Grilled Carp Nopales (Cactus Paddles) Recipe

1. Gather all of your ingredients and pull your carp strips from the fridge.
   
   

   

2. Pat dry the carp strips. Toss them in lemon olive oil, season with your favorite rub/seasonings, and set to the side. If you don’t have lemon olive oil, you can use regular olive oil.
3. Prepare your pico de gallo. Dice the red onion, tomatoes, avocados, jalapeño, and serrano peppers. Chop the cilantro. Add everything to a bowl. Mix well. Add garlic salt to taste. Juice two lemons/limes into the pico de gallo. Cover the bowl and let it sit in the fridge.
   
   

   

4. Heat your pan or wok on low. I use a wok outside, but you can use a cast-iron pan on your kitchen stovetop if you’d like. Whichever you decide to use, coat the pan with a tablespoon of bacon grease.
5. Before the pan gets too hot, add the nopales (cactus paddles). Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side.
6. Now, it’s time to cook the carp! Turn up the heat to medium-high. Add the carp strips and slices of pineapple to the pan. Stir and toss frequently adding about 3 tablespoons of lemon juice each time. Don’t forget to flip the nopales. The nopales are ready when there is no more liquid coming from them and they are sort of crispy on the outside.
   
   

   

7. Grab your tortillas. Dip the tortillas in any juice in the middle of the pan/wok and place them on the side of the wok. This will add a quick crispy toast to the tortillas. If you do not have a wok, you can use a separate pan for the tortillas.
8. Pull everything from the heat. Load up each grilled nopal with carp strips. Top with pico de gallo and fresh slices of avocado.

To learn more about the authors of this recipe, Rydell Danzie and Vero Rodriguez of Field to Grill aka F2G, visit: f2goutdoors.com