When it comes to fish, it's all in the name.Asian Carp , a major invasive nuisance may not seem very appetizing. But a viewer wondered if there was any upside to their arrival. Can you eat them he wrote? Can we turn lemons into lemonade he asked? The possibility of Asian Carp on the menu is the subject of this Fact Finder.
If you are looking for a huge selection of great fish near Traverse City, it is hard to beat Burritt's Market . Fish Monger Dan Elliot explains that it the peak season of fish availability he will have as many as 30 different fish species, fresh in his case, with everything from local fish, like walleye and whitefish, to exotic salt water species. Elliot takes pride in his ability to have on hand, or at least be able to order quickly, what any customer that walks through the doors might desire. So when I wanted to get some answers about the possibility of the appeal of Asian Carp for dinner, I knew Dan was the man to ask, he didn't disappoint. Dan points out that "I have sold carp in the past. It comes in frozen as whole fish and I think it was only 2 or 3 times. Typically it was to people with Asian background."
Carp are very common fish in Asia and common fare on the table. CLICK HERE FOR RECIPES As with any invasive species, they tend to reproduce quickly and are able to take over an ecosystem quickly. The bottom line is where you find a few Asian Carp, you are bound to find a lot more very soon. With that in mind a viewer wondered if the silver lining to the possible Asian Carp Invasion of the Great lakes might be a seemingly endless supply of food.
While Dan admits he's never worked directly with the Asian Carp, he is very familiar with its close relative, the Golden Carp. He says "the local Golden Carp is a very large fish, heavy scaled. It's probably comparable to a large Grouper with the size of the filets. When I bring in the whole fish, the filets are 4, 5, or 6 pounds but the people that are fishing the bay or the rivers, its not uncommon to bring in a 20 or 40 pound carp."
So if you caught an Asian Carp, you could feed an entire family if you were willing to do a little work. Even for the fish monger, cleaning the fish can be a chore since he says "the bone structure is tremendous, very difficult to filet."
But a bone or two may not be the biggest challenge. Carp are traditionally considered bottom feeding fish. Even if you take the possible health concerns regarding possible toxin buildup or contamination out of the mix, the bottom feeding status has a real negative stigma attached to it. Dan says that may not be fair, after all "whitefish are essentially a bottom feeding fish." We eat whitefish up and pay a pretty penny to do it, same with halibut. So will Asian Carp be doomed by reputation or an unfortunate name? The answer maybe no. In the world of fish, a little positive marketing goes a long way. Dan is quick to point out "everybody knows this fish as Orange Roughy very popular in the '80's. It was originally called Slime head. Another one was Chilean Sea Bass, very expensive, very popular fish. That fish is actually a Patagonian Tooth Fish."
Change the name, and Slime heads get fished to near extinction as Orange Roughy. A change in name somehow makes it seem much more desirable to fish for, and eat. Maybe we take the same approach with the Asian Carp? Dan's suggestion is "call it the Lake Michigan Tarpon or something like that."
There is a market beyond table fare for the Asian Carp. Ground up carp is being used in some cat foods and even as fertilizer additives around the world. Now again, I am not making the argument that the Asian Carp invasion is a good thing. In my opinion, it's not. It could be devastating to our ecosystem. With that being said, do you have any experiences eating carp? What about them has you turned off? Would you be willing to try it? Or do you have any other possible uses for the Carp?
Let me know. Leave a comment below.
