[KillaHookset]

Buffalo, Carp, and Gaspergou??
I fish Salt 95% of the time, when I do get to fresh I stick to what I know, the usual cats, crappie, bass and panfish. I know folks who have the time and energy to butcher a gar are rewarded with very nice tasty meat.
I was wondering how does the other less desirable fish fall as far as table fare and what size to stick with before you will turn them loose.
As a comparison I usually toss back larger black drums over 24" and reds over 26" due to the flavor and texture and quality of the meat in the larger fish is just...well gross. Im talking fried, baked, or grilled...I know you can hide some nasty fish in a good soup or gumbo.

 

[coachlaw]

I've heard that Buffalo fish are primarily consumed by those of the Jewish persuasion as part of a Kosher diet. Other than that, I've always heard to turn these fish loose or use them for crawfish or crab bait. - Coach

 

[shanker]

there is nothing gross about a Red Drum from 26 to 32", anything over the low 30's may start to get a little stout, but I have tagged a few fish that were in the low 30's and they ate GREAT

 

[Peeshnuck]

I have had Carp before, and Gaspergou...Gaspergou is good if cooked right but very bony. All I can recall about Carp that we had the rib sections fried...was good.

Gar is a lot of work, but done right can be very tasty as well.

 

[cat.]

Man ain't no tellin what we've eaten over the years,long john's capt. d's i bet there is some ground up fish lips in all that food.along with fish chicken eye!choo!

 

[waterspout]

cook gou in a crab boil.. ol Medulla calls it poor mans lobster. Capn here eats it too.

 

[BS]

we used to throw the odd gou in with the crappie at the fish fries when I was a kid. nobody ever knew the differece as best I can remember.

Byron

 

[huntinguy]

I"ll take buffalo ribs, and all the alligator gar I can get my hands on, will eat the gou.....if things are pretty slow. Pass on the carp.

 

[Blackgar]

Fillet that carp just like any other fish. Soak fillets in fresh lemon juice for a couple of hours. Season as desired & cook over a hot, hot fire. Eat bone & all

 

[Slim-N-None]

i've got into the gaspergoos thick up on the north end of conroe before and let me tell you, everybody that ate em, couldn't tell the difference between the bass, crappie, catfish, and goo's they was eatin, it's all in the cleanin i believe, cut out the red meat, or the darker meat whatever you wanna call it, and it gets rid of the "wild" flavor. soak it then batter it up and fry it.

 

[TXPalerider]

cook gou in a crab boil.. ol Medulla calls it poor mans lobster. Capn here eats it too.

I too usually end up leaving with any gou caught on our trips.

 

[txjoker]

I have heard of people cooking carp fillets in a pressure cooker and they said it turned out ok.

 

[BALZTOWAL]

Those Fresh Water Bottom Eaters Give Us Saltwater Fishermen The Squirts.

 

[MikeV]

So far I haven't eaten any of those fish. I suppose where you first see some fish species swim can forever taint your opinion on whether they are edible or not. Buffalo, carp, and gar come to mind for me.

 

[tboltmike]

There was a place in Baytown at Park and Decker called the Tower Drive Inn.. car hop sort of place. They served the best open faced trout sandwiches. They were quite popular on the menu. My cousins sold them gar all day long. Guess what??? Sure was some course grain trout meat.

 

[small bites]

aint doing no goo nor no gasper. Not gonna be on this menu. Rather starve thank you very much.

PeeeYooo and PEYuk. just not that hungry and not gonna be that hungry.

sb:<

 

[jbethard]

I have eaten all three. Carp is not bad if pressure cooked and made into patties and fried, but is my least favorite. Buffalo is a really white meat, and if big enough cut the ribs off and fry them up really good, but like the carp to boney for fillets. Now the Goo, has a great taste and is great in a fish gumbo or other dish as long as you can cook it a while because is has the tendancy to be chewey kinda like a big redfish.

 

[xxfubarxx]

There was alos a small truck stop off of I-10 that would buy our hard heads and fry them up in small fillet looking pieces and called it catfish and sold alot of it. I've also (haven't tried) gar but heard as someone else said if it's cleaned right it's pretty good. But then again watch the Travel channel with the Zimmern guy called Strange Food. Alot of people eat anything and if it's cooked right..not bad. My aunt and uncle never ate sheepshead till recently because someone said it was nasty tasting. They'd been giving it away for years. Now they keep it. I think most of the problems is dealing with the bones and smell when cleaning them. Alot of people don't eat shark but I like it.

 

[mdmerlin]

Coach, just curious why you said Buffalo were mainly consumed by folks of the Jewish persuasion?

http://www.kashrut.com/articles/fish/

 

[Peeshnuck]

Its always funny..

to see what people will and won't eat. As said above lots of it is based on areas where they have seen these fish swim or that they are less desirable because they are bottom feeders, etc. And yet, we keep on eating our chicken and pork...the two filthest animials on earth! Ha!