We used to call that 'brine'. And it really does work. It will remove the 'fishy-taste' from any fish. It works by leaching out the oil in the flesh, which is where the 'fishy' taste come from. I do shark, bluefush and mackeral (most oily fish) that way. Shark meat has a lot of uremic acid in it, so if you don't soak it in brine overnight, it will taste really bad. After soaking, it tastes like swordfish.

And if you keep carp from questionable water in a washtub, or the bathtub for a few days in cold water, and feed them corn, or Goldfish Pond Pellets, and change the water twice a day, they will clean themselves out and be as good as any fish. But don't use chlorinated (tap) water. It will kill them. If you have to use tap water, then put about 10 drops of Methylene Blue ( C16H18N3SCl ) in it. Methylene Blue is availble at most places where aquarium supplies are sold. It works by having a similar reduction potential to oxygen, and is reduced by componenets of the electron transport chain, thereby counteracting the effects of chlorine. This will keep your carp healthy, clean, and tasty until you are ready to process them.

Quote Originally Posted by LadyFisher View Post
The 'old time' method for sweetening muddy fish (or ducks) before cooking is to cover them with cold water to which you add a handful of baking soda and a handful of regular table salt. Leave overnight, rinse and cook. The combination of soda and salt was called salsoda.