Pan-fried Christmas carp is a popular Christmas dish in many Central European countries such as Poland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The key to a delicious carp is treating the meat with lemon juice, then breading, and frying in a pan until golden and crispy. If you’re looking for a way to prepare carp, try this cooking method!
The history behind this dish
In Poland, Austria, and southern Germany, carp holds a special place in Christmas traditions. It is meant to bring good fortune. The carp is most often cut into fillets, breaded, and pan-fried.
However, in northern Germany, the carp is often prepared differently – the dish is known as “Blau Karpfen,” which means “blue carp”. They soak the fish in a mix of vinegar, wine, and spices before cooking it, which turns the fish a bit blue. They usually serve it with a tangy sauce or mustard.
Many of us growing up in Poland, have memories of the carp swimming in the bathtub, some kids even treat the carp as a pet and give it names. Although it is one of my childhood memories, it is now not acceptable for me and I’m just buying carp fillets prepared by a fishmonger.
In the past, the carp was cleaned at the latest on the eve of the celebration and left overnight in buttermilk or milk to reduce its strong taste. Before carp farming, when the fish were still caught from ponds, it was common for the carp to swim in clear water in the bathtub for a few days. This had the effect of ‘watering’ the carp, essentially removing the muddy taste that develops when the carp feeds on pond mud.
In Poland, many carp are still sold live in supermarkets, and the fish are often kept in the family bathtub before ending up on the dinner table.
These days though, there’s a gradual change in attitudes about buying carp alive, and younger people don’t usually do this. However, nowadays, the quality of store-bought carp has improved. With modern practices in place, carp available in markets and stores often undergo careful handling and quick processing, ensuring freshness without the need for households to keep live fish in their homes before the holiday.
Carp is a difficult fish to prepare – it has a lot of grates and may taste muddy and kind of heavy. For this reason, many people choose a different kind of fish for Christmas, such as halibut or cod. Another popular Polish Christmas fish recipe is this Fish with Vegetable Topping (ryba po grecku). But, if you’re looking for a way to prepare carp and maybe you feel nostalgic about this fish, this is a great recipe to try!
See all our Polish Christmas Recipes.
Ingredients
Below you will find information about the ingredients and how to prepare the recipe. For the measurements and detailed instructions scroll down to the printable recipe card.
Here’s what you need to make this easy dish:
- Carp fillets – you can either purchase already cleaned carp fillets (this is what I did) or purchase a whole fish then clean it and divide it into fillets. You can also use any other kind of white fish fillets for this recipe. If using white fish with delicate flavor, such as halibut or cod, you can omit soaking the fish in lemon juice.
- Lemon juice – a key ingredient in this recipe! Carp can taste a little bit muddy and leave and lemon juice makes the meat softer and taste fresher. The fish won’t taste lemony, lemon juice leaves just a subtle and delicate fresh flavor.
- Breading ingredients – flour, eggs, and fine breadcrumbs (not Panko!). Some people make a simpler breading with just flour and breadcrumbs (fish is seasoned with lemon juice, salt and pepper, then breaded in a mixture of flour and breadcrumbs). After trying both types of breading side-by-side, I prefer the traditional breading with the eggs. It makes a thicker breading, that tastes slightly better, and it’s easier to pan-fry the fish. I’m giving you both options in the recipe card.
- Salt and pepper. You can also season the fish with your favorite spices/herbs, but traditionally it’s just seasoned with salt and pepper.
- Clarified butter – for frying the fish. Clarified butter doesn’t burn as quickly as regular butter but tastes the same. You can also use a mixture of vegetable oil suitable for frying and regular butter (or just oil) but the flavor using clarified butter is the best.
Step-by-step instructions
Prepare your fish fillets: cut them into smaller pieces. Take out the grates – check carefully, this kind of fish can have lots of grates. Pat dry with paper towels. I don’t remove the skin from the fish, if you don’t like it, it’s easier to remove it after cooking the fish.
Rub the fish with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Set aside for 30 minutes (on the counter or in the fridge).
Bread fish fillets. Prepare your breading station: Add the flour to the first shallow plate. In the second, deep plate beat the eggs. Add the breadcrumbs to the third shallow plate.
Dredge each carp fillet in flour on both sides (shake with the cutlets allowing excess flour to fall off), then dip in the egg mixture (allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl), then coat in the breadcrumbs until coated on all sides. Place on a clean plate.
Fry the fish: Add the clarified butter or butter+oil into a large frying pan, warm up until well heated, over medium-high or high heat. When the oil is hot, cook the fillets in two batches on both sides until golden in color and cooked through in the middle, putting them in the pan skin-down first.
Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
I like to serve this pan-fried carp with parsley leaves (for color), lemon wedges (to drizzle over the fish), and toasted flaked almonds.
Enjoy!
Storage
Pan-fried carp taste best freshly prepared. You can reheat it in a 325°F (160°C) oven or in a dry non-stick pan but the breading won’t be as crispy as freshly prepared.
If you want to make it ahead, you can prepare the fillets, especially if you have a whole fish, it can be sometimes time-consuming, especially if the fish has a lot of grates that need to be removed. The breading itself and frying don’t take that much time.
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Christmas Carp (Pan-Fried Carp)
Ingredients
- 2 large carp fillets 1 1/2 lbs or 700g in total
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup fine breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper to taste
- lemon wedge to serve
- clarified butter for frying, or a mix of vegetable oil and regular butter
Instructions
- Prepare your fish fillets: cut them into smaller pieces. Take out the grates – check carefully, this kind of fish can have lots of grates. Pat dry with paper towels. I don't remove the skin from the fish, if you don't like it, it's easier to remove it after cooking the fish.2 large carp fillets
- Rub the fish with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper
- Set aside for 30 minutes (on the counter or in the fridge).
- Bread fish fillets. Prepare your breading station: Add the flour to the first shallow plate. In the second, deep plate beat the eggs. Add the breadcrumbs to the third shallow plate.1/4 cup flour, 2 eggs, 2/3 cup fine breadcrumbs
- Dredge each carp fillet in flour on both sides (shake with the cutlets allowing excess flour to fall off), then dip in the egg mixture (allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl), then coat in the breadcrumbs until coated on all sides. Place on a clean plate.
- Fry the fish: Add the clarified butter or butter+oil into a large frying pan, warm up until well heated, over medium-high or high heat. When the oil is hot, cook the fillets in two batches on both sides until golden in color and cooked through in the middle, putting them in the pan skin-down first.clarified butter
- Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Serve with lemon wedges.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- A different kind of breading: some people bread their carp fillets just in a mixture of flour and fine breadcrumbs. You will need 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup of flour. I prefer the breading with an egg.
- The lemon flavor is barely noticeable but it makes the fish softer and masks the muddy flavor of the carp.
- Clarified butter – doesn’t burn as quickly as regular butter but tastes the same. You can also use a mixture of vegetable oil suitable for frying and regular butter (or just oil) but the flavor using clarified butter is the best.
- I like to serve this pan-fried carp with parsley leaves (for color), lemon wedges (to drizzle over the fish), and toasted flaked almonds.
- Calories = 1 serving = 2 small fillets (1/8 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
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