long-poached in water (sometimes with white wine) and then served cold in its own jelly.

In his memoir of his travels among Polish Jews in the 1920s, the French food writer Edouard de Pomiane observed of jellied carp, "This is the classic carp dish as it appears on all the Sabbath luncheon tables. If one had to sum up all of Jewish cooking in a single dish, this is the one that would epitomize it."

Jellied carp was so popular, in fact, that it eventually became known as carpe à la juive, "carp in the Jewish style," and as such was offered in four variations in the encyclopedia of French haute cuisine, Larousse Gastronomique.

In many American families, stories are told about how every year bubbe used to keep a huge carp swimming around in the upstairs bathtub until the house was cleaned for Passover and the gefilte fish preparation could be begun. (Barbara Cohen's charming children's book "The Carp in the Bathtub" offers one rendition of the story.)

Source:
The Food Maven/Matthew Goodman/FORWARD/April 4, 2003

[Reziac]

Whitefish (the type that's a sort of suckerfish) are considered a trash fish too, but actually are very good eatin'. I liked to wrap 'em in tinfoil and throw 'em into the embers, let cook for an hour, and the result was a mild-flavoured, delicate fish (amounted to poaching it in its own juice). But as Walter says... oh my, all those tiny bones!! There's a trick to getting most of the bones out, tho -- if you can get the skin and fins to peel off without breaking up, it will take most of the tiny bones with it.

When the trout get rank (around spawning season, I'd guess) the whitefish are at their best, and v.v. So there's always one or the other fit to eat.

I'm not sure how the feet fit into all that. Might be they're rank all year round. But, that's what planking is for.

[Reziac]

BTW the recipe for Planked Carp works just as well with Merganser Duck -- tho you might want to adjust the seasoning. Perhaps Irish whiskey instead of Bourbon.

[MTSilvertip]

Very good information Walter

A friend of mine thinks that carp roe rolled in breadcrumbs and fried for breakfast is about as good as it gets. (I have never been that hungry )

I did have a couple of old Russian recepies for pickled carp, and they may be a variaton of the long poached carp in wine.

Never tried it, the carp in Montana that I have found, the meat is so soft it is next to impossible to do anything with. It turns to mush when you try to cook it. Cold pickling might provide some glue to the meat fibres and make it usable.

Smoked Whitefish especially if the fish is caught when the water is really cold, is an excellent meat and really works well for Hors d'ouvres. It is pretty mild so strong cheeses or liquors will overwhelm the flavor, so go in concert with delicate flavored cheeses, fruits and lighter pilsner beers or wines and it is wonderful.

[Walter Greenspan]

Smoked whitefish, accompanied by a buttered bialy, Greek salad, macaroni salad and a glass of schav (drink made from sorrel grass) with a scoop of sour cream. Hmmm, hmmm, good.