[cool]Besides following the previous suggestions and going into a carp website (mostly European) you will simply have to search out some fish recipes or cookbooks.
But (ahem), since I am a published author on fish recipes, perhaps I can offer some generalities to get you started and if you want to PM me, with a list of the types of recipes you like...frying, baking, broiling, suaces, etc...I can make some more specific suggestions.
In most of Europe and Asia, carp is king...both for catching and eating. That's why it was brought to the "new world". Unfortunately, we already had plenty of great catching and eating fish already here...and the carp quickly proved that they did no favors to the locals...eating their eggs and young and ruining the habitat.
If you want to make use of the carp you catch, there are some basic characteristics of their flesh that determine the best ways to prepare them. First, as members of the "minnow" family, they have far more bones than some of our favorite game fish...like walleyes, bass, sunfish, etc. You either have to be a master with the fillet knife, or use recipes that soften and neutralize the bones.
Some "other world" recipes call for roasting, baking or boiling carp whole...minus the guts and scales. Usually these recipes call for long slow cooking, which will ultimately steam and soften the bones to the point that they may be eaten without harm...kinda like canned salmon or sardines. But, there are others that do the traditional baking, to cook the fish just to the point that it is flaky and the bones can be easily removed from the flesh. That creates a whole lot of picking, but the firm flesh is tasty and worth it...if you have properly marinated or seasoned it. I find it a bit strong all by itself.
Carp can be surprisingly mild and pleasant tasting. The key is in the water from which it comes and the diet it has lived on. Whether your table fish is carp or trout, if it comes from warm, muddy, alkaline water...with a lot of algae in it...it will taste like pond scum. I have tossed out trout after one or two bites that suffered from this condition. But, when carp come from waters that are usually clear and pollution free, and when they have a varied diet of both vegetable and live food (worms, minnows, crawdads, etc.), the flesh is very good.
Carp are especially good smoked. Their heavy flesh takes up the brine and spices of the presoak...and the smoky flavor of the chips you burn to smoke them. If you have taken the time to cut the fillets into strips, while cutting out the lines of fine bones, you end up with skinless, boneless smoked fish chunks that are as good as some of the most popular smoked fishes. Even if you do not remove the bones before smoking, the quality of the end product makes it worthwhile to pick out the bones.
When I lived in Sacramento, I got tired of my buddies coming over to raid my supply of smoked salmon and steelhead. I deliberately caught a couple of huge carp from a clean nearby lake and prepared and smoked them with special care. When my scavenging buddies dropped in for Monday Night Football I served the smoked carp. Most of them declared it the best smoked salmon I had ever done.
For recipes that call for frying, baking or broiling fillets, there is one other step in the initial process that can help the final product. That is slicing out the dark sensory tissue along the side of the fillet...exposed when you remove the skin. It usually has a strong taste that affects the rest of the flesh.\
Once you have a skinless, boneless fillet...or strips of fillet...you can fix them with any kind of batter or dry coating you want and deep fry them to a golden brown. You will be pleasantly surprised at the mild taste. If you can get the picture out of your mind, of that ugly puckered kisser, you will enjoy the meal more.
If you want a baked fish treat, and to neutralize the bones on the whole fillet too, place the fillets on a double thickness of foil...big enough to wrap around the whole fillet. Squeeze on some lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Some minced garlic and chopped onions are good too. Finally, cover the fillet with sliced tomatoes and even pour on a can of tomato paste. A bit of yellow mustard doesn't hurt either. Fold the foil up over the decorated fillet, to seal in the steam, and put it on a cookie sheet. Let it bake for about two hours at 275 degrees. If the fillet is real thick...or you are baking a whole fish...make it 2 1/2 or three hours. When it comes out of the oven, the bones will be mush and the fish will taste like the best canned sardines you ever ate. In fact, be sure to have some good french bread rolls handy to make some hot fish sandwiches.
You can also use chunks of boned carp meat in vegetable based stews or in cream style New England chowders. For a "poor man's crab", make a soup of water, onion flakes, garlic powder, salt and pepper...with any other special spices you might like to add. Simmer the carp pieces just until they turn opaque and flaky. Scoop them quickly out of the soup and put them in a bowl. Then, either pour some melted garlic butter over them, or use a small crab fork and dip the pieces individually in garlic butter.
Forget about "planked carp" and carp/brick stew. Carp are good eating, under the right conditions.
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